The next stage in the reconquest of the Pacific was an assault launched in two directions. General Douglas MacArthur, proceeding in bounds along the northern coast of New Guinea, advanced into the southwest Pacific, took the Solomons, thus isolating Rabaul in New Britain. Admiral Chester Nimitz's Central Pacific forces seized the Gilberts. Marshalls and Marianas, then isolated the Caroline Islands. The American thrust was so overwhelming that on October 20, 1944, the reconquest of the Philippines began. Faced with this counter-attack the Japanese could only put up sporadic resistance after their naval defeat in Leyte Gulf.
The Marines played a decisive role in the push across the Pacific, particularly in the central Pacific. In their first attack on the Gilberts in November 1943, the Marines suffered heavy casualties in the confusing and bloody assault on Tarawa. during new larger operations in the Marianas and the Marshalls. At the beginning of 1945, the Japanese were practically on their national borders; the Marines were preparing for their toughest fight:the assault on Iwo Jima.
The Japanese were aware of the importance of Iwo Jima. Towards the end of 1944, they rushed in reinforcements. A garrison of 23,000 men, commanded by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, was sent to the island with orders to hold out as long as possible; in fact, American air and sea supremacy required larger numbers. Kuribayashi was a brave and staunch soldier, a man “whose protruding belly was stuffed with fighting spirit,” according to Radio Tokyo.
The Japanese collected 120 large guns over 75 mm, 300 anti-aircraft pieces over 25 mm, 20,000 small pieces, including machine guns, 130 howitzers of 80 and 120, 20 mortars of 200, 70 rocket launchers of 200, 40 anti-tank guns of 47 mm and 20 of 37 mm, finally 27 tanks. In October 1944, they undertook the construction of concrete shelters; five months later, they had installed 360. A magnificent maze of fortified caves, linked together by underground passages and virtually invulnerable to naval bombardment, was laid out. All on an island of some 15 square kilometers.
Admiral Nimitz entrusted the general direction of the Iwo Jima operation to Admiral Raymond Spruance's fleet, which, with its fast carriers and battleships supported by mobile formations, represented the most powerful naval force in the world. . Its role was, above all, to provide cover in the event of air or naval attacks and to participate in the bombardment of the island. Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner, probably the most experienced man in amphibious operations, was given command of the landing maneuvers. The assault troops, 84,000 men in all, were drawn from the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions of Major General Harry Schmidt's 5th Marine Amphibious Corps, the 3rd Marine Division being placed in embarked reserve. /P>
Major-General Groves B. Erskine's 3rd Division had fought at Guam and Bougainville, and the 4th Division, commanded by Major-General Clifton B. Cates, had seen fire at Roi-Namur, Saipan and Tinian. General E. Rockey's 5th Division had no combat experience, but its men were well trained and supervised by many veterans. General "Howlin" "Mad" Smith, the energetic leader of the 1st Marine Division at Guadalcanal, who became commander of Naval Force Pacific, fell between Spruance and Schmidt. With such an experienced command team and brave soldiers, the outcome of the operation left little room for doubt.
From the end of 1944, operations began to intensify in the Pacific. In the weeks leading up to the invasion, scheduled for February 19, 1945, bomber sorties were carried out at an accelerated pace; those of the Army came out during the day, those of the Navy at night. Three days before the landing, Rear Admiral William Blandy's amphibious support force, 5 battleships strong, began an intense bombardment of the island. At the same time, Spruance was directing air attacks from fast carriers on Honshu to neutralize possible Japanese fighter sorties against the Iwo Jima invasion fleet.
The bombardment of Iwo Jima turned out to be totally unsuitable, as Schmidt had foreseen, who had insistently demanded ten days of preparatory raids. The Americans received a shock on February 17, when 11 of the 12 gunships supporting the teams responsible for demolishing the coastal installations were sunk by enemy fire. Surprised by the extent of the defenses of the island, more powerful than expected, Blandy agreed, on the advice of Schmidt, to concentrate the bombardment on the beaches. Like Tarawa, Iwo Jima was so small it was really just a beach, and disembarking Marines would be totally exposed to enemy fire, if it wasn't neutralized before the assault.
The gunboat incident was, however. instructive:the Americans had to revise their estimate of the enemy defenses; on the other hand. the incident revealed several Japanese firing locations. It seems unlikely that the orders to open fire came from the Japanese high command, because. according to the first of Kuribayashi's “Essential Instructions for Battle”:“As long as the enemy bombardment continues, we must seek refuge in the cave shelters and limit our losses to the maximum. Kuribayashi ordered. right away. a redeployment of the guns that had opened fire.
Iwo Jima is somewhat of a chop-shape with a broad rocky plateau to the north and the extinct volcano of Mount Suribachi at the southern tip. The only place where the landing could take place was on the black ash beaches along the south-east coast, near Airfield No. 1. But landing there exposed you to the fire of the batteries placed on the heights, north and south of the island.
At 6:40 a.m. on February 19, just before sunrise, Blandy's buildings, now reinforced with 2 battleships and 13 cruisers from Spruance's fleet, unleashed a tremendous bombardment on Iwo Jima. No less than 450 ships surrounded the island.
Battled by the fire of the shells, the beaches seemed to break up. Soon after, rocket-firing gunships attacked the high plateau of Moto-yama, while others mortared Mount Suribachi. Taking advantage of a brief lull, ships having to manoeuvre, embarked fighters and heavy bombers from the Marianas poured a deluge of rockets, bombs and napalm onto the beaches.
After ten minutes the naval bombardment began again; 10 destroyers and more than 50 gun ships took part, advancing as close to the shore as possible while masking the approaching invasion armada. The co-ordination of the operation was perfect.
As the naval bombardment reached its climax, the landing craft lowered their ramps and the first wave of assault launched itself, some 5,000 meters from the shore. Each wave consisted of 69 amphibious tractors capable of transporting 20 men, bringing them to the beach, and, if necessary, crossing the coral reefs. The first wave - the 4th Marine Division on the right, the 5th on the left - advanced virtually unmolested. At 9:02 a.m., after 30 minutes of crossing, the amphibious tractors reached the beach, dumping troops and armored vehicles loaded with mortars and rockets.
They were quickly stopped by two unforeseen natural obstacles:the shore was made of black volcanic ash where the men sank up to their ankles; beyond. there was a steep terrace, 4.5 meters high in places, which only a few amphibious tractors undertook to climb. The others stayed on the beach, obstructing the path of the following assault waves.
One of the Marines recounted how he tried to scale the terrace wall:“I couldn't walk, the ashes were so thick, I struggled, then crawled. trying not to dirty my rifle, but to no avail. The waves of assault followed each other every five minutes and soon. 10,000 men and 400 vehicles were on the beach. Despite the inevitable confusion that ensued, the first patrols dug some 130 meters inland, then 350 meters. It was then that the enemy unmasked.
The Marines were subjected to crossfire from machine guns and small arms as the Japanese soldiers adjusted from the cover of their holes or bunkers. Heavy artillery batteries and mortars. emerged from the fortified caves and underground shelters and transported to Mount Suribachi and the plateau of Moto-yama, were pointed precisely on the beaches and went into action, crushing men and machines.