The Battle of Iwo Jima | Animated History

Hi, I'm Griffin Johnson, the Armchair Historian. Today's video, the Battle of Iwo Jima. Before we begin, I want to thank our sponsor, NordVPN, for making this video possible. More on that later. An F4U Corsair soars overhead at 400 miles an hour, prompting a young Marine to glance up from his LCVP. Everywhere around him, hundreds of landing craft plow through the waves toward a black sand beach. To his left, the 554-foot Mount Suribachi towers over the desolate island, which for the past three days has been subjected to an intense bombardment. One of the many battleships behind him fires a salvo. As the brilliant pyrotechnics display continues, the Marine wonders if anything can survive the firepower of that magnitude and fears anything that might. By 1944, American forces had penetrated Japan's outer line of defense in the Pacific and were working their way towards the inner line. Following the capture of the Marianas in August, the Joint Chiefs of Staff decided that the next target would be the island of Iwo Jima. Capturing it would give the American B-29 fleet bombing Japan emergency landing strips. But even more importantly, the island could be used as a staging area for the anticipated invasion of Japan. In March of 1944, even before the loss of the Marianas, the Japanese had begun fortifying Iwo Jima. The commander of the island's garrison, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, was similarly aware that an American victory at Iwo Jima was inevitable. Nonetheless, he resolved to make their victory as costly as possible, defiantly proclaiming, Knowing the vulnerability of conventional shore fortifications, Kuribayashi prepared a layered defense consisting of strong mutually supporting positions. Additionally, he ordered the construction of a complex system of caves, bunkers, and tunnels. These subterranean installations ranged in size from small dugouts intended to accommodate a squad of men to huge caverns capable of holding a battalion, and were virtually impervious to any form of bombardment. The Japanese were vastly outnumbered and outgunned, and this required them to be especially resourceful in their usage of heavy weapons, namely their 23 Type 95 tanks and 70 anti-tank guns, which they placed in well-fortified positions. After almost a year of preparation, the Japanese garrison had grown to 21,000 men, and more than 19,000 yards of tunnel had been excavated. During the planning of his defense, Kuribayashi had also developed an innovative battle plan which would allow the Americans to When they had advanced about 550 yards inland, the Japanese would deliver concentrated fire from automatic weapons and artillery positions across the island. Unlike Kuribayashi's tactics, the American invasion plan was conventional and straightforward. Overseen by Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, capturing the island was the responsibility of the 80,000-strong 5th Corps, commanded by Major General Harry Schmidt, and consisting of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions. The 4th and 5th Divisions would land side-by-side on the eastern beaches, with the 4th on the right and the 5th on the left. Then, they would pivot right and advance toward the northern end of Iwo Jima. Simultaneously, a regiment from the 5th Marines would capture Mount Suribachi. Meanwhile, the 3rd would stay in reserve. To soften up the island, General Schmidt requested a 10-day naval bombardment. However, he only received three. If all went well for the Americans, they would capture the island quickly. But as the old adage goes, no plan survives contact with the enemy, and especially not this enemy. At 8.59 a.m. on February 19, 1945, the first wave of Marines waded ashore. In accordance with Kuribayashi's plan, the Japanese held their fire, leading some Marines to mistakenly think that the bombardment had destroyed them. Over the next hour, more men and materiel landed on the beach until it was crowded. Shortly after 10 a.m., the island exploded into fire and chaos. Derek Wright, author of Iwo Jima 1945, states that, "...everything from machine guns and mortars to heavy artillery opened up on the beach, quickly transforming it into a nightmarish bloodbath." Pinned down by this murderous fire, the Marines frantically entrenched themselves in the soft volcanic ash, which provided rudimentary cover. The ash was slippery and difficult to traverse, and so they could only inch their way forward until the Seabees, also known as the Naval Construction Battalions, bulldozed makeshift roads through the sand. Even after reaching the Japanese defenses, the task of securing them was complicated by Kuribayashi's tunnel network, which allowed the garrison to reoccupy their positions even after the Marines had cleared them. By 11.30 a.m., a contingent had reached Airfield No. 1 in the interior of Iwo Jima, while another group of Marines cut across the narrowest part of the island, reaching the opposite shore. However, the 25th Marine Regiment of the 4th Marine Division encountered heavy opposition on the right flank near a strongpoint dubbed the Quarry. Wright notes that, "...of the 900 men that landed in the morning, only 150 were left in fighting condition by nightfall, a staggering 83.3% casualty rate. The land battle was not even a day old, and already it was becoming an exceptionally vicious fight. Nonetheless, some 30,000 Marines managed to land by dark, and thousands more would eventually be committed to battle." Over the next week, they slowly advanced inland, capturing one of the island's airfields and establishing a foothold on the other. Since firearms were not very useful at flushing out fortified enemy positions, the Marines resorted to using flamethrowers and grenades. To replace units that had sustained high casualties, elements of the 3rd Marine Division were pulled from the rear and thrown into the fight. General Kuribayashi had expressly forbidden any bonsai charges, deeming them futile. Instead, the Japanese employed guerrilla and infiltration tactics in order to chip away at Americans and prevent them from operating safely. Because of this more passive approach, Japanese casualties remained relatively low, and morale remained relatively high. 1st Lieutenant Sugihara Kinryu kept a meticulous diary during the early stages of the battle, and on February 22nd, he wrote, "...this is a winning battle. Be persistent. We must definitely build the foundation of victory for this Greater East Asia War." By February 23rd, the Marines had isolated Mount Suribachi, and small groups of men began making their way toward the summit. Although the mountain was still largely occupied by the Japanese, most chose to stay in the tunnel network where they were eventually killed. As a result, resistance was relatively light during the ascent. After reaching the summit, they planted an American flag, the first to fly on Japanese soil. Observing from a ship offshore, Marine Alvin Orsland recounted that, "...the top brass told us it would be all over in 72 hours. Sure enough, at 1035 a.m. on the 23rd, we saw old glory being raised on the highest point, Mount Suribachi. That's it, we thought. We've done it." In spite of this triumphant sentiment, the fighting was far from over. There were still thousands of Japanese soldiers entrenched on the northern half of the island, none of whom were likely to surrender. Between February 25th and March 10th, the Marines fought their way through fierce resistance, taking nearly 12,000 casualties in the process. On the left flank, the 5th Division attacked a series of ridges and hills. Concurrently, the 3rd advanced in the center, and on the right flank, the 4th stormed a part of the island they called the Meat Grinder. With the Americans closing in, one Japanese commander launched a final bonsai attack. On the evening of March 8th, 800 Japanese soldiers charged the American lines. Although it was doomed to futility, the Japanese still managed to inflict 347 casualties at the cost of 784 dead. As the battle entered mid-March, the Marines closed in on the north and southeast corners of the island. However, before the island could be completely secured, about 300 Japanese soldiers scattered around the island's many tunnels gathered near Airfield No. 2 and launched a sneak attack on the night of March 25th, allegedly led by Kuribayashi himself. They surprised the Americans camping in the area, bayoneting some of them in their sleep. Hand-to-hand fighting lasted for 90 minutes before they were finally wiped out. After 36 days of fighting, the island was declared secure on the morning of March 26th, but victory at Iwo Jima came at a steep price. The United States sustained more than 28,000 casualties, which accounted for a third of all suffered by the Marines in the Second World War. The Japanese, on the other hand, lost essentially their entire 21,000-man garrison. The battle over this small, seemingly insignificant island was one of the costliest in American history and consequently has generated a large and enduring controversy over its strategic value. If you're like me and spend a huge chunk of your time on the internet, then you know that protecting your data is crucial. That's why we use NordVPN. 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