Iwo Jima

[Frontovik]

is it normal Iwo jima has no convoy thingy?
it's quite weird, andi  wonder if it's game error

[The Admirable Admiral]

I noticed that too it might be an error but I don't think anyone has addressed it.

[LuckyDay]

doubtful, Iwo was practically uninhabited before the war, with about 1,000 people and a IJN base.  No need for convoy attacks against an island that wasn't producing anything to convoy anywhere.

The mistake was more likely to be giving it any income, as it's value is more like that of Midway or Wake.

[bennyboyg]

Like Lucky said, it didn't have much strategic value but it DID have symbolic value. Iwo Jima was considered an original Japanese territory, and that's why it's occupation by America dealt such a blow to Japan's morale. Symbolic value is something that can't be taken out by a convoy though.

[The Admirable Admiral]

Yes the holding of Iwo Jima inspires 1million man hours of work in the Japanese homeland and when it is captured they get discouraged and leave their jobs.

[Make_It_Round]

Yes the holding of Iwo Jima inspires 1million man hours of work in the Japanese homeland and when it is captured they get discouraged and leave their jobs.

When you put it that way, it sure does sound odd.

Nevertheless, sometimes that's the way that these human intangibles like 'morale' actually behave.

Think about it: as a Japanese citizen, why would you keep slaving for the Imperial cause (say, digging coal) if you knew that the war was a lost cause, and that the Empire would be dismantled by the Americans in a matter of weeks? And what better sign that the US is winning in the Pacific than by their taking an island within comfortable bombing distance of Tokyo, with no other land mass in the way to stop them from doing so?

Under those circumstances, if you were at all aware of the gravity of the situation (about to be firebombed and then nuked... twice!), you'd be running to find a nice cave to shelter in, rather than clocking in for work as usual.

Losing Iwo Jima: 1 IPC.
Saving your own a$$: priceless.