Content area
Full Text
On 17 March, D+26, Adm Chester W. Nimitz, CinCPac, issued a special comminuique announcing that two Jima had been officially secured. Ten days and another 1,724 casualties later Iwo was finally secured. Such was the ferocity of the fighting on this tiny island, barely 8 square miles, that was to earn a special place in the Corps' illustrious history.
In the history of warfare the assault on Iwo Jima does not loom especially large. It helped hasten the end of World War II, but it was not a decisive turning point in the mold of Midway or Guadalcanal. It remains the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history in terms of total casualties, but it was not the most intense struggle even for the Corps. Tarawa was more costly based on blood spent per square mile gained, and daily casualty rates in other Pacific battles rivaled those of Iwo. The Corps' losses on that small volcanic rock pale beside those of other forces in other wars-the British Army, for instance, lost 60,000 men in one day during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. But Iwo Jima justifiably retains a special place in the lore of the Corps and the Nation. The experience gained in that battle also remains significant today and will continue to be important as long as Marines contemplate the challenge of amphibious warfare.
Planning the Assault
The decision to seize Iwo Jima was inextricably entwined with the summer 1944 assault on the Mariana Islands. The Marianas campaign was driven largely by the desire of the Army Air Forces (AAF) to gain bases from which its long-range B-29 bombers could strike Japan. American forces took Saipan (15 June-9 July), Tinian (24 July-1 August), and Guam (21 July-10 August), and had the first bomber fields in operation by October. The AAF launched its initial raids against Japan in November, but the unescorted bombers suffered heavy losses. (That was not a surprise, since similar operations had already met the same fate over Europe and in missions launched from China.) Aviation leaders were certain they needed Iwo Jima to make the bomber campaign succeed. In fact, the ground battle was still raging on Saipan in June when AAP and Joint Staff planners called for an operation...