Battle of Iwo Jima Facts

The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought between the United States and Japan between February 19^th and March 26^th 1945. The battle took place in the Pacific Campaign of World War 2 and finished with the U.S. being victorious and gaining control of both the island and the Japanese airfields located at that location. Although kept quiet at the time, the strategic value of the island would really be as an alternative or emergency landing field for the B-29 bombers that would eventually carry the atom bomb and strike Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The most famous image of the battle was the raising of the American flag atop Mt. Suribachi which is one of the most reprinted images in history.

When Did the Battle of Iwo Jima Occur?

The Battle of Iwo Jima occurred between February 19^th and March 26^th 1945. Although the battle concluded, for several additional years, stranded Japanese soldiers would be found as late as 1949 (or 1951 depending on the source material cited).

How Did the Battle of Iwo Jima Start?

The United States conducted initial carrier air raids against the island in June, 1944. Before the U.S. invaded, the island would be hit with more shelling than used against any Pacific island during the war. B-24 heavy bombers were used flying out of the Marianas for the majority of the bombardments. Prior to the USMC landing on the beaches, navy planners only authorized 3 days of naval bombardment of the island instead of the 10 days requested by the marines. Bad weather would additionally impact the pre-assault bombardments, but D-Day remained set for February 19^th, 1945.

On D-Day, there were more than 450 ships amassed off of Iwo Jima. Just after 0900 local time, Marines from the 4^th and 5^th divisions landed at the Blue, Green Red, and Yellow beaches abreast of each other. By design, the Japanese held off initial assaults against the American troops who were slowed by the volcanic sand on the beach. Once the naval gunnery subsided, the Japanese defenders would emerge from hidden, underground positions to begin fiercely defending the island. The initial assault tasks for the USMC divisions were for the 4^th to take the Japanese strongpoint, Quarry, and the 5^th to isolate Mount Suribachi on the opening day of the invasion.

Battle of Iwo Jima Operational Map (Pre-Invasion)

Battle of Iwo Jima Map

Who Were the Commanders During the Battle of Iwo Jima?

The U.S. code name for the operation on Iwo Jima was Operation Detachment. The commanders assigned on the U.S. side for the battle were:

Admiral Raymond A. Spruance was the operation’s overall commander.
Joint Expeditionary Force commander was Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner. Second in command of the Joint Expeditionary Force was Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill.
Lieutenant General Holland M. “Howlin’ Mad” Smith was the commanding general of the expeditionary troops.
The 5th Amphibious Corps was commanded by Major General Harry Schmidt. His division commanders for the invasion were:

The 3rd Marine Division commander was Major General Graves B. Erskine
The 4th Marine Division commander was Major General Clifton B. Cates
The 5th Marine Division commander was Major General Keller E. Rockey.

Japanese Forces Commander was Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi.

Battle of Iwo Jima Order of Battle

U.S. – 70,000
Japanese Forces – 22,060

Battle of Iwo Jima Casualties

United States – 6,812 killed/missing
2 captured
19,217 wounded

Japan – 21,844 killed
216 captured

Importance of the U.S. Taking Iwo Jima

Iwo Jima was officially labeled as being a strategic island due to the need for a closer base for fighter support of long-range bombing missions being flown against mainland Japan. The U.S. bombers were flying out of the Mariana Islands which were too far for fighters to fly in escort for the duration of the bombing missions. The capture of Iwo Jima would also provide an emergency landing strip for B-29’s returning from bombing runs with significant damage. The island would also provide a strategic point from which to base sea and air blockades to further degrade the Japanese air and naval forces.

Taking Iwo Jima would not prove easy for the U.S. forces. The assault would take 36 days and is epitomized by the following quote by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, “Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue.” For the Japanese defenders, the island held key strategic value as the last obstacle to the American forces before they would invade Okinawa and mainland Japan.

Summary of the Battle of Iwo Jima

One day after the initial landing, the 28^th Marines would secure the southern end of the island and move to the take Mount Suribachi. At the end of the 2^nd day, the USMC would control one third of Iwo Jima as well as the Motoyama Airfield #1. By February 23^rd, Marines from the 28^th would reach the top of Mt. Suribachi and raise the American flag.

The 3^rd Division of the USMC would be put into the fight on day five of the battle and were given the mission of taking the center sector of the island. Although the fall of Mt. Suribachi and capture of the Japanese airfields signified the defenders would ultimately lose, taking the remainder of the island would not prove easy for the Marines.

The defending commander, Lieutenant General Tadamishi Kuribayashi, would focus his forces on the defense of the northern and central sections of the island. Defending soldiers would leverage numerous miles of caves, blockhouses, and pillboxes to effectively use surprise and entrenched fortifications to extract a heavy toll on the attacking Marines.

The U.S. 3^rd Division would run into the most fortified portions of the island on their move to take Japanese Airfield #2 using frontal assaults. By the night of March 9^th, the Division’s forces would reach the northeastern beach on the island effectively cutting the Japanese defense in half.

At the same time as the advance of the 3^rd Marine Division, the 5^th would move up the western coast of the island to the northern tip. The 4^th Division, was simultaneously moving to take the eastern section of the island and would repulse a banzai attack from the last of the Japanese sailors on the island which resulted in 700 enemy dead and ended the centralized resistance of fighters in the eastern sector of the island.

On March 10^th, the three divisions would meet-up on the coast of Iwo Jima almost a week after the first B-29 bomber made an emergency landing on the island on March 4^th, 1945. The final operational phase of the battle started on March 11^th with fighting focused on eliminating individual pockets of resistance. The island was declared secure on March 26^th following another banzai attack against the air corps personnel and soldiers on the beaches. The 147^th U.S. Army Infantry regiment would assume ground control of the island from the U.S. Marines on April 4^th, 1945. The Battle of Iwo Jima would see the largest body of Marines committed in combat in a single operation during the entire war.

How Many Medals of Honor Were Awarded from the Battle?

There were 27 Medals of Honor awarded to Marines and U.S. navy sailors from the battle. More were awarded than for any other operation during World War 2 with many being given posthumously.

Iwo Jima Battle Summary

Japan suffered huge losses from the battle with only 200 of the 21,000 dedicated to the defense surviving. The U.S. victory at Iwo Jima was another step on the island hopping campaign towards the mainland of Japan. The fighting was so fierce and sacrifices on both sides so great, that the battle is remembered every year and resulted in a number of Battle of Iwo Jima books, movies, and the construction of the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Battle of Iwo Jima Books

 Battle of IWO Jima Quiz

By popular demand, we’ve drafted a short 10 question quiz on the Battle of Iwo Jima for you to try out and enjoy! Please feel free to post ideas for new questions to add to the quiz in the comments section of the article!

Medal of Honor Awardees at Iwo Jima

The fortifications on Iwo Jima had immense and complicated bunkers, a large amount of hidden artillery, and more than 10 miles of tunnels. This was the first attack on the Japanese home islands and the defense was tenacious. More than 20,000 of the 21,000 Japanese defenders lost their lives during the battle with only 216 taken prisoner during the two month battle.

During the more than 60 days of fighting, a total of 27 United States military personnel were awarded the United States Medal of Honor for their actions during the fight. Vive were presented to United States Navy personnel (four being hospital corpsman), and 22 to Marines. The 22 USMC awardees represented more than 25% of all of the Medal of Honor awards for the USMC during World War 2.

Battle of Iwo Jima Medal of Honor Awardees

Battle of Iwo Jima References

Bartley, LtCol. Whitman S., USMC (1954). Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic. Marines in World War II Historical Monograph. Washington, D.C.: Historical, Division of Public Information, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps. OCLC 28592680. Last accessed April 10th, 2013.

Garand, George W.; Truman R. Strobridge (1971). “Part VI: Iwo Jima”. Western Pacific Operations. Volume IV of History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II. Historical Branch, United States Marine Corps. ISBN 0-89839-198-9. Last accessed April 10th, 2013.

“Victory At Sea: Target Suribachi” (Video). Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 12 February 2009. Last accessed 10 January 2014.