Onto The Black Shores Of Hell The Battle For Iwo Jima

On February 19, 1945, thousands of Marines landed on the black shores of a tiny volcanic island in the Pacific. The fight that was supposed to take only 3 days lasted well over a month. The battle for Iwo Jima, known to many only for one picture, became one of the bloodiest in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps. It was the only battle in which the Marine Corps casualties exceeded the Japanese. In just over a month of fighting 27 Medals of Honor were awarded, more than any other battle in U.S. history. Of the original 22,000 Japanese defenders only 216 would surrender. In Onto the Black Shores of Hell three United States Marines share their personal experiences of the epic battle for Iwo Jima through a largely day-by-day account, interwoven with historical background information. Follow these men of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Marine Division on their epic journey from bootcamp to a tiny island in the Pacific that would become famous for its horrific story.

The Battle of Iwo Jima was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

The battle of Iwo Jima saw one hundred thousand men fighting over a tiny volcanic island of just 8 square miles. The island was of major strategic importance to the US Air Force. However, it was also of supreme importance to the 20,000 Japanese troops who were deeply entrenched in the island when the Marines invaded, and to whom surrender was not an option. The titanic struggle dragged on for 36 days, eclipsing all that had gone before. The loss of Iwo Jima was proof to the Japanese that the Americans could seize one of the world's most heavily defended islands, and filled them with foreboding about the inevitable invasion of their homeland. This book covers the campaign in detail, and also the experiences of the men who fought for their lives on the black sands of Iwo Jima in one of the most savage battles of the Pacific War. This book contains material previously published in Campaigns 81: Iwo Jima 1945, Warrior 95: Japanese Infantryman 1937–45 and WAR 112: US Marine Rifleman 1939–45: Pacific Theater

In the winter of 1945, American forces prepared to launch an amphibious invasion of a tiny, desolate island in the Pacific - one of the most savagely fought and pivotal battles of World War II. On the black volcanic shores of Iwo Jima, the United States and Japan were about to clash in an epic struggle unparalleled in its ferocity and heroism on both sides. For thirty-six terrifying days, nearly 70,000 Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen would be engaged in a nightmarish campaign against 22,000 Japanese defenders led by the brilliant mind of Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi. In an ingeniously designed landscape of underground fortifications, blockhouses and deadly crossfires, Kuribayashi's forces turned Iwo Jima into an impenetrable killing field. The Marines paid a horrific price to capture every inch of terrain against an enemy willing to fight to the last man. Now renowned military historian [Author's Name] brings this epic battle to stunning clarity in a masterful chronicle of strategy, leadership and the extraordinary human experiences that defined this pivotal moment of World War II. With unprecedented access to firsthand accounts and primary sources, [Author] plunges readers into the claustrophobic, rain-soaked chaos endured by the combatants on both sides. This is a true "unflinching" history - one that pulls no punches in reconstructing the brutality, carnage and sheer grit displayed in equal measure by American and Japanese forces. From the incredible individual acts of heroic sacrifice that earned 27 Medals of Honor, to the tactical genius of Kuribayashi's interwoven kill zones, to the sheer unrelenting violence witnessed by men like Marines Tony Stein and John Bradley, Thirty-Six Days of Hell recreates the unimaginable human drama and trauma endured on those nightmarish volcanic fields. You'll march with Marine companies as they face withering crossfires and mortar barrages to gain one brutally-contested yard at a time. You'll experience the horrific confines of the underground bunkers and tunnel networks where Kuribayashi's troops defiantly sustained weeks of ceaseless bombardment. Most critically, this book reveals how the catastrophic losses and examples of fanatical resistance on Iwo Jima profoundly altered the trajectory of the entire Pacific campaign - and validated the American decision to avoid an invasion of Japan itself through different, unimaginably powerful means.

Iwo Jima: arguably the most violent battle of the Second World War. On February 19th, 1945, U.S. Marines of the 4th and 5th Divisions land on sacred Japanese soil. Thirty-six days later the fighting is over. Almost all of the 20,000 Japanese defenders are dead, and the shattered remains of three Marine Divisions leave Iwo after suffering over 6,000 dead and 15,000 wounded making Iwo Jima the ""Gettysburg of the Pacific."" Iwo; Assault on Hell shows a worms eye view of the fighting on Iwo Jima. Seen from the eyes of the 5th Division Marines who fought and bled there, these interwoven experiences paint a blood mosaic that pays tribute to the courage and bravery of our Marine forefathers, who sacrificed so much for this famous island stepping stone.

A definitive account of the famous battle of Iwo Jima, and the men who fought there. The battle of Iwo Jima saw one hundred thousand men fighting over a tiny volcanic island of just 8 square miles. The island was of major strategic importance to the US Air Force. However, it was also of supreme importance to the 20,000 Japanese troops who were deeply entrenched in the island when the Marines invaded, and to whom surrender was not an option. The titanic struggle dragged on for 36 days, eclipsing all that had gone before. The loss of Iwo Jima was proof to the Japanese that the Americans could seize one of the world's most heavily defended islands, and filled them with foreboding about the inevitable invasion of their homeland. This book covers the campaign in detail, and also the experiences of the men who fought for their lives on the black sands of Iwo Jima in one of the most savage battles of the Pacific War. This book contains material previously published in Campaigns 81: Iwo Jima 1945, Warrior 95: Japanese Infantryman 1937–45 and WAR 112: US Marine Rifleman 1939–45: Pacific Theater