The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought from February to March 1945 during the Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign of World War II. The US Marine Corps landed on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima and captured the island and its two airfields, although the island was regarded as useless to both the US Army and US Navy, and its capture came with heavy losses.
The Japanese had begun to reinforce Iwo Jima after the Battles of Kwajalein and Eniwetok in February 1944, as the Japanese were concerned that the loss of the Volcano Islands would facilitate American air raids against the Home Islands. In June 1944, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi was sent to take command of Iwo Jima's defenses, which were manned by the IJA 109th Division. Rather than contest the landings directly, he opted for defenses in depth, constructing a complex system of mutually-supporting fortifications that could inflict heavy losses on the American invaders.
The US Navy carried out a three-day bombardment of Iwo Jima, but it was ineffective against the heavily dug-in and well-fortified Japanese soldiers, who were able to use the blast craters either as cover or as impediments to advancing American soldiers. On the morning of 19 February 1945, the American Marines began to land on Iwo Jima, facing light resistance. After an hour, the Japanese began to rain artillery fire down on the beach, and the Americans' Amtrac landing vehicles were unable to gain traction in the island's black ash. The Mairnes were forced to assault Iwo Jima on foot, and they fought off a banzai charge at Airfield No. 1 before establishing a toehold at nightfall. By evening, 30,000 Marines had landed, and 40,000 more would follow. Kuribayashi forbade human wave attacks against the resting Americans, seeing them as wasteful of resources, and he preserved his fighting strength. Instead, English-speaking Japanese soldiers called out for American medics, pretending to be wounded Marines, before shooting them.
The battle for Iwo Jima would be marked by the use of flamethrowers and grenades by Marines to flush the Japanese out of their tunnels. M4 Sherman tanks equipped with flamethrowers cleared out hardened Japanese positions, and close air support was provided by fighters from both aircraft carriers and the 15th Fighter Group. The Japanese eventually ran low on water, food, and most other supplies. The Japanese stepped up their nighttime attacks, which were repelled only by a combination of machine-gun fire and artillery support. On 23 February 1945, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment raised a US flag atop Mount Suribachi, resulting in the taking of an iconic photograph that symbolized American military bravery for generations.
The Japanese still held strong positions on the north end of the island, and the Americans proceeded to push on Airfield No. 2. However, several American penetrations resulted in disaster as units were raked from the flanks and often wiped out, with tanks being destroyed by interlocking fire or buried mines. Japanese troops moved through tunnels to reoccupy previously cleared fortifications, inflicting heavy losses on the Americans. Ultimately, the 9th Marine Regiment attacked under the cover of darkness with no preliminary barrage, killing several Japanese soldiers as they slept. On 8 March, Captain Samaji Inouye led 1,000 troops in a banzai charge to recapture Mount Suribachi, inflicting 347 casualties at the cost of 784 men. When the 3rd Marine Division reached the northern coast of the island, Kuribayashi's defenses were split in two. On 16 March, the Americans declared the island secure. However, the Marines still faced Kuribayashi's main stronghold at a gorge at the northwestern end of the island. On 25 March, 300 Japanese troops launched a final counterattack at Airfield No. 2, and the Americans lost 53 killed and 120 wounded while fighting off this final attack. Kuribayashi may have led the charge himeslf and died in battle.
The US 147th Infantry Regiment was then deployed to serve as Iwo Jima's garrison, battling against thousands of Japanese holdouts engaged in guerrilla warfare. For three months, the 147th used flamethrowers, grenades, and satchel charges to clear out the enemy, killing 1,602 Japanese soldiers while losing 15 killed and 144 wounded. The last Japanese holdouts on the island surrendered on 6 January 1949. The 36-day battle was extremely costly for the US, which lost 26,000 men; Iwo Jima was the only Marine battle where American losses exceeded those of the Japanese. The USS Bismarck Sea, sunk in the battle's only kamikaze attack, was the last American aircraft carrier sunk in World War II.
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