Iwo Jima

The Second World War, also known as WWII, set about in 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and would endure for the next six years. This war involved more than 30 countries composing the allied and coalition forces as well as that of adversaries. Objectives for this war comprised of the invasions of European and African states and the control of Asia. Concluding this war was the fall of Nazi Germany and the surrender of Japan in the summer of 1945. In the multitude of campaigns, the Battle of Iwo Jima had been part of the last Phases of the Second World War. Iwo Jima is a Japanese island located in the western part of the Pacific and lies approximately 760 miles to the south of Tokyo and roughly 575 miles from the Japanese cost.
It is about 5 miles long and about 2.5 miles wide and takes an irregular shape. This island is formed from an inactive volcano and is primarily made of sulfur. The strategic significance of this island was that the Japanese forces utilized this island as a staging area for fighter planes. Iwo Jima consisted of two airfields and was under construction on a third airfield. This island was also utilized as an early warning system in which Japanese forces transmitted vital information, giving Tokyo a two hour reaction time. Involved in this Battle were Japanese forces and the United States Marine and Naval Forces making the V Amphibious Corps to lead the landing. This battle began February 19 1945 and the landing would last for 3 days. At the initial landing, two Marine Divisions would lead in the assault following the naval bombardment. These Marine Divisions are the 4th Marine Division, consisting of the 23rd, 24th, and 25th Marine Infantry and the 14th Marine Artillery and the 5th Marine Division, consisting of 26th, 27th, and 28th Marine Infantry and the 13th Marine Artillery. Technology utilized were 105mm Howitzers, 37mm Guns, and Halftracks consisting of 75mm Cannons. The initial objective was to capture Mount Suribachi by the 5th Marine Division and capture the airfields by the 4th Marine Division. General Holland Smith would command the landing operations. On the first night, the rough weather caused four foot waves and limited visibly, creating unfavorable conditions for the Marines. Iwo Jima was defended by 21,000 Japanese fighters. Defense measures consisted of a vast network of a combined 13,000 yards of tunnels and 1,000 cave entries with 750 major fighting positions. Leading the defense measures was Japanese Commander, General Tadamichi, Kuribayashi, who was handpicked by the Emperor Showa and Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. The tactic to defend the island was fight from within the island utilizing machine gun, mortar, and anti-tank guns at these major fighting positions, as well as suicide planes. During the initial landing, the V Amphibious Corps suffered heavy losses consisting of 2,420 Marine and Navy casualties. The disadvantage was that the Japanese waited until they could inflect vast amounts of casualties at the same time pinning them down with nowhere to take cover. Most of the fire came from Mount Suribachi, located at the south end of the island (the initial landing site). The advantage that the V Amphibious Corps utilized within the command and control was the Navajo Code Battlefield Communications.
This tactical communication was as code system utilized by the Marine Corps that incorporated the use of the Native American Navajo language. At the initial phases of Second World War, Japanese cryptographers had been able to intercept radio communications and had obtained vital US Armed Forces information. In the battle of Iwo Jima, operations were directed through the Navajo Code. Six radio networks had been operated around the clock throughout the battle and campaign in its entirety. During the battle, Code Talkers processed over 800 messages that enabled the taking of Iwo Jima and saving thousands of American lives. In the morning of the first day, Battleship guns signaled the commencement of the initial assault. This was followed by the bombing of 100 bombers and was continued by another salvo from the naval guns. On the first night, the Marine line spanned across the base of Mount Suribachi and continued northeast along the coast line and ended near the East Boat Basin. The Marines continued to take Japanese artillery shelling. The second day of the battle, tanks had finally
arrived. This had provided some cover to advance into the base of the mountain, although only 200 yards had been gained by around 1700 hours.
This was followed by a 40 plane air strike. On the third day, all forces were employed and the taking of Mount Suribachi had been accomplished. On this day, Navy carrier aircraft had launched an air strike at intended Japanese positions, however these attacks had fallen near American positions, causing a wave of friendly fire. During the ending of the battle, Japanese suicide planes struck against the Navy vessels that transported the V Amphibious Corps. Among the ships attacked by the suicide bombers were three aircraft carriers, one of which was the Bismarck Sea, which was sunk. To degrade the defenses, B-29 Superfortress and B-24 Liberator Bombers began a bombardment campaign on 8 December 1944 spanning 70 days, the US 7TH Air Force delivered 5,800 tons of bombs. On the 16th of February, the Navy would begin a 3 day bombardment as
well. In the end of this battle, US casualties totaled approximately 6,800 with more than 17,400 wounded. Japanese casualties totaled 21,000 with about 1,000 captured. Lessons learned in this battle convey the harsh realities and the results in rushing into battle. According to intelligence reports, it was estimated that Iwo Jima would be captured in a span of five days. This report was not accurate and was based on the lack of knowledge of the terrain. This is a leverage point to understand how important mission planning is and how critical this vital information can be. This also conveys how fundamental and key Command and Control plays on the battlefield. It was said that a Japanese General admitted after the Second World War that the most highly skilled cryptographers had not been able to decipher the messages of the Navajo Code Battlefield Communications.