The hill on Iwo Jima..

Haztoys · Jul 16, 2007

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 · Jul 16, 2007

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 · Jul 16, 2007

It's part of the tactics...

evangilder · Jul 16, 2007

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 · Jul 16, 2007

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 · Jul 19, 2007

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

Very hard to do right, just ask Les.

Maharg · Jul 19, 2007

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 · Jul 20, 2007

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 · Jul 20, 2007

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 · Jul 20, 2007

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 · Jul 20, 2007

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 · Jul 20, 2007

Something similar.

The hill on Iwo Jima..

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Haztoys

Senior Airman

syscom3

Pacific Historian

lastwarrior

Airman

evangilder

"Shooter"

ToughOmbre

Senior Master Sergeant

k9kiwi

Staff Sergeant

Maharg

Airman 1st Class

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Njaco

The Pop-Tart Whisperer

evangilder

"Shooter"

mosquitoman

Master Sergeant

evangilder

"Shooter"

Njaco

The Pop-Tart Whisperer

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