Closing In Marines In The Seizure Of Iwo Jima

Closing In: Marines in the Seizure of Iwo Jima is a fact-based account of the battle for Iwo Jima in the Pacific, a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. The war took place on Iwo Jima volcano island, which was a small island for such a large number of casualties of about twenty-two thousand Japanese and nearly seven thousand US Marines, with another nineteen thousand Americans injured. Joseph H. Alexander (1938 – 2014) himself was a Colonel of the United States Marine Corps, where he served for twenty-nine years, and he was also a historian. He has given a historical insight into the war in the Pacific through this book.

Contents: assault preparations; Japanese Commander Lt. Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi; Japanese defense sectors; assault commanders; landing plan; Suribachi; Rosenthal's photo of Iwo Jima flag-raising quickly became one of the War's most famous; the drive north; the Japanese 320mm Spigot Mortar; Marine Corps air support during Iwo Jima; the bitter end; the Marines' Zippo Tanks; Iwo's fire brigades: the rocket detachments; amphibious logistical support; above & beyond the call of duty; Assault Divisions' Command Structures. Photos & maps.

The historic battles of the Marines in the Pacific War are recounted in this U.S. Marines history book. Some of the subjects covered include: Mount Suribachi, Kamikaze Pilots, Marine Zippo Tanks, MacArthur and Roosevelt, V Amphibious Corps.

Sunday, 4 March 1945, marked the end of the second week of the U.S. invasion of Iwo Jima. By this point the assault elements of the 3d, 4th, and 5th Marine Divisions were exhausted, their combat efficiency reduced to dangerously low levels. The thrilling sight of the American flag being raised by the 28th Marines on Mount Suribachi had occurred 10 days earlier, a lifetime on "Sulphur Island." The landing forces of the V Amphibious Corps (VAC) had already sustained 13,000 casualties, including 3,000 dead. The "front lines" were a jagged serration across Iwo's fat northern half, still in the middle of the main Japanese defenses. Ahead the going seemed all uphill against a well-disciplined, rarely visible enemy. In the center of the island, the 3d Marine Division units had been up most of the night repelling a small but determined Japanese counterattack which had found the seam between the 21st and 9th Marines. Vicious close combat had cost both sides heavy casualties. The counterattack spoiled the division's preparations for a morning advance. Both regiments made marginal gains against very stiff opposition. To the east the 4th Marine Division had finally captured Hill 382, ending its long exposure in "The Amphitheater," but combat efficiency had fallen to 50 percent. It would drop another five points by nightfall. On this day the 24th Marines, supported by flame tanks, advanced a total of 100 yards, pausing to detonate more than a ton of explosives against enemy cave positions in that sector. The 23d and 25th Marines entered the most difficult terrain yet encountered, broken ground that limited visibility to only a few feet. Along the western flank, the 5th Marine Division had just seized Nishi Ridge and Hill 362-B the previous day, suffering more than 500 casualties. It too had been up most of the night engaging a sizeable force of infiltrators. The Sunday morning attacks lacked coordination, reflecting the division's collective exhaustion. Most rifle companies were at half-strength. The net gain for the day, the division reported, was "practically nil."

This book is the account of the Battle of Tinian. It was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July until 1 August 1944. The American forces eliminated the 8,000-man Japanese garrison, and the island joined Saipan and Guam as a base for the Twentieth Air Force.