Download Battle of Iwo Jima

Japan
Pacific
Ocean
Battle of Iwo Jima
Japan knew it could not win the battle of Iwo Jima. With a destroyed air force and navy, it was only a
matter of time before the island was taken. In fact the Japanese were surprised the US did not attack
earlier than 1945, as they had reinforced the island long before the deadliest Marine battle in history.
Iwo Jima
The sides
No ordinary attack
1941
1941
Two airfields on the island would be key to saving the
lives of pilots and their planes that were being
damaged from bombing raids on Japan.
No foreigner had touched the island in over 5,000
years. Only 650 miles from Tokyo, once the island
was lost, so was Japan.
1942
Fighting Numbers
Fighting Numbers
110,000 Soldiers Fighting
22,000 Soldiers Fighting
Why Iwo Jima?
Three days of U.S. navy bombing were
useless in destroying 16 miles of underground tunnels, bunkers and pillboxes
that gave every Japanese soldier a perfect
view of the Marines who were fighting an
enemy they could not see.
1943
Marines line the beach on D-Day
2
Feb. 19, 1945: D-Day
40,000 Marines land on Iwo Jima. The Japanese
soldiers, waiting in bunkers until the beach is
crowded with Marines, open fire at 10 a.m. The
black volcanic ash immobilizes the men, and
2,420 Marines die that first day.
3
The reserve 3rd Division is ordered ashore and
given the task of capturing the airfields. The
tanks used as protection in the advance up the
ridge become stuck in the volcanic ash and are
easily picked off by the Japanese.
Feb. 26, 1945: D + 7
The 5th Division aids the 3rd in taking an
800-yard dash to the airfield without tanks for
protection. The Japanese wait to shoot until the
Marines crowd into a valley on the other side of
the airfield. The field is won in three days.
Advance line
Hill 362 A
3rd & 5th
Hill 382
3rd
The largest sea-land-air battle in
history and the last major battle before
the dropping of the atomic bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan,
effectively ending the Pacific War.
Final Flagraising
5th Division Marines
hoist a flag on Kitano
Point on Mar. 16, 1945.
5th
Division
3rd
Division
Hill 362 B
Hill 362 C
4th
N
Battle of Okinawa
3rd
Celebrating the raising
00
1945
5th
Advance lines
Feb. 19, 1945
1,0
Battle of Iwo Jima
Advance line
5th
s
1945
Mar. 10, 1945
Feb. 24, 1945
Battle of Tarawa
The U.S. amphibious landing was
heavily resisted. Nearly all of the
4,500 Japanese soldiers defending the
island and the 1,200 Korean laborers
working for them died.
Tanks stuck in the sand are left behind
Feb. 25, 1945: D + 6
Famous Flagraising
Six Marines hoist a U.S.
flag on Mount Suribachi
on Feb. 23, 1945.
Ya
rd
Battle of Guadalcanal
First offensive launched by the Allied
forces to protect supply routes between
the U.S. and Australia. Japan’s airforce
was destroyed.
Marines pile out of landing craft and onto Iwo Jima
0
Battle of Midway
With Japan’s navy destroyed, the
victory was a turning point for the U.S.
21,093 Casualties
1943
1
Dolittle Raid
Planned and led by Lt. Col. Jimmy
Dolittle, the raid was the first attack by
the U.S. on the Japanese home islands.
1942
Steps of war
Battle of Wake Island
Coinciding with attack on Pearl
Harbor, the Japanese did not
surrender the island to the U.S.
Marines until Sept. 4, 1945.
Why Iwo Jima?
24,851 Casualties
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The surprise Japanese attack on U.S.
naval fleet in Hawaii officially marked
the U.S. entrance into the WWII in the
Pacific Ocean.
Lt. General
Tadamichi Kuribayashi
Born: 1891
Hometown: Toyko
At 5’9”and 200 lbs., considered a
giant in Japanese standards
General
Holland Smith
Born: 1882
Hometown: Seattle, Wa.
Nicknamed ‘Howlin’ Mad’ for
frequent verbal outbursts
Severely underestimating the strength of
the Japanese, the U.S. figured it could
take Iwo Jima in four days with little
resistance. It would take 36.
There would be no traditional banzai
attacks in this battle. Japanese soldiers
were ordered to kill at least 10 Americans.
Pacific War
Timeline
Guarding Kitano Point
4th
4th
Division
The soldier
*Average
4
March 14, 1945: D + 23
The 4th Division is ordered to capture Hill 382
that formed a triangle with an ampitheater and an
area called Turkey Knob, all of which gave the
Japanese the advantage. Nearly 5,000 Marines die
at the deadly center, called “The Meat Grinder.”
5
March 25, 1945: D + 34
After the first successful breach in the Japanese
frontline, 300 Japanese launched the one and
only counter attack, reverting back to traditional
banzai pratices. All are killed in the night attack,
as well as more than 100 Marines.
6
March 26, 1945: D + 35
The island is declared “secure,” although
skirmishes with Japanese continue. This is the
only battle of WWII where more Marines die
than Japanese. More Marines won the Medal of
Honor for this battle than any other - 22 in total.
*5’9”,
160 lbs.
*5’3”,
130 lbs.
United States
Marine
Gear
9’K bar
Entrenching
shovel
First aid kit
Helmet
.30 cal M1
Garrand rifle
Hand grenades
Gloves
Water Purifier
Mosquito Net
Insect Repellant
Type 99,
.77 mm rifle
Government role
4th Division Marines shell enemy targets
Flamethrowers go bunker to bunker
A Marine stands before the 5th Division gravesite
Imperial Army
Infantryman
Makes 8,000 lbs.
of equipment per
Marine
Makes 21 lbs. of
equipment per
Infantryman
Rewards for bravery
The battle of Iwo Jima was more than just a fight for an island. The effects were widespread, making it one of the most influential battles of World War II.
On Feb. 23, 1945,
Joe Rosenthal
snaps a photo of six
Marines hoisting the
American flag on
top of Mount
Suribachi. The
photo inspires the
nation and unites it
in its darkest hour.
The last bond tour,
using the famous
flagraising image,
raised $24 billion.
Without this seventh
tour, the U.S. would
not have been able
to fund the $56
billion expense of
the war.
SOURCES: Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley and Ron Powers, Google Earth, The History Channel, historyplace.com, ibiblio.org, iwojima.com, MSN Encarta World Atlas, Wikipedia, WWII Gyrene
The first U.S. pilot
in need of an
airfield landed on
Iwo during the
battle. More than
2,400 U.S. B-29
bombers carrying
27,000 crew were
saved by safely
landing on Iwo.
Under U.S.
occupation until
1968, the island was
returned to Japan
and was converted
into a naval base.
Americans buried
there during battle
have since been
moved to the U.S.
GRAPHIC: R. Rolfe