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Iwo Jima and Okinawa: Death at Japan’s Doorstep

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Iwo Jima and Okinawa: Death at Japan’s Doorstep

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In 1945, US forces bounded forward in the central Pacific as combat reached ever bloodier crescendos. On Iwo Jima, Marines achieved a costly victory as they grappled with tenacious Japanese defenders dug into the island's volcanic terrain. Americans faced even worse on Okinawa, the natural springboard for an invasion of Japan's home islands. In Okinawa's craggy southern reaches, US soldiers and Marines battered a Japanese fortress as kamikaze aircraft rained down on the invasion fleet.

The Battle of Iwo Jima
On Iwo Jima, site of a strategic air base located between the Mariana Islands and Japan, the Japanese carved out a network of underground fortifications aimed at turning the small volcanic island into a death trap for invading US Marines. When US Marine divisions invaded on February 19, 1945, planners expected a brief campaign. But for more than five weeks, Japanese forces mounted a fierce defense. The Japanese had to be rooted out of caves and other strongholds in merciless close-quarter assaults. The bloodbath horrified Allied military planners and American citizens, who feared a far greater slaughter during an invasion of Japan's home islands.

General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the Japanese commander on Iwo Jima, recognized that he could not defeat an American landing. Instead, he planned a long and costly defensive battle to shake American resolve to continue the war and invade the Japanese mainland. The general placed weapons to rain deadly fire on the beaches, but concentrated his forces in the northern part of the island within underground bunkers and gun positions linked by miles of tunnels. This deadly isolationist web of defenses exacted a terrible toll.

US Marines immortalized the bloodiest battles on Iwo Jima with names depicting the brutal combat. The battles included "The Meat Grinder," where nearly 850 Marines died capturing a Japanese stronghold, and "Bloody Gorge," where Japanese defenders made their final stand. The US landing forces suffered 6,821 killed and 19,217 wounded. Although most in the 20,000-strong Japanese garrison were draftees, they refused to surrender, fighting tenaciously until only a few hundred remained alive to be taken prisoner.

The Flag Raising
Celebration erupted when the first Marine patrol reached the summit of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945, and raised a small American flag. A short while later, another detachment returned to the peak to replace the flag with a second, larger one. Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal captured the moment on film. Although the second flag raising was hardly noticed on Iwo Jima, Rosenthal's dramatic photograph appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the country, and has become one of World War II's most iconic images and among the most reproduced photographs in history.

The Battle of Okinawa
On April 1, 1945, more than 60,000 soldiers and US Marines of the US Tenth Army stormed ashore at Okinawa, in the final island battle before an anticipated invasion of mainland Japan. After a largely unopposed initial advance, US forces soon encountered a network of Japanese inland defenses. Savage fighting erupted at the island's southern end. Heavy rains and rugged terrain impeded easy movement, and natural defense positions covered the island. A vicious land, sea, and air battle raged for nearly three months. Like the bloodshed on Iwo Jima, Okinawa's savagery suggested a terrible death toll could follow in the anticipated invasion of Japan's home islands.

While US Marines overcame Japanese defenses in northern Okinawa by April 18, opposition in the south proved formidable. The Japanese anchored their defenses at historic Shuri Castle, supported by a series of well-defended high ridges. These defenses, and sporadic Japanese counterattacks, held up the American advance. Finally, under relentless assault by the Tenth Army, Shuri Castle fell on May 29, and US Marines seized the airfield at Naha through an amphibious assault commencing June 4, 1945.

Suicide plane attacks began during preliminary operations on March 26. Five days after the initial landing on April 1, a wave of 355 Japanese army and navy kamikaze aircraft struck the armada of Allied ships supporting the invasion, and further attacks continued into June. By the end of the campaign, Japan would launch almost 2,000 suicide attacks against the invasion fleet, including manned rocket-powered Ohka flying bombs. The attacks tested the nerves of even veteran sailors as 26 ships were sunk and another 164 damaged.

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Victory at Okinawa cost more than 49,000 American casualties, including about 12,000 deaths. Among the dead was the Tenth Army's commander, Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., killed on June 18 by a sniper during the final offensive. He was the highest ranking American general killed in action during World War II. About 90,000 Japanese combatants died in the fighting, but deaths among Okinawan civilians may have reached 150,000.

Beauford Anderson fought 75 enemies on Okinawa alone, heroics for which he received the Medal of Honor.

In the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history, 27 Marines and sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for action on Iwo Jima. No other campaign surpassed that number.

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Iwo Jima and Okinawa: Death at Japan's Doorstep | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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In 1945, US forces bounded forward in the central Pacific as combat reached ever bloodier crescendos. On Iwo Jima, Marines achieved a costly victory as they grappled with tenacious Japanese defenders dug into the island's volcanic terrain. Americans faced even worse on Okinawa, the natural springboard for an invasion of Japan's home islands.

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In May 1944, the Western Allies were finally prepared to deliver their greatest blow of the war, the long-delayed, cross-channel invasion of northern France, code-named Overlord. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was supreme commander of the operation that ultimately involved the coordinated efforts of 12 nations.

After much deliberation, it was decided that the landings would take place on the long, sloping beaches of Normandy. There, the Allies would have the element of surprise. The German high command expected the attack to come in the Pas de Calais region, north of the river Seine where the English Channel is narrowest. It was here that Adolf Hitler had put the bulk of his panzer divisions after being tipped off by Allied undercover agents posing as German sympathizers that the invasion would take place in the Pas de Calais.

The challenges of mounting a successful landing were daunting.

Surprise was an essential element of the Allied invasion plan. If the Germans had known where and when the Allies were coming they would have hurled them back into the sea with the 55 divisions they had in France. The invaders would have been on the offensive with a 10-to-1 manpower ratio against them.

The challenges of mounting a successful landing were daunting. The English Channel was notorious for its rough seas and unpredictable weather, and the enemy had spent months constructing the Atlantic Wall, a 2,400-mile line of obstacles. This defensive wall comprised 6.5 million mines, thousands of concrete bunkers and pillboxes containing heavy and fast-firing artillery, tens of thousands of tank ditches, and other formidable beach obstacles. And the German army would be dug in on the cliffs overlooking the American landing beaches.

At the Tehran Conference in August 1943, Allied leaders scheduled Overlord to take place on or about May 1, 1944. In the meantime, they prepared ceaselessly for the attack. Trucks, tanks, and tens of thousands of troops poured into England. "We were getting ready for one of the biggest adventures of our lives," an American sergeant said. "We couldn't wait." Meanwhile, the American and British air forces in England conducted a tremendous bombing campaign that targeted railroad bridges and roadways in northern France to prevent the Germans from bringing in reserves to stop the invasion.

Allied leaders set June 5, 1944, as the invasion's D-Day. But on the morning of June 4, foul weather over the English Channel forced Eisenhower to postpone the attack for 24 hours. The delay was unnerving for soldiers, sailors, and airmen, but when meteorologists forecast a brief window of clearer weather over the channel on June 6, Eisenhower made the decision to go. It was one of the gutsiest decisions of the war.

Just after midnight on June 6, Allied airborne troops began dropping behind enemy lines. Their job was to blow up bridges, sabotage railroad lines, and take other measures to prevent the enemy from rushing reinforcements to the invasion beaches. Hours later, the largest amphibious landing force ever assembled began moving through the storm-tossed waters toward the beaches. Most of the Americans were packed into flat-bottomed Higgins boats launched from troop transports 10 miles from the French coastline. Vomit filled the bottom of the boats, and as water kept rushing in over the gunwales, the green-faced men had to bail this vile stew with their helmets. Though it was cold, the men were sweating.

Planners had divided the landing zone into five separate beaches. The British and Canadians landed at Juno, Gold, and Sword beaches. The Americans landed at Omaha and Utah beaches.

The fiercest fighting was on Omaha Beach where the enemy was positioned on steep cliffs that commanded the long, flat shoreline. Troops leapt from their landing boats and were pinned down for hours by murderous machine-gun fire that turned the beach into a vast killing field. "If you (stayed) there you were going to die," Lieutenant Colonel Bill Friedman said. "We just had to . . . try to get to the bottom of the cliffs on which the Germans had mounted their defenses." By midday, the Americans had surmounted the cliffs and taken Omaha Beach at a heavy cost: over 4,700 killed, wounded, or missing out of the total of approximately 35,000 who came ashore that day, a loss rate of more than 13 percent.

"If you (stayed) there you were going to die"

Lieutenant Colonel Bill Friedman

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By nightfall, about 175,000 Allied troops and 50,000 vehicles were ashore with nearly a million more men on the way that summer.

The Normandy invasion was one of great turning points of 20th-century history. An immense army was placed in Nazi-occupied Europe, never to be dislodged. Germany was threatened that same month by a tremendous Soviet invasion from the east that would reach the gates of Berlin by the following April. The way to appreciate D-Day's importance is to contemplate what would have happened if it had failed. Another landing would not have been possible for at least a year. This would have given Hitler time to strengthen the Atlantic Wall, harass England with the newly developed V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets, continue to develop jet aircraft and other so-called "miracle weapons," and finish off his killing campaign against ethnic and sexual undesirables.

The Museum's original exhibit, located on the third floor of Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, helps you understand what the Allies faced in Normandy, from the comprehensive preparations beforehand to the daunting challenges once troops landed on Normandy beaches.

Road to Berlin brings to life the drama, sacrifices, personal stories, and strategies of America's campaign to defeat the Axis powers and preserve freedom.

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D-Day: The Allies Invade Europe | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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In May 1944, the Western Allies were finally prepared to deliver their greatest blow of the war, the long-delayed, cross-channel invasion of northern France, code-named Overlord.

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The Attack on Pearl Harbor

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Britannica LaunchPacks allow teachers to personalize learning for K-12 classrooms through curriculum-aligned, multimedia content sets.

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The Path to Pearl Harbor | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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On December 7, 1941, Japan staged a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, decimating the US Pacific Fleet. When Germany and Italy declared war on the United States days later, America found itself in a global war.

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President Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) national address

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President Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) national address

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FDR's Pearl Harbor Address Video - Pearl Harbor - HISTORY.com

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After the sudden and deliberate attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese during World War II, President Roosevelt spoke to Congress and the American people.

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Iwo Jima Before the Battle

According to postwar analyses, the Imperial Japanese Navy had been so crippled by earlier World War II clashes in the Pacific that it was already unable to defend the empire's island holdings, including the Marshall archipelago.

In addition, Japan's air force had lost many of its warplanes, and those it had were unable to protect an inner line of defenses set up by the empire's military leaders. This line of defenses included islands like Iwo Jima.

Given this information, American military leaders planned an attack on the island that they believed would last no more than a few days. However, the Japanese had secretly embarked on a new defensive tactic, taking advantage of Iwo Jima's mountainous landscape and jungles to set up camouflaged artillery positions.

Although Allied forces led by the Americans bombarded Iwo Jima with bombs dropped from the sky and heavy gunfire from ships positioned off the coast of the island, the strategy developed by Japanese General Tadamichi Kuribayashi meant that the forces controlling it suffered little damage and were thus ready to repel the initial attack by the U.S. Marines, under the command of Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith.

Marines Invade Iwo Jima

On February 19, 1945, U.S. Marines made an amphibious landing on Iwo Jima and were met immediately with unforeseen challenges. First and foremost, the beaches of the island were made up of steep dunes of soft, gray volcanic ash, which made getting sturdy footing and passage for vehicles difficult.

As the Marines struggled forward, the Japanese laid in wait. The Americans assumed the pre-attack bombardment had been effective, and had crippled the enemy's defenses on the island.

However, the lack of immediate response was simply part of Kuribayashi's plan.

With the Americans struggling to get a foothold on the beaches of Iwo Jima-literally and figuratively-Kuribayashi's artillery positions in the mountains above opened fire, stalling the advancing Marines and inflicting significant casualties.

Despite a banzai charge by dozens of Japanese soldiers as dusk fell, however, the Marines were eventually able to move in past the beach and seize part of one Iwo Jima's airfields-the stated mission of the invasion.

Battle of Iwo Jima Rages On

Within days, some 70,000 U.S. Marines landed on Iwo Jima. Although they significantly outnumbered their Japanese enemies on the island (by a more than three-to-one margin), many Americans were wounded or killed over the five weeks of fighting, with some estimates suggesting more than 25,000 casualties, including nearly 7,000 deaths.

The Japanese, meanwhile, were also suffering major losses, and were running low on supplies-namely, weapons and food. Under Kuribayashi's leadership, they mounted most of their defenses via attacks under the cover of darkness.

While effective, the success of the Japanese forces seemed to merely forestall the inevitable.

Just four days into the fighting, U.S. Marines captured Mount Suribachi, on Iwo Jima's south side, famously raising an American flag at the summit. That image was captured by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, who won a Pulitzer Prize for the iconic photograph.

However, the fighting was far from over.

Iwo Jima Falls to American Forces

Battles raged on in the northern part of Iwo Jima for four weeks, with Kuribayashi essentially setting up a garrison in the mountains in that part of the island. On March 25, 1945, 300 of Kuribayashi's men mounted a final banzai attack.

The American forces sustained a number of casualties, but ultimately quelled the attack. Although the American military declared that Iwo Jima had been captured the next day, American forces spent weeks on end trudging through the island's jungles, finding and killing or capturing Japanese "holdouts" who refused to surrender and opted to continue fighting.

Dozens of Americans were killed during this process. Two Japanese holdouts continued to hide in the island's caves, scavenging food and supplies until they finally surrendered in 1949, almost four years after the end of World War II.

In the end, neither the U.S. Army nor the U.S. Navy was able to use Iwo Jima as a World War II staging area. Navy Seabees, or construction battalions, did rebuild the airfields for Air Force pilots to use in case of emergency landings.

Letters from Iwo Jima

Because of the brutality of the fighting, and the fact that the battle occurred fairly close to the end of World War II, Iwo Jima-and those who lost their lives trying to capture the island-retain a great deal of significance even today, decades after the fighting stopped.

In 1954, the U.S. Marine Corps dedicated the Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial, near Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to honor all Marines. The statue is based on Rosenthal's now-famous photograph.

Actor/director Clint Eastwood in 2006 made two movies about the events on Iwo Jima called, respectively, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. The first depicts the battle from the American perspective, while the latter shows it from the Japanese perspective.

Sources

Brimelow, B. (2018). "73 years ago a war photographer snapped the most iconic image of World War II - here's the story of the battle behind the photo." BusinessInsider.com.

Naval History and Heritage Command. "The Battle for Iwo Jima." History.Navy.mil.

National World War II Museum. "Fact Sheet: the Battle for Iwo Jima." NationalWW2Museum.org.

National World War II Museum. "Iwo Jima and Okinawa: Death at Japan's Doorstep." NationalWW2Museum.org.

Gerow, A. (2006). "From Flags of Our Fathers to Letters From Iwo Jima: Clint Eastwood's Balancing of Japanese and American Perspectives." The Asia-Pacific Journal.

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Battle of Iwo Jima - Facts, Significance & Dates

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The Battle of Iwo Jima (February 19 - March 26, 1945) was an epic military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan during World War II. American forces succeeded in securing the island, which was considered to have great tactical importance for its airfields.

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Japan and the Path to War

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but Japan and the United States had been edging toward war for decades.

The United States was particularly unhappy with Japan's increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor's territory and take over its import market.

To this end, Japan declared war on China in 1937, resulting in the Nanking Massacre and other atrocities.

American officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. They reasoned that without access to money and goods, and especially essential supplies like oil, Japan would have to rein in its expansionism.

Instead, the sanctions made the Japanese more determined to stand their ground. During months of negotiations between Tokyo and Washington, D.C., neither side would budge. It seemed that war was all but inevitable.

Where Is Pearl Harbor?

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is located near the center of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 2,000 miles from the U.S. mainland and about 4,000 miles from Japan. No one believed that the Japanese would start a war with an attack on the distant islands of Hawaii.

Additionally, American intelligence officials were confident that any Japanese attack would take place in one of the (relatively) nearby European colonies in the South Pacific: the Dutch East Indies, Singapore or Indochina.

Because American military leaders were not expecting an attack so close to home, the naval facilities at Pearl Harbor were relatively undefended. Almost the entire Pacific Fleet was moored around Ford Island in the harbor, and hundreds of airplanes were squeezed onto adjacent airfields.

To the Japanese, Pearl Harbor was an irresistibly easy target.

USS Arizona

The Japanese plan was simple: Destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans would not be able to fight back as Japan's armed forces spread across the South Pacific. On December 7, after months of planning and practice, the Japanese launched their attack.

At about 8 a.m., Japanese planes filled the sky over Pearl Harbor. Bombs and bullets rained onto the vessels moored below. At 8:10, a 1,800-pound bomb smashed through the deck of the battleship USS Arizona and landed in her forward ammunition magazine. The ship exploded and sank with more than 1,000 men trapped inside.

Next, torpedoes pierced the shell of the battleship USS Oklahoma. With 400 sailors aboard, the Oklahoma lost her balance, rolled onto her side and slipped underwater.

Less than two hours later, the surprise attack was over, and every battleship in Pearl Harbor- USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, USS West Virginia, USS Utah, USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania, USS Tennessee and USS Nevada-had sustained significant damage. (All but USS Arizona and USS Utah were eventually salvaged and repaired.)

Impact of the Pearl Harbor Attack

In all, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. Dry docks and airfields were likewise destroyed. Most importantly, more than 2,000 people died.

But the Japanese had failed to cripple the Pacific Fleet. By the 1940s, battleships were no longer the most important naval vessel: Aircraft carriers were, and as it happened, all of the Pacific Fleet's carriers were away from the base on December 7. (Some had returned to the mainland and others were delivering planes to troops on Midway and Wake Islands.)

Moreover, the Pearl Harbor assault had left the base's most vital onshore facilities-oil storage depots, repair shops, shipyards and submarine docks-intact. As a result, the U.S. Navy was able to rebound relatively quickly from the attack.

How Many People Died in Pearl Harbor?

The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including sailors, soldiers and civilians. Additionally, 1,178 people were wounded. 129 Japanese soldiers were killed.

Half of the dead at Pearl Harbor were on the USS Arizona. Today the sunken battleship serves as a memorial to all Americans who died in the attack.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress on December 8, the day after the crushing attack on Pearl Harbor.

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941-a date which will live in infamy-the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

He went on to say, "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again."

America Enters World War II

After the Pearl Harbor attack, and for the first time during years of discussion and debate, the American people were united in their determination to go to war.

The Japanese had wanted to goad the United States into an agreement to lift the economic sanctions against them; instead, they had pushed their adversary into a global conflict that ultimately resulted in Japan's first occupation by a foreign power.

Did you know? The single vote against Congress's declaration of war against Japan came from Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana. Rankin was a pacifist who had also voted against the American entrance into World War I. "As a woman," she said, "I can't go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else."

On December 8, Congress approved Roosevelt's declaration of war on Japan. Three days later, Japan's allies Germany and Italy declared war against the United States.

For the second time, Congress reciprocated, declaring war on the European powers. More than two years after the start of World War II, the United States had entered the conflict.

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Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

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Fierce Fighting Footage from the Battle of Iwo Jima (1945) | War Archives

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The National Archives Learning Curve | World War II | Pacific | Iwo Jima

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Learn about the Second World War by using our animated maps and investigations containing original documents, film, photographs and audio

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Kids learn about the history of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. America is forced to go to join WW2.

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Marine still wonders why he survived Iwo Jima

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7.30 with subtitle 2015-03-27 - Iwo Jima veterans return to Pacific island