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The '''Battle of Iwo Jima''' in February 1945, was a victory by 70,000 American Marines over 22,000 Japanese defenders of a small island in [[World War II, Pacific]]. Although the military advantages of winning were minor, the battle became iconic in America as the epitome of heroism in desperate hand-to-hand combat.


{{main|World War II, Pacific}}
Iwo Jima was a small island (only 8 square miles) on the route of the [[B-29]]s from [[Saipan]] to [[Japan]]. Airfields there could provide emergency landing fields for stricken [[Superfortress]]es, so Admiral [[Chester Nimitz]] decided to take it; the  invasion was code named "Operation Detachment." Following a massive naval and air bombardment, 70,000 Marines landed on February 19, 1945.


The '''battle of Iwo Jima''' in February 1945, was a victory by 70,000 [[United States Marine Corps|American Marines]] over 22,000 Japanese defenders of a small island in the Western Pacific. The battle became iconic in America as the epitome of heroism in desperate hand-to-hand combat:
After the grueling experience of cave warfare on other islands such as [[Peleliu]], the Marines were ready with new tactics and new weapons, especially [[bazooka]]s and hand-held and tank-mounted flame throwers. Lt. General [[Tadamichi Kuribayashi]] was ready with his 21,000 soldiers (far more than expected). His strategy was not to win, but to make the Yankees suffer far more than they could endure. He took advantage of the volcanic island's thousand caves and an ample supply of concrete, to build a vast underground defensive network interconnected by deep tunnels. His hidden artillery, mortars and machine guns survived the bombardment and stunned wave after wave of oncoming Marines. Each pillbox in a mutually-supportive grouping had to be destroyed by frontal assault. The last one was easy; it was murder attacking the first one.  
{{quotation|Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue.|
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief, Pacific and Pacific Ocean Areas}}
[[Image:Iwo jima map.jpg|left|thumb|Geographic relationships]]
Iwo Jima was a small island (only 8 square miles) on the route of the [[B-29]]s from [[Saipan]] to [[Japan]]. Airfields there could provide emergency landing fields for stricken [[Superfortress]]es, so Admiral [[Chester Nimitz]] ordered [[United States Fifth Fleet]] to take it; the invasion was code named "Operation Detachment;" the CINCPAC Operation Plan was No. 11-44. Following a massive naval and air bombardment, 70,000 Marines landed on February 19, 1945.
==U.S. strategic justification==
Nimitz's major stated goal was to use Iwo Jima as an escort fighter base against the Japanese home islands.<ref name=COMINCH-AmphibOps-I>{{citation
| title = Amphibious Operations: Capture of Iwo Jima, 16 February to 16 March 1945
| chapter = I. Narrative
| id = COMINCH P-0012
| author = Headquarters of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet
| url = http://ftp.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/rep/Iwo/Cominch/Iwo-1.html}}</ref> In practice, it turned out to be an emergency landing field for damaged B-29s.  


To Japan, which considered Iwo Jima part of metropolitan Japan, administered by the Tokyo metropolitan government, it would be a psychological blow: the first foreign invasion of Japan in 4000 years. It also meant that attacks on Okinawa and Japan itself were near.  No foreign army had set foot on Japanese soil in 4000 years. Additionally, the loss of Iwo Jima would mean that the battle for Okinawa, and the invasion of Japan itself, was not far off.<ref name=H2G2-Iwo>{{citation | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1103761 | title=The 1945 Battle for Iwo Jima}}</ref>
The 5th Marine Division's 2nd battalion landed on Beach Red 2 on D-Day and spent 17 days and nights in combat. Of its 954 men, 216 were killed, 538 wounded, and 94 others were evacuated for sickness. Only 106 survived unscathed.  
==Operational context==
ADM [[Raymond Spruance]], commanding [[United States Fifth Fleet]]'s Operation Plan No. 13-44 of 31 December 1944 <ref name=COMINCH-AmphibOps-I />. The Iwo and Okinawa operations were closely linked, as well as the immediately preceding Phillipines operations.
===Preparing for Okinawa===
Since land-based aircraft would be a major threat to the Okinawa operation, planned for April 1, any attrition to that threat, by the Iwo Jima landing scheduled for February 19, would support both operations. Not only were the battles themselves relevant, but Japanese aircraft production became a high bombing priority. Airbases on the Japanese island of Kyushu would also be attacked.  


Carriers scheduled for Iwo Jima needed to be ready to start operations against Kyushu on 18 March and on Okinawa on 23 March. 
On D+4 the 28th Marines planted the Stars and Stripes on [[Mount Suribachi]]; watching in awe, Navy Secretary [[James Forrestal]] exclaimed that this dramatic moment guaranteed "there will be a Marine Corps for the next 500 years!" Associated Press reporter [[Joe Rosenthal]]'s photograph of six soldiers raising the American flag on February 23, 1945 is often cited as the most reproduced photograph of all time. (It was not faked or staged.) The photograph become the archetypal representation not only of that battle, but of the entire Pacific war. Of the six soldiers in Rosenthal's photo, only three survived the battle.
==U.S. Preparations==
Spruance, in overall command, established the following organization:
*Joint Expeditionary Force (TF 51)--Vice Admiral R.K. Turner
**Attack Force (TF 53)--Rear Admiral H.W. Hill (also deputy to Turner)
*Fast Carrier Force (TF 58)--Vice Admiral M.A. Mitscher
*Expeditionary Troops (TF 56)--Lt. Gen. [[Holland M. Smith|H.M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith]
*The 54th Amphibious Corps was commanded by Major General Harry Schmidt:
**3rd Marine Division (MG Graves B. Erskine)
**4th Marine Division (MG Clifton B. Cates)
**5th Marine Division (MG Keller E. Rockey)
*Amphibious Support Force (TF 52)--Rear Admiral W.H.P. Blandy.
*Logistic Support Group (TG 50.8)--Rear Admiral D.B. Beary.
*Search and Reconnaissance Group (TG 509.5)--Commodore D. Ketcham.
*Service Squadron 10 (TG 50.9)--Commodore W.R. Cater.  


==Japanese preparations==
The Japanese fought to the last man, killing 6,000 Marines and wounding 20,000 more. Seven GIs won the [[Medal of Honor]] by throwing themselves atop grenades to save their comrades. Should Iwo Jima have been bypassed? Over 25,000 airmen eventually made emergency landings on Iwo, but most would have survived without the island. The battle taught Japan how to deal with Americans: inflict more casualties than the Yankees were willing to bear.
Lt. General [[Tadamichi Kuribayashi]] was ready with his 21,000 soldiers (far more than expected). His strategy was not to win, but to make the Yankees suffer far more than they could endure. He took advantage of the volcanic island's thousand caves and an ample supply of concrete, to build a vast underground defensive network interconnected by deep tunnels. His hidden artillery, mortars and machine guns survived the bombardment and stunned wave after wave of oncoming Marines. Each pillbox in a mutually-supportive grouping had to be destroyed by frontal assault.  
 
==Pre-landing bombardment==
The iconic memory of Iwo Jima comprises the flag raising ceremony and memories of combat; the Japanese perspective was brought vividly to life in the film by [[Clint Eastwood]], ''[[Letters from Iwo Jima]]'' (2007).  The flag raising is often a theme in editorial cartoons, including both calls for heroism and parodies.<ref> Janis L. Edwards, and Carol K. Winkler, "Representative Form and the Visual Ideograph: the Iwo Jima Image in Editorial Cartoons." ''Quarterly Journal of Speech'' 1997 83(3): 289-310. Issn: 0033-5630 </ref>
Iwo Jima received the heaviest air and naval bombardment of any objective in the Pacific. <ref name=Bartley1954-Ch02>{{citation
| Marines in World War II: Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic
| first = Whitman S. | last = Bartley
  | volume = Historical Section, Division of Public Information
Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps
| year = 1954
| chapter = Chapter II: Plans and Preparations, High-Level Planning
| url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-IwoJima/USMC-M-IwoJima-2.html}} ,p. 39</ref> While the preparation certainly damaged the Japanese, many of their installations were deeply buried, and effectively immune from the types of weapons used.  
===Naval gunnery===
Marine commanders asked for a longer Naval preparation than was provided; the Navy rationale for not granting the request was:
The Navy's major considerations in turning down Marine requests may be summarized as follows:
#"The initial surface bombardment must be simultaneous with the first carrier attack upon the Tokyo area by the Fast Carrier Force (TF 58). The carrier attacks were to continue for three days but unforeseen conditions might force TF 58 to withdraw earlier. Therefore, if preparation fires at Iwo commenced on D-minus-4 and the carriers were forced to abandon their operations against the Empire in two days or less, the enemy would have sufficient time to recover and launch air attacks against United States invasion shipping off Iwo Jima.
#The limitations on the availability of ships, difficulty in replenishing ammunition, and loss of surprise interposed serious obstacles to a protracted preparation.
#The Navy plan for three days of firing would accomplish all the desired objectives.
#The prolonged air bombardment might be considered at least as effective as one day of additional surface bombardment"<ref>Bartley, p. 40</ref>
==Landings==
After the grueling experience of cave warfare on other islands such as [[Peleliu]], the Marines were ready with new tactics and new weapons, especially "bazooka" [[unguided rocket|man-portable rocket-launchers ]] using [[explosively formed projectile#Munroe effect and close relatives |shaped charges]],  and both backpack and tank-mounted flame throwers.


2nd Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment (2/27 Marines), part of the 5th Marine Division, landed on Beach Red 2 on D-Day and spent 17 days and nights in combat. Of its 954 men, 216 were killed, 538 wounded, and 94 others were evacuated for sickness. Only 106 survived unscathed.
==Bibliography==
* Alexander, Joseph H. ''Closing In: Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima''  (1994), short Marine Corps history [http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Iwo/index.html online edition]
* Bartley, Whitman S. ''Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic'' (1954), Marine Corps official history. [http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-IwoJima/index.html online edition]
*  Hearn, Chester. ''Sorties into Hell: The Hidden War on Chichi Jima'' (2003), American prisoners were tortutred on nearby island; [http://www.questia.com/read/107113549?title=Sorties%20into%20Hell%3a%20%20The%20Hidden%20War%20on%20Chichi%20Jima online edition]
* Newcomb, Richard F., and Harry Schmidt. ''Iwo Jima'' (2002), brief. [http://www.amazon.com/Iwo-Jima-Richard-F-Newcomb/dp/0805070710/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213464547&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
* Nichols, Chas. S. and Henry I. Shaw Jr.. ''Okinawa: Victory in the Pacific.'' (1955) 332pp; official Marine Corps history. [http://www.questia.com/read/16185380?title=Okinawa%3a%20Victory%20in%20the%20Pacific online edition]
* Wright, Derrick, and Gordon Rottman. ''Hell in the Pacific: The Battle for Iwo Jima'' (2008)


On D+4 the 28th Marines planted the Stars and Stripes on [[Mount Suribachi]]; watching in awe, Navy Secretary [[James Forrestal]] exclaimed that this dramatic moment guaranteed "there will be a Marine Corps for the next 500 years!" Associated Press reporter [[Joe Rosenthal]]'s photograph of six soldiers raising the American flag on February 23, 1945 is often cited as the most reproduced photograph of all time. (It was not faked or staged.) The photograph become the archetypal representation not only of that battle, but of the entire Pacific war. Of the six soldiers in Rosenthal's photo, only three survived the battle.
===Memory===
* Bradley, James and Ron Powers.  ''Flags of Our Fathers.'' (2000). 376 pp [http://www.amazon.com/Flags-Our-Fathers-James-Bradley/dp/0553384155/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213464497&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
*  Buell, Hal.  ''Uncommon Valor, Common Virtue: Iwo Jima and the Photograph That Captured America.'' (2006). 336 pp. 
* Burrell, Robert S. "Breaking the Cycle of Iwo Jima Mythology: A Strategic Study of Operation Detachment," ''The Journal of Military History'' 68.4 (October 2004), 1143–86. Sees a needless battle caused by bureaucratic infighting at the Pentagon; notes the Navy did not expect large numbers of casualties before hand.
** Hanley, Brian; "The Myth of Iwo Jima: a Rebuttal." ''Journal of Military History'' 2005 69(3): 801-808. Says Burrell is engaging in retrospective analysis based on the high casualty rate among US troops, and his arguments draw on no new material.
** Burrell, Robert S.  ''The Ghosts of Iwo Jima.'' (2006) 262 pp. 
* Dower, John W. "Lessons from Iwo Jima." ''Perspectives: American Historical Association Newsletter'' 2007 45(6): 54-56. Issn: 0743-7021 [http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2007/0709/0709med2.cfm online edition]
* Marling Karal Ann and John Wetenhall, ''Iwo Jima: Monuments, Memories, and the American Hero'' (1991)
** Linenthal, Edward T. "Shaping a Heroic Presence: Iwo Jima in America Memory." ''Reviews in American History'' 1993 21(1): 8-12. Issn: 0048-7511 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/2702942  Jstor]
* Sandberg, Walt.  ''The Battle of Iwo Jima: A Resource Bibliography and Documentary Anthology.'' (2005). 254 pp.


The Japanese fought to the last man, killing 6,000 Marines and wounding 20,000 more. Seven Marines won the [[Medal of Honor]] by throwing themselves atop grenades to save their comrades; a total of 27 American fighting men received this highest direction for valor. Japanese analysis of the battle, and American public opinion, suggested their most effective strategy would be to inflict maximum casualties.
===Films and fiction===
* "Flags of Our Fathers." Eastwood, Clint, producer and director; Spielberg, Steven and Lorenz, Robert, producers.  Color. 2hr., 12min.  Dreamworks Pictures, 2006. Distrib. by Paramount; screenplay by Iris Yamashita
* ''Letters from Iwo Jima'' (2007) Directed by Clint Eastwood. Produced by Robert Lorenz. Amblin Entertainment, 2006. 141 mins. (Warner Home Video; [http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Iwo-Jima-Two-Disc-Special/dp/B00005JPKE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1213465363&sr=8-1 DVD]


The iconic memory of Iwo Jima comprises the flag raising ceremony and memories of combat; the Japanese perspective was brought vividly to life in the film by [[Clint Eastwood]], ''[[Letters from Iwo Jima]]'' (2007). The flag raising is often a theme in editorial cartoons, including both calls for heroism and parodies.<ref> Janis L. Edwards, and Carol K. Winkler, "Representative Form and the Visual Ideograph: the Iwo Jima Image in Editorial Cartoons." ''Quarterly Journal of Speech'' 1997 83(3): 289-310. Issn: 0033-5630 </ref>
===Primary Sources===
==Controversies==
* Kakehashi, Kumiko, ed. ''So Sad to Die in Battle: Based on General Tadamichi Kuribashi's Letters from Iwo Jima'' (2007), the basis for a very powerful American movie, ''Letters from Iwo Jima'' (2006)
Should Iwo Jima have been bypassed? Over 25,000 airmen eventually made emergency landings on Iwo, but most would have survived without the island. It was also possible to launch fighter and reconnaissance sorties from the island, but the necessity was questioned. The subsequent nuclear attack missions flew from [[Tinian]].
* Smith, Larry, ed. ''Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Iwo-Jima-Veterans-Remember-Greatest/dp/0393062341/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213464547&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Sugihara, Kinryu, and Stephen J. Lofgren. "Diary of First Lieutenant Sugihara Kinryu: Iwo Jima, January-February 1945." ''Journal of Military History'' 1995 59(1): 97-133. Issn: 0899-3718 [http://www.jstor.org/pss/2944366 in Jstor]


The [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] had recommended the use of [[chemical weapon]]s on Iwo Jima, prior to the landing. [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] personally refused the request, which could have killed Japanese that survived conventional warfare. There certainly would have been political and propaganda consequences from the U.S. making first use of chemical weapons, although it is not clear that the Axis powers could have made effective retaliatory use.
==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist}}
 
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The Battle of Iwo Jima in February 1945, was a victory by 70,000 American Marines over 22,000 Japanese defenders of a small island in World War II, Pacific. Although the military advantages of winning were minor, the battle became iconic in America as the epitome of heroism in desperate hand-to-hand combat.

Iwo Jima was a small island (only 8 square miles) on the route of the B-29s from Saipan to Japan. Airfields there could provide emergency landing fields for stricken Superfortresses, so Admiral Chester Nimitz decided to take it; the invasion was code named "Operation Detachment." Following a massive naval and air bombardment, 70,000 Marines landed on February 19, 1945.

After the grueling experience of cave warfare on other islands such as Peleliu, the Marines were ready with new tactics and new weapons, especially bazookas and hand-held and tank-mounted flame throwers. Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi was ready with his 21,000 soldiers (far more than expected). His strategy was not to win, but to make the Yankees suffer far more than they could endure. He took advantage of the volcanic island's thousand caves and an ample supply of concrete, to build a vast underground defensive network interconnected by deep tunnels. His hidden artillery, mortars and machine guns survived the bombardment and stunned wave after wave of oncoming Marines. Each pillbox in a mutually-supportive grouping had to be destroyed by frontal assault. The last one was easy; it was murder attacking the first one.

The 5th Marine Division's 2nd battalion landed on Beach Red 2 on D-Day and spent 17 days and nights in combat. Of its 954 men, 216 were killed, 538 wounded, and 94 others were evacuated for sickness. Only 106 survived unscathed.

On D+4 the 28th Marines planted the Stars and Stripes on Mount Suribachi; watching in awe, Navy Secretary James Forrestal exclaimed that this dramatic moment guaranteed "there will be a Marine Corps for the next 500 years!" Associated Press reporter Joe Rosenthal's photograph of six soldiers raising the American flag on February 23, 1945 is often cited as the most reproduced photograph of all time. (It was not faked or staged.) The photograph become the archetypal representation not only of that battle, but of the entire Pacific war. Of the six soldiers in Rosenthal's photo, only three survived the battle.

The Japanese fought to the last man, killing 6,000 Marines and wounding 20,000 more. Seven GIs won the Medal of Honor by throwing themselves atop grenades to save their comrades. Should Iwo Jima have been bypassed? Over 25,000 airmen eventually made emergency landings on Iwo, but most would have survived without the island. The battle taught Japan how to deal with Americans: inflict more casualties than the Yankees were willing to bear.

The iconic memory of Iwo Jima comprises the flag raising ceremony and memories of combat; the Japanese perspective was brought vividly to life in the film by Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima (2007). The flag raising is often a theme in editorial cartoons, including both calls for heroism and parodies.[1]

Bibliography

  • Alexander, Joseph H. Closing In: Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima (1994), short Marine Corps history online edition
  • Bartley, Whitman S. Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic (1954), Marine Corps official history. online edition
  • Hearn, Chester. Sorties into Hell: The Hidden War on Chichi Jima (2003), American prisoners were tortutred on nearby island; online edition
  • Newcomb, Richard F., and Harry Schmidt. Iwo Jima (2002), brief. excerpt and text search
  • Nichols, Chas. S. and Henry I. Shaw Jr.. Okinawa: Victory in the Pacific. (1955) 332pp; official Marine Corps history. online edition
  • Wright, Derrick, and Gordon Rottman. Hell in the Pacific: The Battle for Iwo Jima (2008)

Memory

  • Bradley, James and Ron Powers. Flags of Our Fathers. (2000). 376 pp excerpt and text search
  • Buell, Hal. Uncommon Valor, Common Virtue: Iwo Jima and the Photograph That Captured America. (2006). 336 pp.
  • Burrell, Robert S. "Breaking the Cycle of Iwo Jima Mythology: A Strategic Study of Operation Detachment," The Journal of Military History 68.4 (October 2004), 1143–86. Sees a needless battle caused by bureaucratic infighting at the Pentagon; notes the Navy did not expect large numbers of casualties before hand.
    • Hanley, Brian; "The Myth of Iwo Jima: a Rebuttal." Journal of Military History 2005 69(3): 801-808. Says Burrell is engaging in retrospective analysis based on the high casualty rate among US troops, and his arguments draw on no new material.
    • Burrell, Robert S. The Ghosts of Iwo Jima. (2006) 262 pp.
  • Dower, John W. "Lessons from Iwo Jima." Perspectives: American Historical Association Newsletter 2007 45(6): 54-56. Issn: 0743-7021 online edition
  • Marling Karal Ann and John Wetenhall, Iwo Jima: Monuments, Memories, and the American Hero (1991)
    • Linenthal, Edward T. "Shaping a Heroic Presence: Iwo Jima in America Memory." Reviews in American History 1993 21(1): 8-12. Issn: 0048-7511 Jstor
  • Sandberg, Walt. The Battle of Iwo Jima: A Resource Bibliography and Documentary Anthology. (2005). 254 pp.

Films and fiction

  • "Flags of Our Fathers." Eastwood, Clint, producer and director; Spielberg, Steven and Lorenz, Robert, producers. Color. 2hr., 12min. Dreamworks Pictures, 2006. Distrib. by Paramount; screenplay by Iris Yamashita
  • Letters from Iwo Jima (2007) Directed by Clint Eastwood. Produced by Robert Lorenz. Amblin Entertainment, 2006. 141 mins. (Warner Home Video; DVD

Primary Sources

  • Kakehashi, Kumiko, ed. So Sad to Die in Battle: Based on General Tadamichi Kuribashi's Letters from Iwo Jima (2007), the basis for a very powerful American movie, Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
  • Smith, Larry, ed. Iwo Jima: World War II Veterans Remember the Greatest Battle of the Pacific (2008) excerpt and text search
  • Sugihara, Kinryu, and Stephen J. Lofgren. "Diary of First Lieutenant Sugihara Kinryu: Iwo Jima, January-February 1945." Journal of Military History 1995 59(1): 97-133. Issn: 0899-3718 in Jstor

References

  1. ↑ Janis L. Edwards, and Carol K. Winkler, "Representative Form and the Visual Ideograph: the Iwo Jima Image in Editorial Cartoons." Quarterly Journal of Speech 1997 83(3): 289-310. Issn: 0033-5630
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