Iwo Jima (Battle of Iwo Jima)

Iwo Jima (硫黄島, Iōtō), meaning "Sulfur Island," is a small volcanic island in the Ogasawara Archipelago, approximately 1,200 kilometers south of Tokyo. Measuring only 21 square kilometers, this remote island became the site of one of the most ferocious battles of World War II.

By mid-1944, the island's strategic value became critical. Japanese forces used it as an early warning station against American B-29 bomber raids targeting the Japanese homeland, and its airfields posed a threat to the Mariana Islands-based bomber fleet. The U.S. military designated the capture of Iwo Jima as "Operation Detachment" to neutralize these threats and provide emergency landing strips for damaged bombers.

Lt. General Kuribayashi Tadamichi (栗林忠道), who had served in the United States in the late 1920s and then as military attaché in Canada in the early 1930s, abandoned the conventional doctrine of beach defense. Instead, he ordered the construction of over 18 kilometers of interconnected tunnels, bunkers, and fortified positions throughout the island's interior. This underground fortress, centered on Mount Suribachi and the northern plateau, was designed to maximize American casualties through a war of attrition.

The American invasion began on February 19, 1945, when approximately 30,000 Marines of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions stormed the black volcanic beaches; the 3rd Marine Division, initially held in reserve, was committed several days later. The battle raged for 36 days. On February 23, the iconic photograph by Joe Rosenthal captured six Marines raising the American flag atop the 169-meter Mount Suribachi — an image that won the Pulitzer Prize and became a symbol of American determination.

The human cost was staggering. Of the approximately 21,000 Japanese defenders, only 216 were taken prisoner during the battle itself (Japanese sources count about 1,000 prisoners in all, including those captured afterwards); nearly all the rest perished. American casualties totaled over 26,000, including 6,821 killed — making it one of the rare Pacific battles where total U.S. casualties exceeded those of Japan. General Kuribayashi is believed to have died leading a final counterattack on March 26, 1945. Today the island, administered by Tokyo's Ogasawara Village, is restricted to military personnel and authorized visitors. Annual memorial ceremonies honor the fallen of both nations.