SSAT Middle Level Reading Practice Test 54

The Battle of Iwo Jima represented to the Americans the ultimate invasion from the sea or a "storm landing", the Japanese phrase describing the American strategy for concentrating overwhelming force at the point of attack. The huge striking force was more experienced, better armed and more powerfully supported than any other offensive campaign to date in the Pacific War. The Fifth Fleet enjoyed total domination of air and sea around the small, sulfuric island. The 74,000 Marines in the landing force would have a healthy 3-to-1 advantage over the Japanese defense force. Capturing Iwo Jima would be tough, planners admitted, but the operation should be over in a week.

By all logic, the force invading Iwo Jima should have succeeded, quickly and violently. But the Japanese had also benefited from the prolonged island battles in the Pacific. Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi commanded the 21,000 troops on the island, a skillful fighter who could pick up valuable lessons from previous combat disasters. The Japanese forces on Iwo Jima would defend the island from hidden interior positions, not at the water's edge, and would avoid the massive, suicidal banzai attacks. Kuribayashi figured if his soldiers could maintain camouflage and fire discipline, conserve its resources and take unequal losses from the invaders, maybe the Americans would lose heart. His senior leaders may have grumbled at this departure from tradition, but Kuribayashi's plan made intelligent use of Iwo Jima's hostile terrain and his troops' fighting skills.

-Colonel Joseph H. Alexander

1. All of the following are mentioned as advantages the Americans had against the Japanese EXCEPT:

• A. The Americans had extensive experience in battle.
• B. The Americans had powerful weapons.
• C. The Americans outnumbered the Japanese.
• D. The Americans had better air and sea support.
• E. The Americans had better knowledge of Iwo Jima.

2. This passage is primarily about

• A. a battle for an island in the Pacific Ocean.
• B. how to fight the enemy in unfamiliar territory.
• C. why Iwo Jima was important to the Americans.
• D. General Kuribayashi's military strategies.
• E. the final battle in a very long war.

3. It is reasonable to assume from the passage that

• A. Kuribayashi had the complete support of his men.
• B. the Japanese put up a stronger fight than expected.
• C. the Americans attacked with a few men at the start.
• D. the Japanese were successful in defending Iwo Jima.
• E. the Americans were hurt by suicidal banzai attacks.

4. According to the passage, the Japanese forces

• A. first engaged the Americans from the air and sea.
• B. had more ammunition than the Americans.
• C. fought from locations that were not in plain sight.
• D. wanted the island for its sulfur deposits.
• E. tried to evacuate before the arrival of the Americans.

5. Which of the following is the author most likely to discuss next?

• A. The military history of General Kuribayashi
• B. Other battles fought on the Pacific front
• C. How marines prepare to fight on an island
• D. The results of the Battle of Iwo Jima
• E. The reasoning behind a "storm landing"