Page 56 - History of War - Issue 01-14

hoist on the summit. The right-hand regiment
Q&A
ANTHONY
BEEVOR
History Of War speaks
John Carey to the world-renowned
historian and author of
The Second World War
What was it that first drew you into a career in
historical writing?
Q I was an Army Offi cer and I had studied military history under
Sir John Keegan at Sandhurst. There had been several generations of
writers on my mother’s side of the family, so when I had to do a very
boring job in North Wales after fi ve years in the Army, I decided to give
writing a try. It wasn’t a quick process, but then careers are impossible
to predict. In any case, I was very lucky with the timing. My approach
of integrating history from above with history from below seemed to
take off when Stalingrad was published in 1998.
Your book The Second World War is a huge achievement.
What were the highs and lows of writing it?
Q I didn’t fully realise until I started writing it how ludicrously
ambitious a project it was, and I began to panic. Fortunately, I kept my
head – I had no choice – and it soon came together in a far better way
than I had dared hope.
"I DIDN'T FULLY REALISE UNTIL I
STARTED WRITING [THE SECOND
WORLD WAR] HOW LUDICROUSLY
AMBITIOUS A PROJECT IT WAS, AND I
BEGAN TO PANIC"
Are there specific aspects of the Second World War
that interest you more than others?
Q I suppose they’re the areas about which we knew so little when
I fi rst studied the subject, such as the Eastern Front between Nazi
Germany and the Soviet Union, and more recently the Sino-Japanese War.
The point of the book was really to remind people that the Second World
War was not a single war, It was an agglomeration of different confl icts.
For the Americans, it didn’t start until December 1941, but for the Chinese
it started in 1937. I don’t start the story with the Nazi invasion of Poland,
as you might have expected. I begin a month earlier, in August 1939,
when the Japanese army in Manchuria clashed with the Red Army on the
Mongolian border at the river of Khalkhin Gol.
Can you reveal any projects in historic writing that
you’re currently working on?
Q At the moment, I’m working on a book about the Ardennes
Offensive of December 1944. It was Hitler’s last great gamble. That’s due
for publication in May or June of 2015.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Antony Beevor is a former offi cer with the 11th Hussars,
and spent time serving in both England and Germany.
While attending the Royal Military College in Sandhurst,
he studied under the renowned historian John Keegan,
an experience that inspired him to embark on a career
writing history books of his own. His non-fi ction works
to date include Berlin: The Downfall 1945, D-Day:
The Battle For Normandy, The Battle For Spain: The
Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 and, probably his best-
known work, Stalingrad, which scooped several awards
including the fi rst Samuel Johnson Prize in 1999.
As well as being a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des
Lettres, he has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from
both the University of Bath and the University of Kent.
56 HISTORY WAR
of
HoW01.Pacific invasion.indd 56
of the 4th Division moved right to deal with a
fortifi ed quarry. It was helped by Sherman tanks
pitiless fi ghting still lasted most of the day.
that had made it up the steep shelving, but the
By nightfall, 30,000 Marines had landed,
despite the relentless shell and mortar fi re. They
dug in ready to fi ght off a counter-attack, but
even that was not easy in the soft volcanic ash.
But no counter-attack came. Kuribayashi had
forbidden them, and especially banzai charges in
the open. They would kill more Americans from
their defensive positions.
out most of the guns at the base of Mount
The bombardment had at least knocked
Suribachi, but other positions were untouched,
as the 28th Regiment found scaling the hill.
“Rock slides were tumbled down on our heads
by the Japs,” recorded one Marine, “and also as
a result of our own naval gunfi re. Each pillbox
was a separate problem, an intricately designed
fortress that had to be smashed into ruins. The
walls of many began with concrete blocks, laced
with iron rails. Then came ten to 12 feet of
rocks, piled with dirt and the dirty ashes of Iwo.”
Suribachi had a garrison of 1,200 men in its
tunnels and bunkers. Impervious to artillery and
bazookas, the bunkers could be dealt with only
at close range. Marines used pole or satchel
charges, with the cry “Fire in the hole!”, or
hurled in phosphorus grenades. Flamethrowers
were in constant use, but it was a terrifying
task for the operator, who became a target for
Japanese machine-gunners trying to ignite the
tank on his back. At one point, Marines heard
Japanese voices and realised the sound was
coming up through a fi ssure in the rock. Barrels
of fuel were manhandled up the mountain,
then gasoline was poured in and set alight.
Jubilation and relief
After three days of constant combat, a small
group of the 28th made it to the summit of the
volcano and raised the Stars and Stripes on a
metal pole. The sight was greeted with jubilation
and tears of relief, while ships offshore sounded
their horns. The Secretary of the Navy, James
V Forrestal, turned to Major General Holland
KEY FIGURES
TADAMICHI KURIBAYASHI DOUGLAS MACARTHUR
The overall Commander As the US Supreme
of the Japanese garrison Commander, Southwest
during the Battle of Iwo Pacific Area, MacArthur
Jima, Kuribayashi knew played a vital role in
that he would not be defeating the Japanese.
able to beat the US with In August 1945, he and
conventional tactics, so his staff began the process
decided on a campaign of of rebuilding Japan,
attrition. He was killed on charting a new course that
26 March 1945, though would ultimately make it
his body was never found. one of the world’s leading
Some claim he committed powers. On 2 September
seppuku – suicide 1945, he accepted
through disembowelment. Japan’s formal surrender.
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