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1945

Iwo Jima & Okinawa. 1945. Iwo Jima. Operation Detachment B-29 Raids 3 airstrips for Japanese Escort planes for B-29 Landing Strip for emergency. Operation Detachment. February 19, 1945 70,000 Marines vs. 27,000 Japanese Leaders Raymond Spruance and ‘Howling Mad’ Smith

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1945

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  1. Iwo Jima & Okinawa 1945

  2. Iwo Jima • Operation Detachment • B-29 Raids • 3 airstrips for Japanese • Escort planes for B-29 • Landing Strip for emergency

  3. Operation Detachment • February 19, 1945 • 70,000 Marines vs. 27,000 Japanese • Leaders Raymond Spruance and ‘Howling Mad’ Smith • Japanese led by Tad Kuribayashi

  4. Japanese have: 22,000 men 800 pillboxes 3 miles of tunnels “Kill 10 Americans before you die”

  5. Mt. Suribachi • Main Objective • Japanese could fire on anything from position 556 foot • 7 story interior • Famous Flag Raising picture

  6. 1st flag raising

  7. The Cost • 34 days • 6,821 U.S. KIA • 19,217 Wounded • Bloodiest Battle in the History of the Marine Corps. (23,573 total Marine Casualties) • 1,083 Japanese POW ~20,000 Killed.

  8. What happened? • Only 3 days of Naval Bombing Needed 13 days but refused. • Underestimated Japanese strength by 70% • No Bonzai attacks • Bad soil • U.S. Wounded underestimated by 80%.

  9. Of the 81 CMH won by Marine’s in WWII, 22 are awarded for Iwo Jima

  10. Where to stage invasion of Japan from? *China-still occupied by Japan. Chiang Kai Shek not reliable

  11. Okinawa • April 1, 1945 Operation Iceberg • 183,000 Troops under Spruance and Simon Buckner • Japanese 100,000 Troops under Mitsuru Ushijima(US thought 70,000) • 450,000 Civilians on the island

  12. Divine Wind KAMIKAZE

  13. Special Attack Group Low on aircraft and trained pilots Need to get maximum enemy damage for every Japanese plane lost

  14. Iron Typhoon • Planned 5,000 Kamikaze attacks • Probably around 1900 happened • Sunk 25 American ships (34 total) • 5,000 sailors killed

  15. Kamikaze about to hit the USS Essex

  16. What went wrong • Landings unopposed • Pre-sighted killings zones • Buckner Killed • Southern Tip of Island including Shuri Line tough to break. Series of defensive lines.

  17. The Cost US killed: 7374 Marines 4907 Sailors wounded: 60,000 Japan killed: 107,539 entombed: 27,769 Civilians killed: 75,000

  18. Every increasing casualty figures convinces US leaders that to save American lives it will be necessary to drop the bomb.

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