Osprey Campaign 81 : Iwo Jima 1945 : The Marines raise the flag on Mount Suribachi

Planned as a ten-day campaign, the battle for Iwo Jima developed into what Lt General Holand Smith, the overall Marine Commander, described as 'the toughest fight in the 169 years of our Corps' - a titanic struggle of savagery that eclipsed all that had gone before, and which dragged on for 36 days. The island was of major strategic importance to the US Air Force, as a place where B-29 bombers damaged over Japan could land safely, and as a base for escort fighters to assist in the bombing campaign. However, it was also of supreme importance to the 20,000 Japanese who were deeply entrenched in the island when the Marines invaded, and to whom surrender was not an option. 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. Text by Derrick Wright with illustrations by Jim Laurier.

Contents

• Introduction
• Origins of the Campaign
• Opposing Commanders
• Opposing Armies
• Opposing Plans
• Campaign
• Battle
• Aftermath and Conclusion
• Battlefield Today
• Chronology
• Bibliography
• Index