Battle of Iwo Jima order of battle

Map of Iwo Jima showing landing beaches

Landing craft approaching Iwo Jima; looking southwest toward Mt. Suribachi

On February 19, 1945, men of the United States Marine Corps invaded the island of Iwo Jima, part of the Volcano Islands chain, in the North Pacific. This invasion, known as Operation Detachment, was a phase of the Pacific Theatre of World War II. The American goal was to establish multiple airfields that would allow escort fighters to accompany long-range bombers in their attacks on the Japanese home islands, as well as providing a place for damaged bombers to land on the return flight.

The Japanese military was determined to inflict a casualty rate so high that the U.S. government would give up its demand that Japan surrender unconditionally. To this end, the island had been covered with an extremely extensive system of fortifications and fields of fire. The United States Navy subjected the island to an unprecedented bombardment and, according to historian Samuel Eliot Morison, "In no previous operation in the Pacific had naval gunfire support been so effective as at Iwo Jima."^[1] Nonetheless, Japanese artillery and machine-gun fire were extremely effective because the underground bunkers were so strong, only a direct hit by a bomb or naval shell could knock one out. Since direct hits were very difficult on well-camouflaged bunkers, many survived and inflicted a huge casualty rate on the Marines.

For the conquest of Iwo Jima, the Marine Corps assigned three divisions, a total of almost 70,000 troops, in stark contrast to the single division tasked with capturing Guadalcanal in August 1942. The conquest of Iwo Jima took five weeks, far beyond the American estimates.

United States[edit]

Naval commanders for Operation Detachment

Admiral Raymond A. Spruance

Vice Adm. Richmond Kelly Turner

Rear Adm. William H.P. Blandy

Rear Adm. Harry W. Hill

Naval forces[edit]

United States Pacific Fleet
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz HQ at Pearl Harbor

United States Fifth Fleet

Admiral Raymond A. Spruance in heavy cruiser Indianapolis

Joint Expeditionary Force (Task Force 51)

Vice Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner in amphibious command ship Eldorado

Amphibious Support Force (Task Force 52)

Rear Admiral William H.P. Blandy in amphibious command ship Estes

Attack Force (Task Force 53)

Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill in amphibious command ship Auburn

Ground forces[edit]

Ground force commanders

Holland M. Smith as a full general

Maj. Gen. Harry Schmidt

Expeditionary Troops (Task Force 56)
Lieutenant General Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith^[a]

Chief of Staff: Col. Dudley S. Brown

Personnel officer (G-1): Col. Russell N. Jordahl

Intelligence officer (G-2): Col. Edmond J. Buckley

Operations officer (G-3): Col. Kenneth H. Weir

Logistics officer (G-4): Col. George R. Rowan

V Amphibious Corps
Major General Harry Schmidt

Chief of Staff: Brig. Gen. William W. Rogers

Personnel officer (G-1): Col. David A. Stafford

Intelligence officer (G-2): Col. Thomas R. Yancey

Operations officer (G-3): Col. Edward A. Craig

Logistics officer (G-4): Col. William F. Brown

8th Marine Field Depot (shore party command): Col. Leland S. Swindler

Landing Force Air Support Control Unit 1: Col. Vernon E. Megee

62nd Seabees

5th Marine Division command

Maj. Gen. Keller E. Rockey

Leo D. Hermle as a major general

Jeeps firing 4.5-inch rockets at Japanese positions

Left landing area (Green and Red Beaches):

5th Marine Division (25,884 officers and enlisted)

Major General Keller E. Rockey

Asst. Div. Cmdr.: Brig. Gen. Leo D. Hermle

Chief of Staff: Col. Ray A. Robinson

CO HQ Battalion: Maj. John Ayrault, Jr.

Personnel officer (G-1): Col. John W. Beckett

Intelligence officer (G-2): Lt. Col. George A. Roll

Operations officer (G-3): Col. James F. Shaw, Jr.

Logistics officer (G-4): Col. Earl S. Piper

Plans officer (G-5): Lt. Col. Frederick H. Dowsett

Green Beach:

28th Marine Regiment

Colonel Harry B. "Harry the Horse" Liversedge

Exec. Ofc.: Lt. Col. Robert H. Williams

1st Battalion (Lt. Col. Jackson B. Butterfield)

2nd Battalion (Lt. Col. Chandler W. Johnson (KIA 2 Mar), Maj. Thomas B. Pearce, Jr.)

3rd Battalion (Lt. Col. Charles E. Shepard, Jr. (to 14 Mar), Maj. Tolson A. Smoak (to 25 Mar), Lt. Col. Shepard)

Red Beaches 1 & 2:

27th Marine Regiment

Colonel Thomas A. Wornham

Exec. Ofc.: Col. Louis C. Plain (WIA 19 Feb), Lt. Col. James P. Berkeley)

1st Battalion (Lt. Col. John A. Butler (KIA 5 Mar), Lt. Col. Justin C. Duryea (WIA 9 Mar), Lt. Col. William H. Tumbleston (WIA 14 Mar)

2nd Battalion (Maj. John W. Antonelli (WIA 9 Mar), Maj. Gerald F. Russell)

3rd Battalion (Lt. Col. Donn J. Robertson)^[b]

Reserve:

26th Marine Regiment

Colonel Chester B. Graham

Exec. Ofc.: Col. Lester S. Hamel

1st Battalion (Lt. Col. Daniel C. Pollock (WIA 19 Mar), Maj. Albert V.K. Gary)

2nd Battalion (Lt. Col. Joseph P. Sayers (WIA 23 Feb), Maj. Amadeo Rea)

3rd Battalion (Lt. Col. Tom M. Trotti (KIA 22 Feb), Maj. Richard Fagan)

13th Marine Regiment (Artillery)

Colonel James D. Waller

1st Battalion (Lt. Col. John S. Oldfield)

2nd Battalion (Maj. Carl W. Hjerpe)

3rd Battalion (Lt. Col. Henry T. Waller)

4th Battalion (Maj. James F. Coady)

Service troops

Colonel Benjamin W. Gaily

3rd Amphibian Tractor Battalion (Lt. Col. Sylvester L. Stephan)

11th Amphibian Tractor Battalion (Lt. Col. Albert J. Roose)

5th Engineer Battalion (Lt. Col. Clifford H. Shuey)

5th Medical Battalion (Lt. Cmdr. William W. Ayres, USN)

5th Motor Transport Battalion (Maj. Arthur F. Torgler, Jr.)

5th Pioneer Battalion (Maj. Robert S. Riddell)

5th Service Battalion (Maj. Francis P. Daly (KIA 22 Feb), Maj. Gardelle Lewis (from 26 Feb))

5th Tank Battalion (Lt. Col. William R. Collins)

4th Marine Division command

Clifton B. Cates as a full general

Franklin A. Hart as a lieutenant general

Right landing area (Yellow and Blue beaches):

4th Marine Division (24,452 officers and enlisted)

Major General Clifton B. Cates^[c]

Asst. Div. Cmdr.: Brig. Gen. Franklin A. Hart

Chief of Staff: Col. Merton J. Batchelder

CO HQ Battalion: Col. Bertrand T. Fay

Personnel officer (G-1): Col. Orin H. Wheeler

Intelligence officer (G-2): Lt. Col. Gooderham L. McCormick

Operations officer (G-3): Col. Edwin A. Pollock

Logistics officer (G-4): Col. Matthew C. Horner

Yellow Beaches 1 & 2:

23rd Marine Regiment

Colonel Walter W. Wensinger

Exec. Ofc.: Lt. Col. Edward J. Dillon

1st Battalion (Lt. Col. Ralph Haas (KIA 20 Feb), Lt. Col. Louis B. Blissard)

2nd Battalion (Maj. Robert H. Davidson)

3rd Battalion (Maj. James S. Scales)

Blue Beach 1:

25th Marine Regiment

Colonel John R. Lanigan

Exec. Ofc.: Lt. Col. Clarence J. O'Donnell

1st Battalion (Lt. Col. Hollis U. Mustain (KIA 21 Feb), Maj. Fenton J. Mee)

2nd Battalion (Lt. Col. Lewis C. Hudson, Jr. (WIA 20 Feb), Lt. Col. James Taul)

3rd Battalion (Lt. Col. Justice M. Chambers (WIA 22 Feb), Capt. James C. Headley)

Reserve:

24th Marine Regiment

Colonel Walter I. Jordan

Exec. Ofc.: Lt. Col. Austin R. Brunelli

1st Battalion (Maj. Paul S. Treitel (to 8 Mar), Lt. Col. Austin R. Brunelli)

2nd Battalion (Lt. Col. Richard Rothwell)

14th Marine Regiment (Artillery)

Colonel Louis O. DeHaven

Exec. Ofc.: Lt. Col. Randall M. Victory

1st Battalion (Maj. John B. Edgar, Jr.)

2nd Battalion (Maj. Clifford B. Drake)

3rd Battalion (Lt. Col. Robert E. MacFarlane (), )

4th Battalion (Lt. Col. Carl A. Youngdale ())

Service troops

Lt. Colonel Melvin L. Krulewitch

5th Amphibian Tractor Battalion (Maj. George L. Shead)

10th Amphibian Tractor Battalion (Maj. Victor J. Croizat)

4th Engineer Battalion (Lt. Col. Nelson K. Brown)

4th Medical Battalion (Cmdr. Reuben L. Sharp, USN)

4th Motor Transport Battalion (Lt. Col. Ralph L. Schiesswohl)

4th Pioneer Battalion (Lt. Col. Richard G. Ruby)

4th Service Battalion (Lt. Col. John F. Fondahl)

4th Tank Battalion (Lt. Col. Richard K. Schmidt)

3rd Marine Division command

Maj. Gen. Graves B. Erskine

William A. Worton as a colonel

Floating reserve:

3rd Marine Division (19,597 officers and enlisted)

Major General Graves B. Erskine

Asst. Div. Cmdr.: Brig. Gen. William A. Worton

Chief of Staff: Col. Robert E. Hogaboom

CO HQ Battalion: Lt. Col. Jack F. Warner (to 14 Mar), Lt. Col. Carey A. Randall

Personnel officer (G-1): Maj. Irving R. Kriendler

Intelligence officer (G-2): Lt. Col. Howard J. Turton

Operations officer (G-3): Col. Arthur H. Butler

Logistics officer (G-4): Col. James D. Hittle

Committed to center sector D+2, attached to 4th Marine Division:

21st Marine Regiment

Colonel Hartnoll J. Withers

Exec. Ofc.: Lt. Col. Eustace R. Smoak

1st Battalion (Lt. Col. Marlowe C. Williams (WIA 22 Feb), Maj. Clay M. Murray (WIA 22 Feb), Maj. Robert H. Houser)

2nd Battalion (Lt. Col. Lowell E. English (WIA 2 Mar), Maj. George A. Percy)

3rd Battalion (Lt. Col. Wendell H. Duplantis)

Committed D+6:

9th Marine Regiment

Colonel Howard N. Kenyon

Exec. Ofc.: Lt. Col. Paul W. Russell

1st Battalion (Lt. Col. Carey A. Randall (to 6 Mar), Maj. William T. Glass (to 14 Mar), Lt. Col. Jack F. Warner)

2nd Battalion (Lt. Col. Robert E. Cushman, Jr.)^[d]

3rd Battalion (Lt. Col. Harold C. Boehm)

12th Marine Regiment (Artillery)

Lieutenant Colonel Raymond F. Crist Jr.

Exec. Ofc.: Lt. Col. Bernard H. Kirk

1st Battalion (Maj. George B. Thomas)

2nd Battalion (Lt. Col. William T. Fairbourn)

3rd Battalion (Lt. Col. Alpha L. Bowser, Jr.)

4th Battalion (Maj. Joe B. Wallen (to 20 Mar), Lt. Col. Thomas R. Belzer)

Arrived on March 20 and attached to 3rd Marine Division^[2]

147th Infantry Regiment (Ohio Army National Guard)

Colonel Robert F. Johnson

Exec. Ofc.: Lt. Col. Eustace R. Smoak

1st Battalion

2nd Battalion

3rd Battalion

Service troops

Colonel James O. Brauer (to 6 Mar), Colonel Lewis A. Hohn

3rd Engineer Battalion (Lt. Col. Nelson K. Brown)

3rd Medical Battalion (Cmdr. Reuben L. Sharp, USN)

3rd Motor Transport Battalion (Lt. Col. Ralph L. Schiesswohl)

3rd Pioneer Battalion (Lt. Col. Richard G. Ruby)

3rd Tank Battalion (Lt. Col. Richard K. Schmidt)

Never landed:

3rd Marine Regiment

Colonel James A. Stuart

Japan[edit]

Lieut. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, commanding
Colonel Tadashi Takaishi, chief of staff
21,060 total men under arms
Army

109th Division

145th Infantry Regiment

17th Mixed Infantry Regiment

26th Tank Regiment

2nd Mixed Brigade

Navy

125th Anti-Aircraft Defense Unit

132nd Anti-Aircraft Defense Unit

141st Anti-Aircraft Defense Unit

149th Anti-Aircraft Defense Unit

Sources[edit]

Clark, George B. (2006). The Six Marine Divisions in the Pacific: Every Campaign of World War II. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-2769-7.
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1960). Victory in the Pacific, 1945. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. XIV. Little, Brown and Co. LCCN 47-1571.

Notes[edit]

^ Generated so much ill-will between the services that he was eventually reassigned stateside.
^ Commanded the 1st Marine Division in the Vietnam War.
^ Served as Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1948 to 1951.
^ Commanded all Marine Corps forces in Vietnam from June through December 1967.

References[edit]

^ Morison, p. 40
^ Army Boots on Volcanic Sands: The 147th Infantry Regiment at Iwo Jima (https://www.jstor.org/stable/26300958)

[2] Generated so much ill-will between the services that he was eventually reassigned stateside.

[3] Commanded the 1st Marine Division in the Vietnam War.

[4] Served as Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1948 to 1951.

[5] Commanded all Marine Corps forces in Vietnam from June through December 1967.

[1] Morison, p. 40

[6] Army Boots on Volcanic Sands: The 147th Infantry Regiment at Iwo Jima (https://www.jstor.org/stable/26300958)

[1]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[2]

United States[edit]

Naval forces[edit]

Ground forces[edit]

Japan[edit]

See also[edit]

Sources[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]