One of the deadliest battles and one of the largest amphibious operations in human history. It was fought on the island of Iwo Jima in Japan in February and March 1945 between American and Japanese forces and is part of the military operations that took place in the Pacific theater during World War II.
Iwo Jima means "Sulphur Island" in Japanese, because of the sulfur deposits that exist on this small volcanic island. Its area is 21 square kilometers, the size of our own Antikythera. It belongs to the Ogasawara group of islands and is 650 nautical miles south of Tokyo. Its main morphological feature is the mountain Suribatsi, 166 meters high.
By early 1945 the Americans had the upper hand in operations on the Pacific Front. Having captured the Marshall and Mariana Islands, they could launch attacks on the Japanese interior with B-29 strategic bombers. The Japanese forces had suffered significant losses, both in their navy and air force.
After these developments, the Japanese staff decided to hold the Ogasawara Islands at all costs. Their loss would facilitate American airstrikes, disintegrate war production, and cause a drop in morale among the people.
In particular, Iwo Jima had an early warning radar and two airstrips. The Americans eyed the island because they needed it as a bridgehead for their upcoming operation on Okinawa, but also because the Japanese planes stationed there were harassing the B-29s. Admiral Chester Nimitz came up with the idea of taking Iwo Jima, while General Douglas MacArthur disagreed, seeking to take Formosa (present-day Taiwan).
The American battleship USS New York bombards the island of Iwo Jima The Japanese entrusted the defense of the island to Lt. Gen. Tatamichi Kuribayashi, with orders to hold it until its final fall. He carried 22,000 men and heavy artillery to Iwo Jima. The island's defenses would rely on an extensive network of caves and underground arcades, in order for his men to protect themselves from the extensive fire expected from the Americans.
Kuribayashi's plan was for the Americans to land undisturbed on the coast of Iwo Jima and for his men not to return fire in order not to reveal their positions. When the Americans got within 500 meters of the shore, the artillery would go into action, while the soldiers would defend their positions to the death.
When the American staff decided to adopt the Nimitz proposal for an attack on Iwo Jima, it allocated five times the force, 110,000 men, to the operation. General Holland Smith, the so-called father of modern amphibious warfare, was placed at the head of the 5th Amphibious Army Corps, which consisted of three marine divisions (3rd, 4th and 5th).
The American offensive began at 2 a.m. on February 19, 1945, with a relentless air and sea bombardment of Iwo Jima. At 8:59 am the landing of 30,000 Marines began under Japanese fire coming from Mount Suribachi. The Americans were in a disadvantageous position, as they did not have the possibility to cover themselves, due to the flat terrain, which consisted of volcanic sand. By the end of the day, another 40,000 Marines were thrown onto the battlefield.
On the morning of the fourth day, Mount Suribachi was cut off from the rest of the island and the marines set out to capture it. Although they thought they would meet strong resistance from the Japanese, they reached its summit without much difficulty. There they raised the American flag on a piece of pipe and planted it in the ground. The Americans took courage, the Japanese understood that the end was near.
The moment was captured by "Associated Press" photographer Joe Rosenthal, in a photo that went down in history. Rumor has it that the soldiers repeated the scene several times, until Rosenthal managed to capture an emotional photo.
Despite the loss of Suribachi and a drop in morale, the Japanese fought bravely for another month, inflicting heavy casualties on the Americans. Hostilities ceased on the morning of March 26, 1945, when only a handful of its defenders remained on the battlefield.
And for the sake of the truth, of the 22,000 Japanese defenders of Iwo Jima, 20,703 fell on the battlefield, including their commander Lieutenant General Kuribayashi, while 216 were captured. The Americans also suffered heavy losses:5,598 dead, 494 missing and 19,189 wounded. This is the only battle of World War II in which the Allied forces had more casualties (dead and wounded) than the Japanese.
The capture of Iwo Jima was another step in the American push into the Japanese interior and the end of operations on the Pacific Front. However, many military analysts, in light of the heavy losses for the Americans, questioned the necessity of occupying the island. Iwo Jima remained under American rule until 1968, when it was returned to Japan.
The Battle of Iwo Jima in Cinema
The Flags of Our Ancestors and Letters from Iwo Jima. Clint Eastwood's 2006 film duo about the Battle of Iwo Jima. The first from an American point of view and the second from a Japanese point of view.