Iwo Jima 1945 (Battle Story)
Language: English
Pages: 160
ISBN: 145973405X
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
One of the bloodiest battles of the war in the Pacific.
Operation Detachment, the invasion of Iwo Jima, on February 19, 1945, was the first campaign on Japanese soil, and it resulted in some of the fiercest fighting of the Pacific campaign. United States Marines supported by the U.S. Navy and Air Force fought the Japanese both over and underground on the island of volcanic ash, in a battle which was immortalized by the raising of the Stars and Stripes above Mount Suribachi. It was a battle that the Japanese could not win, but they were determined to die trying; of the 18,000-strong garrison, only 200 were taken prisoner. The Americans lost more in the 35-day battle, but at the end they had possession of three airfields in range of the Japanese mainland.
This book gives a clear, concise account of those dramatic days in 1945, supported by a timeline of events and orders of battle. Over fifty photographs illustrate the events during this momentous battle.
Sturmartillerie and Panzerjager 1939-45
Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky
The Stalin Front: A Novel of World War II (New York Review Books Classics)
the beach with smoke shells until the demolition teams withdrew; they suffered only one casualty. The teams went on to check the west coast beaches in the afternoon. They found suitable beach and surf conditions on both sides of the island and no underwater obstacles. Although the Japanese gunners had drawn first blood, they had exposed their positions firing on the landing craft, and Admiral Blandy ordered all available weapons to engage the new targets. Meanwhile, heavy anti-aircraft fire
craft. As the naval bombardment reaches a crescendo, wave after wave of landing craft and amphibious vehicles head for the shore through the choppy waves; there was no turning back. At 07:25 the launching warning signal was given and 20 minutes later 482 amtracs loaded with the first wave of eight battalions turned towards the shore. The navy gunners set their shells for ground bursts while the rocket craft fired another salvo at the beaches and mortar boats shelled the surrounding area. At
and at 13:00 Major Scales was ordered to put 3/23rd Marines ashore on Yellow 1 Beach. In spite of heavy casualties on the beach, it passed through 1st Battalion and reached the airfield perimeter by nightfall. General Cates had also ordered the 1st and 2nd Battalions of Colonel Walter I. Jordan’s 24th Marines ashore at 14:00. While 2nd Battalion relieved the shattered 2/23rd Marines at the airfield, 1st Battalion dug in as a reserve. Colonel John R. Lanigan’s 25th Marines landed on 4th
Battalion had to clear out many caves and spider holes as it closed in on Kitano Point. Occasionally Japanese soldiers broke cover and made a Kamikaze run towards a tank or group of Marines armed with demolition charges or grenades; most were shot down before they made contact. By early afternoon General Erskine was pleased to report that the north-east coast of Iwo Jima was clear. NO TIME TO LEARN By this stage of the battle, most of the Marine battalions had absorbed a large number of
was capable of firing high explosive rounds to a range of 11,200 metres. The Corps artillery battalions had the M114 155mm Howitzer, capable of firing to a range of 14,600 metres. The Marine tank battalions were equipped with Sherman M4A3 (medium) tanks armed with the 75mm M3/L40 gun, which could fire armour piercing or high explosive rounds, and one .05 calibre and two .03-6 calibre Browning machine guns. They weighed 30.3 tonnes and had 53mm of armour at the front, 63mm at the side and 40mm at
