Page 57 - History of War - Issue 01-14

THE US PACIFIC CAMPAIGN

Smith and said, “The raising of that fl ag means The advance from ravine to ravine and ridge to
a Marine Corps for the next 500 years.” A larger ridge was slow and horrifi c. Japanese soldiers,
fl ag was brought up and raised by six men on taking the uniforms off dead Marines, slipped
a piece of scaffolding acting as a fl agpole, and through US lines at night to cause mayhem.
the photograph taken became the icon of the On the night of 8 March, despite Kuribayashi’s
war in the Pacifi c. Suribachi had cost the lives of orders against any banzai charge, Captain
800 Marines, but it was not the main defensive Inouye led one when he and his forces were
position on the island. Kuribayashi’s HQ was surrounded near Tachiwa Point. They attacked a
deep underground at the north end of Iwo Jima battalion of the 23rd Regiment, infl icting nearly
in a complex network of tunnels and excavated 350 casualties, but next morning the surviving
caverns. There was fury when the few survivors Marines counted 784 Japanese bodies.
from Suribachi appeared, having slipped through By 25 March, when the battle for Iwo Jima
US lines. Even though they had been ordered ended, 6,821 Marines had been killed or mortally
by their dying Commander to break out, to take wounded, as well as another 19,217 severely
news of Suribachi’s fall, they were greeted with wounded. Apart from 54 Japanese soldiers
horror for having failed to fi ght to the last. Their taken prisoner, two of whom committed suicide,
offi cer, a Navy Lieutenant, was insulted as a Kuribayashi’s force of 21,000 men were all dead. The view from a US bomber as it
coward and nearly beheaded. He was already After Kuribayashi had received severe wounds in drops its deadly cargo on Iwo Jima Getty
kneeling with his head bowed when the sword a fi nal battle, he was buried in the caves.
was pulled from Captain Inouye Samaji’s hands. In the middle of March, Admiral Marc Okinawa, with a civilian population of
By the fourth day, the Marines had secured Mitscher’s Task Force 58, with 16 fl eet carriers, 450,000, was the main island in the Ryukyu
the two airfi elds in the centre of the island, but sailed back into Japanese waters to attack chain. The Japanese had annexed it in 1879
and incorporated it into the home islands. The
JAPANESE SOLDIERS, TAKING THE Okinawans did not embrace the militaristic ethos
of the master race. Their conscripts were more
UNIFORMS OFF DEAD MARINES, bullied than any others in the Japanese Army.
SLIPPED THROUGH US LINES AT NIGHT Okinawa lay 550km to the south-west of Japan
and included several towns, including the 15th-
TO CAUSE MAYHEM IN THE REAR century citadel of Shuri in the south. As well as
rocky ridges forming a spine across the centre of
then, with the three divisions in line abreast, airfi elds on Kyushu and the main island of the island, much of the land was cultivated with
they had to advance to take the northern Honshu. This was a pre-emptive strike before canefi elds and rice paddies. General Ushijima
complex buried within the volcanic rock, a truly the invasion of Okinawa. As well as destroying Mitsuru’s 32nd Army, at more than 100,000
barren and hellish landscape. Japanese snipers Japanese aircraft, his fl yers damaged the men, was stronger than US intelligence had
concealed themselves in fi ssures. Machine battleship Yamato and four carriers. But a estimated, although 20,000 were locally raised
guns were switched from cave entrance to cave surprise attack by a single bomber, which was militia, despised by Japanese soldiers. Ushijima
entrance, and US casualties mounted. Some not a kamikaze, caused devastating damage to had lost his best division, the 9th, which had
collapsed from combat stress, but many more the carrier USS Franklin. Although the Captain been transferred to the Philippines on the orders
displayed unbelievable bravery, continuing to was given permission to abandon ship, he and of Imperial General HQ. However, he was strong
fi ght when grievously wounded. No fewer than the survivors managed to bring the fi res below in artillery and heavy mortars. Ushijima, from
27 Medals of Honor were awarded for the deck under control. his HQ in Shuri, planned to defend the southern,
fi ghting on Iwo Jima. Hardly any prisoners were At the end of March, US forces seized two most-populated quarter of the island to the end.
taken: even the badly wounded Japanese were groups of islands to the west of Okinawa, which In the northern, hilly areas, which the Americans
killed, since they usually concealed a grenade to turned out to be very useful. They found and expected to be the main centre of resistance, he
destroy themselves and any Navy corpsman who destroyed a base for suicide boats, prepared had positioned only a small force under Colonel
tried to help them. Some Marines decapitated with charges to ram US warships. The closest Udo Takehido. Ushijima did not plan to defend
Japanese corpses in order to boil the head islands also provided good positions for batteries the shoreline. Like Kuribayashi on Iwo Jima,
and sell the skull when they got back home. of Long Toms to support the troops once ashore. he would wait until the Americans came to him.

TOMOYUKI YAMASHITA CHESTER W NIMITZ WILLIAM HALSEY JR WALTER KRUEGER ROBERT L EICHELBERGER MITSURU USHIJIMA
General of the Imperial Having been made An energetic and Formerly Commander of Eichelberger commanded Along with his second-in-
Japanese Army during Commander in Chief of aggressive Fleet Admiral, IX Corps, Krueger took the newly formed Eighth command, the controversial
the Second World War, the Pacific Ocean Areas in Halsey led the task force charge of the Sixth Army Army during the Pacific General Isamu Cho,

Yamashita commanded March 1942, Nimitz was that attacked Japanese after General MacArthur campaign. Along with the Ushijima was in charge
around 262,000 troops elevated to Fleet Admiral positions in the Gilbert stated that he was Sixth Army, his troops of the 32nd Army, whose
in the Philippines. Between in December 1944. He was islands – his motto, “Hit “anxious to have Krueger enveloped Manila in one task it was to defend
February and March instrumental in defeating hard, hit fast, hit often”, due to my long and of the most significant the Ryukyu islands.

1945, Japanese troops in the Japanese fleet at the becoming a byword for the intimate association with battles of the conflict. He Overwhelmed by US troops
Manila killed over 100,000 Battle of Midway in June US Navy. A skin condition him”. Becoming a General would later lead his men invading Okinawa, the two
Filipino civilians. Yamashita 1942 and, on 2 September forced Halsey to miss the himself in March 1945, into campaigns throughout men retreated to the hills.
was later arrested and 1945, he acted as US Battle of Midway, but his Krueger and his army were the southern Philppines, There, after ignoring
found guilty of war signatory to the Japanese Third Fleet was assigned assigned occupation duty which would see them clear a plea by US Commanders
crimes. On 23 February surrender aboard the USS to cover the landings on in Japan after the war. Mindoro, Marinduque, Panay, to surrender, they
1946, he was hanged. Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Leyte in October 1944. He retired in July 1946. Negros, Cebu and Bohol. committed ritual suicide.
HISTORY WAR 57
of
HoW01.Pacific invasion.pd9.indd 57 30/01/2014 13:25