Blood. Guts. FlameThrowers. Kamikazes. Valor galore.
What exactly was it like to be there, fighting the bloodiest battle in marine corps history?
The U.S. didn’t know what was waiting for them. And their enemy, the Japanese,
had a plan to inflict as many casualties as possible to discourage foriegn invaders
from setting foot on their mainland. Even with air superiority and a huge numbers advantage,
the U.S. still needed a perfect performance and the invention of an unbreakable code inspired by
the Navajo language to come out on top. Oh, and flamethrowers. Lot’s of Flamethrowers!
Today on Nutty History, we’re dissecting all the nutty bits of the Marine Corps Bloodiest Battle,
Iwo Jima. Before we storm this beach, take a second and subscribe to this channel then hit that
notification button. But that’s not enough. Leave a comment and let us know what bloody battles,
nutty knowledge, or hair-raising history you want to see us cover next!
27 Medals of Honor were awarded for action on Iwo Jima. More than any other battle in U.S. history.
The recipients ranged in ranks, from Private to Lieutenant Colonel.
Fourteen received their awards posthumously. The Battle lasted from February 19th until Mar 26th in
1945 during World War 2. Approximately 70,000 U.S. service members took part in the battle;
which was over 3 times as many troops as the 22,000 Japan had defending the island. 70,000
vs 22,000, I like those odds, but don’t understand the heart of the Japanese Soldiers.
In 36 days of grueling, all out war, nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines were killed
and another 20,000 were wounded. Talk about the PTSD these men have to live with after
this battle! On the Japanese side, only 216 men were captured and taken prisoner,
the other 21,784 were killed in battle or never found. Now how did Japan inflict that much damage
on the highly trained United States Marine corps while fighting down from 22,000 to only 216 men?
Japan knew they had no shot of beating the US. So the battle plan at Iwo Jima was to inflict as many
casualties as possible on the Americans to discourage them from invading the mainland.
Through suicidal air kamikaze and ground banzai attacks, Japanese soldiers displayed undying
wilingness to serve their emperor. Iwo Jima proved this even further as thousands of soldiers fought
to the death. But not before slaughtering a huge number of marines. How did they do it? Japan had
an intricate tunnel system that covered over 11 miles of the island. There were small bunkers
called pillboxes built throughout the tunnels, each equipped with machine guns and heavy
artillery. These bunkers made it easy for snipers to pick off U.S. Marines as they cautiously walked
through landmine filled beaches. Marines are tougher than a $2 dollar steak… but it helps to
know what they’re getting into. The US intel was completely surprised by the Japanese artillery,
the tunnel system and the condition of the beaches themselves! Marines were shocked to find a stinky
sulfur pit full of dangerous, quick sinking sand, frustratingly impossible to roll equipment across
causing a huge traffic jam. Japanese soldiers nervously watched from the tunnels as clumps
of Marines built up on the beach. Finally, when the human traffic jam got to be large enough,
Japan unleashed hell and mowed US troops down. The carnage began and the bloody battle was underway.
Because the island was made of foul smelling sulfur, there was no vegetation,
and nowhere to take cover. The troops, nauseated by the smell and surprised by the attack, had only
their equipment and each other to guard against the initial wave of attack. Then, once Marine’s
had their bearings on the blood soaked beaches, they were totally caught off guard by Japan’s
interconnected bunkers. Marine’s would fight with blood, sweat and tears to clear a bunker out,
and let their guard down as they walked past what they assumed to be an empty bunker.
Then, they would be butchered by a new Japanese soldier! Discovering that all the bunkers were
interconnected was a steep learning curve. To keep this bloodiest battle from becoming even bloodier,
Marines turned to a special weapon. Not only was Iwo Jima the bloodiest battle in United
States Marine Corps history, it was also the burniest! With nowhere to run or hide,
desperate US troops had to meet Japanese troops head on. US demolition experts strapped 70 pound
flamethrowers on their backs and were forced to engage in battle at a terrifyingly close distance.
Demo men would run toward the small pillboxes and fire into their open window or get on top and fire
into the ventilation pipes, toasting anything inside. These demo, fire-throwing bad boys had
to get within 15 yards to toast the enemy. Many of the Medals of Honor given out for this battle
were given to these fire handling Marines that turned a bloody battlefield into burnt toast.
In the first few days of battle, 40 brave Marines volunteered to march up
Mount Suribachi as the entire Japanese army tried to use them for target practice.
The small combat patrol overcame tremendous odds to fight back the surprised Japanese soldiers
waiting on the higher ground and managed to secure the entire mountain for the U.S Marine Corps!
In spite of suffering massive losses in the opening days of the bloody battle,
the Marines still achieved one of their objectives and took the mountain. The bloody, broken, but
not beaten men raised a U.S. flag to inspire the troops still pouring onto the beach from the sea.
The men raising the flag atop Mount Suribachi is one of the most iconic photos of all time
and inspired the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington.
During the War, Marine Corps leadership selected 29 Navajo men who created a code based on the
complex, unwritten Navajo language. This system enabled the Code Talkers to translate three lines
of English in 20 seconds, not 30 minutes as was common with existing code-breaking machines.
This amazingly efficient code helped US forces to ultimately win the war and saved millions of
lives that otherwise would have been lost. On Iwo Jima, the battle bloodied Marines
needed their Navajo brothers to be absolutely perfect, and the men came through. Six Navajo
Code Talker Marines successfully transmitted more than 800 messages without one single error.
When a mistake costs countless lives, these Navajo Marines may have been the most important
men on the battlefield. At the end of the war, the Navajo Code remained unbroken.
After Iwo Jima fell all that was left was The Battle Of Okinawa. There, with it’s army ravaged
and fleets depleted, Japan was forced to rely on suicidal kamikaze pilots to protect its mainland.
Everyday Okinawan citizens, even 1,780 middle school boys aged 14–17 years, fought and died for
Japan. After Okinawa, it became apparent to Allied forces that even though Japan was militarily
defeated, they would not surrender unless severely pressured. So, the United States employed the only
atomic bombs ever to be used in battle, dropping nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Japan surrendered 160 days after its defeat at Iwo Jima. The Battle officially ended Mar 26th, 1945.
But there were about 3,000 Japanese troops that refused to surrender and were unaccounted for.
So, Marines spent the next few weeks in close quarters combat, clearing those tunnels.
After nearly 3 weeks of more bloodshed, US troops believed they had eliminated
nearly all the Japanese forces. But, there were still soldiers living in the tunnels! In fact,
Yamakage Kufuku and Matsudo Linsoki, two Imperial Japanese Navy machine gunners wouldn’t officially
come out of hiding and surrender until January 6, 1949! Four years after the war was over!
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