Overview
On February 19, 1945 about 30,000 United States Marines of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions, under V Amphibious Corps, landed on Iwo Jima and a battle for the island commenced. The landing was called Operation Detachment.
Following the US victory, a group of US Marines reached the top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945 and raised the US flag using an old water pipe for a flagpost. They were persuaded to re-enact the event shortly afterwards by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal. Of the six men pictured (Michael Strank, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley, and Harlon Block) only three (Hayes, Gagnon, and Bradley) survived the battle. The photo later won a Pulitzer Prize and is the subject of the USMC War Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.
The battle ended on March 16, 1945 but small pockets of Japanese resistance persisted.
"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue" — Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
Iwo Jima Commanders
- Admiral Raymond A. Spruance — overall commander
- Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner — Joint Expeditionary Force commander
- Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill — second in command of Joint Expeditionary Force
- Lieutenant General Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith — commanding general, expeditionary troops
- Major General Harry Schmidt — 5th Amphibious Corps commander
- Major General Graves B. Erskine — 3rd Marine Division
- Major General Clifton B. Cates — 4th Marine Division
- Major General Keller E. Rockey — 5th Marine Division
Iwo Jima Operation
Iwo Jima, a member of the Volcano Island group, lies about a hundred nautical miles southwest of the mid-point of the direct air route between Saipan, in the Mariana Islands, and Tokyo. Based on Iwo Jima, P-51 fighters and B-24 bombers could conduct useful combat missions over a large fraction of Japan, while the larger B-29 bombers could reach targets throughout the country.
In American hands, Iwo Jima could contribute significantly to an air campaign against Japan, and make possible emergency landings by damaged or malfunctioning bombers. In Japanese possession, it facilitated fighter interception of B-29s en route from the Marianas to Japan.
This geologically active island (its name means "Sulfur Island" in Japanese) is just under five nautical miles long. Its most prominent terrain feature is the volcanic cone of Mount Suribachi, rising some 550 feet above the sea at the southern end. By late 1944, the Japanese had completed two airfields and had begun a third. They were vigorously fortifying the island with an interlocking network of tunnels, trenches and deep caverns. More than twenty-thousand troops manned these formidable defenses.
Background of the Battle
In the opening days of 1945, Japan faced the prospect of invasion by the Allied Forces. Daily bomber raids from the Marianas hit the mainland. Fighters and Kamikaze at Iwo Jima provided a measure of defense. The island was garrisoned by 22,000 soldiers and fortified in a network of underground bunkers.
The defense of Iwo Jima was to exact such a price on Allied Forces as to discourage invasion of the mainland. Each defender was expected to die in defense of the homeland, taking 10 enemy soldiers in the process.
On February 16, 1945, the Allies commenced a three-day air and gun assault on the island with unprecedented ferocity, but little effect on the sheltered garrison of Japanese troops.
Invasion of Iwo Jima
At 2 AM on the morning of February 19, battleship guns signaled the commencement of D-Day. Soon 100 bombers attacked the island, followed by another volley from the naval guns. At 8:30, Marines disembarked toward the shores of Iwo Jima. Their objective: Suribachi Mountain, at the south of the island, which guarded the beaches.
The Marines faced heavy fire from Suribachi and inhospitable terrain — rough volcanic ash which allowed neither secure footing nor the digging of a foxhole. Still, by that evening, the mountain had been surrounded and 30,000 Marines had landed. About 40,000 more would follow.
The climb up Suribachi was fought by the yard. Gunfire was ineffective against the Japanese, but flame throwers and grenades cleared the bunkers. Finally, on February 23, the summit had been reached.
The Battle Continues
Feb. 20, one day after the landing, the 28th Marines secured the southern end of Iwo and moved to take the summit of Suribachi. By day's end, one third of the island and Motoyama Airfield No. 1 was controlled by the Marines.
The 3rd Marine Division joined the fighting on the fifth day. The Marines worked together to drive the enemy from the high ground, capturing the area known as the "Meat Grinder" — including Hill 382, "Turkey Knob," and the "Amphitheater."
A proud moment came when the first emergency landing was made by a B-29 bomber on March 4. Operations entered the final phases March 11. Finally on March 26, following a banzai attack, the island was declared secure.
Northern Iwo Jima
Despite the loss of Mount Suribachi, the Japanese still held strong positions on the north end. Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi commanded the equivalent of eight infantry battalions, a tank regiment, two artillery, and three heavy mortar battalions, plus about 5,000 gunners and naval infantry.
General Erskine ordered the Ninth Marines to attack under the cover of darkness with no preliminary barrage. This came to be a resounding success with many soldiers taken out while still sleeping — a key moment in the capture of Hill 362.
There was also a Kamikaze air attack on the ships at sea on February 21 which resulted in the sinking of the escort carrier Bismarck Sea and severe damage to Saratoga.
Securing the Island
Although officially declared secure on March 16, the 5th Marine Division still faced Kuribayashi's stronghold in a gorge at the northwestern end. On March 21, Marines destroyed the command post with four tons of explosives. On the night of March 25, a 300-man Japanese force launched a final counterattack near Airfield Number 2.
The U.S. Army's 147th Infantry regiment assumed ground control of the island on April 4, relieving the largest body of Marines committed in combat in a single operation.