The hill on Iwo Jima..

[Haztoys]

Why did the US land on the beach ..With the "hill" still intacked ..???

"I" would think the best way to take the island would of been to pound the hell out of the hill first ...?? And make sure the hill was nocked out first..?

Any input on this ... Something "Im" missing maybe...

David

 

[syscom3]

You have to land on the beach in order to advance on the hill.

And no one suspected the Japanese would have built and manned an intricate tunnel system.

 

[lastwarrior]

It's part of the tactics...

 

[evangilder]

The whole island was bombed for weeks prior to the landings. That 7.5 square mile island had 15 miles of tunnels beneath it. Napalm was used in the pre-invasion bombings as well, but coral doesn't burn.

 

[ToughOmbre]

General Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith wanted 10 days of naval gunfire to pound Iwo prior to his Marines going in. He got over-ruled and three days were all they got. With the Japanese so well dug in and concealed, it may not have made a difference. The Marines rarely saw their enemy, at least not alive. Uncommon valor.....

 

[k9kiwi]

Have you ever tried landing a boat on a hill that is still "intacked" ?

Very hard to do right, just ask Les.

 

[Maharg]

I think the US could have pounded Suribachi for months and they still would have suffered severe casualties.
The only way to take a 'Hill' like that is with Infantry. The Japs knew they were coming and had a lot of time to prepare.
The lower photo is a view of the landing beach from the top of the 'Hill'.

 

[Njaco]

72 days of aerial bombardment followed by 3 days of naval bombardment before an American foot even set ashore. The Japanese just sat in their bunkers "Stuck in there like an Alabama tick on a junkyard dog".

 

[evangilder]

And after all of that, there was still a long, hard slog to control that spit of land. The Japanese were too well entrenched on that island for bombing to be effective.

 

[mosquitoman]

Probably a stupid thought, but could airborne troops have been used to take the top of the hill to give the beach landing troops an easier time? Possibly use gliders to ensure that troops weren't spread out to much?

 

[evangilder]

Sounds good in theory, but remember that Iwo is a volcanic island. The top of Mt. Suribachi was not smooth enough for a glider landing and not really big enough for a large paratrooper force. If it had been a smaller force, they would have been led to a slaughter.

 

[Njaco]

Something similar.