Chapter 34 Chapter 7 Only Surrender Is the Way Out

The Pacific War continued until 1945, and little Japan had nothing left but to fight back, and the Japanese mainland was continuously subjected to large-scale air raids by the US military. In September 1944, the U.S. Army occupied Ulithi Atoll, the westernmost Caroline Islands abandoned by the Japanese.After two months of intensive construction, this place has been turned into a gathering place for troops and a material hoarding base for the US military to attack Japan.At its peak, there were 722 ships of various types moored here, storing 600,000 gallons of fuel, 1,500 wagons of ammunition, and enough food to feed the population of two states in the United States for 15 days.

The Japanese army originally thought that as the battle line approached Japan, the supply line of the U.S. Pacific Fleet would be greatly extended, and supplies would have to be transported across the ocean, and injured warships would have to travel thousands of miles back for repairs.However, the US military's powerful logistical supply capabilities and base construction capabilities have far exceeded the imagination of the Japanese.The Ulithi Atoll, which the Japanese army considered to be of very limited value, was transformed into a large base by the US military in just two months, which shocked the Japanese army.

The U.S. military not only brought enough combat supplies to the front line, but even sent enough ice cream and cold beer to the officers and soldiers.In contrast, even the Japanese troops stationed at the Rabaul base were often hungry and full.On the Japanese-occupied islands very close to Ulithi Atoll, Japanese officers and soldiers chewed raw rice and endured malaria, waiting to die.The two armies don't seem to be on the same planet.This reflects the huge difference in the national strength of the United States and Japan! After the U.S. military captured the Mariana Islands, it established an air base here and dispatched a large number of B-29 heavy bombers to attack the Japanese mainland.The fly in the ointment is that the Mariana Islands are more than 2,700 kilometers away from the Japanese mainland, and the B-29 has traveled long distances. Due to the range limitation, each aircraft can only carry 3 tons of bombs, which is only 30% of the maximum bomb load.Moreover, due to the long range, U.S. fighter jets cannot provide full escort, so the B-29 can only bomb at an altitude of 8,000 to 9,000 meters, and the effect is not ideal.

From the map, there is an island just separated between the Mariana Islands and the Japanese mainland, and that is Iwo Jima located in the south of the Ogasawara Islands.Iwo Jima is the second largest island in the Ogasawara Islands. It is more than 1,200 kilometers away from Tokyo in the north and nearly 1,200 kilometers away from Saipan in the south, almost in the middle of the two places.The whole island is about 8,000 meters long and 4,000 meters wide, shaped like a big ham, and covers an area of ​​about 20 square kilometers.In the south of the island, there is a volcano called Mount Suribachi, which is not completely cooled. It is 160 meters above sea level and emits mist all the year round. The smell of sulfur permeates the whole island, hence the name Iwo Jima.To the north of Mount Suribachi, there is a relatively wide and flat highland called the Central Highland.Further north, there are several peaks called Wonsan area.Much of Iwo Jima is covered in thick volcanic ash.

Iwo Jima was in the hands of the Japanese army. It could not only issue bombing warnings to Tokyo, but also take off fighter jets to intercept US bombers, and even continuously dispatch planes to attack US airports in Saipan and other places, thereby greatly reducing the bombing effect of the US military on Japan.Since the US military captured the Mariana Islands, Iwo Jima has become a stick in the throat for the US military. On the contrary, if Iwo Jima is in the hands of the US military, all the disadvantages will turn into advantages. Taking off from Iwo Jima, the B-29 would have half the distance to mainland Japan and double the bomb load.If fighter jets take off from Iwo Jima, they can provide full escort for the B-29, and even medium-sized bombers like the B-24 can take off from Iwo Jima to attack the Japanese mainland.More importantly, Iwo Jima can also be used as an alternate airport for B-29s for emergency landing of injured B-29s.Therefore, the US military is bound to win Iwo Jima!

In April 1944, the U.S. military decided to attack Iwo Jima, under the command of Admiral Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Fleet.Nimitz moved his headquarters from Pearl Harbor to Guam in order to command nearby. During this period, the Japanese army also saw the intentions of the US military. Before 1944, the Japanese army only used Iwo Jima as an aviation transit base in the central and southern parts of the Pacific Ocean, and only deployed more than 1,500 naval garrison troops and 20 aircraft on the island.After the fall of the Mariana Islands, the Ogasawara Islands became the last line of defense against U.S. air strikes on the Japanese mainland.The Japanese army began to vigorously strengthen the defense forces of Iwo Jima.

In March 1944, Japan sent more than 4,000 army soldiers to Iwo Jima; in May, the army on Iwo Jima was reorganized into the 109th Division. 120 mm, 155 mm shore guns, 100 mm anti-aircraft guns and twin 25 mm anti-aircraft guns; in July, the Japanese Navy's 27th Air Force was also transferred to Iwo Jima. In this way, as of February 1945, the Japanese army on Iwo Jima had more than 15,000 troops in the army and more than 7,000 in the navy, a total of 23,000 people, and more than 30 aircraft, under the unified command of Tadamichi Kuribayashi.The Japanese army built an airport in the central highland and Wonsan area of ​​the island, respectively called Qiandao Airport and Wonsan Airport, also called No. 1 Airport and No. 2 Airport, and built a third airport north of No. 2 Airport.

Since the US military quickly captured the Mariana Islands, the personnel, equipment and supplies that Japan originally planned to send to the Mariana Islands were all transported to the nearby Iwo Jima.Although the U.S. military organized planes and submarines to attack with all their strength, they attempted to cut off the reinforcements and supplies of Iwo Jima.However, the Japanese army used Chichijima in the Ogasawara Islands as a transit point and adopted the method of barge transfer by small boats, which made the US blockade effect not ideal. However, due to the devastating blows to the main force of the Japanese navy and air force in the Battle of Wright Gulf and the Battle of the Philippines, Japan has lost its control of the sea and air, and is unable to provide sea and air support for Iwo Jima.The anti-landing operations on Iwo Jima must be carried out with almost no support from the navy and air force.

Nevertheless, the Japanese army tried their best.Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the guard on Iwo Jima, is an American expert. He was born in 1891 in a samurai family in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.Later, he entered the Army Cavalry School for advanced studies. In 1923, he was promoted to captain and graduated from the 35th class of the Army University. From 1927 to 1931, Kuribayashi Tadamichi went to the Americas twice, serving as the Japanese military attache in the United States and Canada. He studied at Harvard University and studied the American military. He is a rare American expert in the Japanese army.After returning to China, Kuribayashi Tadamichi successively served as the captain of the Seventh Cavalry Regiment. During the Japanese War of Aggression against China, he served as the commander of the Second Cavalry Brigade and was stationed in Inner Mongolia. In September 1941, the Japanese cavalry unit was disbanded and reorganized into a mechanized unit.He was transferred to be the chief of staff of the 23rd Army stationed in Guangzhou, and he assisted Commander Takashi Sakai in launching the Hong Kong Campaign, where the British and Canadian troops were forced to land. In 1943, he was promoted to lieutenant general and served as the head of the Second Guards Division.

In April 1944, Tadamichi Kuribayashi took the blame and resigned due to a fire at the station. He was transferred from Northeast China to Iwo Jima, where he was transferred to the commander of the 109th Division, responsible for the defense of Iwo Jima.At that time, Japanese troops were insufficient, and Tadamichi Kuribayashi led a makeshift army division, among which were many old and weak soldiers who had been forcibly conscripted. After receiving the order to defend Iwo Jima, Kuribayashi Tadamichi wrote to his wife: "I may not come back alive, but don't worry, I will never bring shame to our family. I will definitely be worthy of our Kuribayashi family samurai style."

This American expert has a premonition that Japan's defeat is coming. Iwo Jima was the first island belonging to Japan's inherent territory attacked by the US military.Tadamichi Kuribayashi was well aware of the technological superiority of the U.S. military, so after taking office, he resisted all opinions and advocated abandoning the beachhead, relying on the favorable terrain of Mt.However, the naval garrison insisted on the strategy of annihilating the enemy at the beachhead. In the end, Tadamichi Kuribayashi had no choice but to make a compromise plan, focusing on defense in depth and supplementing beachhead defense.The naval garrison built permanent launch points and strong support points along the beach for defense; the main force of the army concentrated in the Suribachi and Wonsan areas to implement in-depth defense. Kuribayashi Tadamichi was determined to build Iwo Jima into a solid fortress, with Suribachi as the core position and the two airports as the main defensive areas.Most of the fortifications of the Japanese army were underground tunnels, and most of the artillery positions were built semi-underground, which greatly improved their survivability under heavy bombardment.The most exaggerated thing is that Mount Suribachi was almost hollowed out by the Japanese army, and nine floors of tunnels were built alone! The only shortcoming is that the tunnel fortifications originally planned by the Japanese army in the Wonsan area was 28 kilometers long, but due to lack of time, only 70% of them were completed, and there was no tunnel connection between Suribachi and the Wonsan area. Tadamichi Kuribayashi changed the two-shot tactics of the Japanese army in the early days of the war, using tactics such as close-range shooting, mobile defense by dividing troops, and lure and ambush. Suicide charges were strictly prohibited, and every soldier was called on to kill at least 10 American troops. In early October 1944, the U.S. military issued a combat plan to attack Iwo Jima. The ground force of the U.S. military participating in the operation is the Fifth Amphibious Army, under the jurisdiction of the third, fourth, and fifth divisions of the Marine Corps, with a total of about 60,000 people, commanded by Lieutenant General Smith.The landing and support formations were commanded by Lieutenant General Turner.The fifty-eighth task force commanded by Lieutenant General Mitchell was responsible for sea and air cover.The U.S. military participated in the war with about 500 landing ships, 400 warships, and 2,000 aircraft, all under the unified command of the Fifth Fleet commander, Admiral Spruance. A bloody battle is about to begin.When people mention Iwo Jima today, they often first think of an American blockbuster "Letters from Iwo Jima".And 60 years ago, Iwo Jima represented real blood, bones and terror. From August 10, 1944, the U.S. Air Force stationed on Saipan began to carry out air strikes on the Ogasawara Islands. The bombing focus was on the airport of Iwo Jima and the port of Jiji Island, which provides supplies for Iwo Jima.From August to October, the U.S. military carried out 48 bombings, dropping about 4,000 tons of bombs, but with little effect. On November 24, the U.S. military on Saipan dispatched B-29 bombers for the first time to bomb the Japanese mainland.The bombing aroused great fear in the Japanese army, and they responded immediately.Three days later, the Japanese army on Iwo Jima dispatched planes to attack the US B-29 air base on Saipan, destroying one B-29 bomber and injuring 11.In the days that followed, the Japanese army on Iwo Jima organized several air strikes on the US air base in Saipan, seriously threatening the safety of the US air base. In order to suppress the harassment of Japanese aircraft on Iwo Jima, the U.S. military organized a coordinated naval and air assault.By the beginning of February 1945, a total of 1,269 carrier-based aircraft, 1,479 shore-based aviation aircraft, and 64 warships had been dispatched, with a total of more than 6,800 tons of bombs dropped and more than 20,000 rounds of large-caliber naval artillery shells fired.Although the U.S. artillery fire was fierce, its effect was very limited in the face of the carefully constructed fortifications of the Japanese army.Not to mention the tunnel fortifications of the Japanese army, even the two airports on the island were not completely destroyed by the US military. On January 26, 1945, the U.S. Third Fleet, which had completed the support mission for the landing on Luzon Island, returned to the base for rest.Admiral Halsey, commander of the Third Fleet, handed over command to Spruance, and the Third Fleet was then renamed the Fifth Fleet.This is a new measure that the U.S. military has implemented since the autumn of 1944, that is, it has equipped the Pacific Fleet with two sets of command staff.Under Halsey's command, the designation was the Third Fleet; under Spruance's command, it was called the Fifth Fleet.One person leads the army to command the battle on the front line, while the other is planning and brewing the next battle in the rear.This can not only make full use of troops, but also confuse the Japanese army. Initially, both Spruance and Nimitz believed that capturing such a small island as Iwo Jima would not take much effort.After looking at the aerial photos taken by reconnaissance planes, they discovered that there was an unusual defense system on Iwo Jima.Lieutenant General Smith, after carefully studying aerial photos, believed that Iwo Jima would be the most difficult island to capture, and expected to pay a price of 20,000 casualties. On January 28, when Major General Li Mei, commander of the 21st Air Force of the Army Air Force, which was in charge of organizing the strategic bombing of the Japanese homeland, came to discuss how the air force would support the landing operations on Iwo Jima, Spruance asked him about the impact of Iwo Jima on the war. How much is it worth.Li Mei immediately stated that without Iwo Jima, there would be no effective strategic bombing of the Japanese mainland.Spruance, who was hesitant at first, felt relieved and determined to capture Iwo Jima at all costs. On February 2, Nimitz came to the Ulisi base to inspect the preparations for the Iwo Jima operation.Spruance proposed that in order to prevent possible Japanese reinforcements to Iwo Jima, carrier air forces must first be used to attack the airfields in the Kanto region of Japan, and Nimitz agreed to this plan. On February 10, Spruance led a huge fleet consisting of 12 aircraft carriers, 8 battleships, 15 cruisers, and 77 destroyers, passing through the east of the Mariana Islands and the Ogasawara Islands, and headed straight for the Japanese mainland. This is the first time a US aircraft carrier formation has attacked the Japanese mainland.Spruance plans to arrive at the coast of Japan on the 16th, conduct suppressive air strikes on the airports in the Kanto region of Japan on the 16th and 17th, and then go south to participate in the Iwo Jima operation.In order to deal with the Japanese "Kamikaze", each aircraft carrier has only 30 bombers and torpedo planes, and the rest are all equipped with fighter jets. On February 16, the US aircraft carrier formation dispatched more than 1,000 carrier-based aircraft, which were divided into several attack waves to attack various airports in Tokyo Bay.However, due to the low clouds and fog in the sky, the attack effect was not ideal. On February 17, the U.S. military dispatched more than 500 carrier-based aircraft sorties, which were divided into two attack waves to bomb airports, aircraft factories, docks and other targets in the Kanto region.In two days, the U.S. military shot down 332 Japanese air fighters and 177 ground fighters, causing some damage to some airports and aircraft factories.Although the results of this air strike were not very great, it greatly attracted the attention of the Japanese army, and achieved the effect of a feinted shot and a slap in the face.In the afternoon of the same day, the US military formation left the sea off Japan and went south to participate in the Iwo Jima operation. Prior to this, on February 14, Rear Admiral William Brandy of the U.S. Army led a fire support formation consisting of 6 battleships, 12 escort aircraft carriers, 5 cruisers, and 16 destroyers, and also left Saipan for Iwo Jima. In the early morning of February 16, Brandy's fire support formation arrived at the waters of Iwo Jima and began to carry out fire attacks.All battleships and cruisers were divided into sections, and the identified targets were destroyed one by one.In order to ensure the accuracy of the bombardment, several battleships even directly aimed at the target at a distance of only 3000 meters from the shore.However, due to the bad weather and the smoke on the island, only 17 of the planned 750 targets were destroyed, and the bombardment had little effect. The Japanese army on the island counterattacked with only some small and medium caliber artillery, damaging one US battleship and one cruiser.Due to concealment considerations, the large-caliber artillery of the Japanese army did not fire a single shot. On February 17, the U.S. underwater demolition team explored the channel under the cover of 12 landing gunboats and cleared underwater mines and obstacles.Tadamichi Kuribayashi had a premonition that the U.S. landing was imminent, and ordered large-caliber artillery to fire, sinking 9 of the 12 U.S. landing gunboats, injuring 3, killing 44 crew members, and injuring 152.This bombardment shocked the U.S. military. They did not expect the Japanese troops on the island to have such fierce firepower, so they immediately bombarded these newly exposed targets. From the 16th to the 18th, in addition to the firepower of the US military's naval guns, the carrier-based aircraft escorting the aircraft carrier also attacked with all their strength.Bombers from Saipan also frequently came to help and bombed Iwo Jima.During these three days, Iwo Jima was almost completely submerged in gunpowder smoke, and the Japanese army had to retreat and hide in the tunnel.The U.S. military consumed more than 24,000 tons of shells and bombs before landing, and Iwo Jima suffered an average of 1,200 tons per square kilometer, but the Japanese army suffered little loss. At 6 o'clock on February 19, the landing formation led by Turner arrived in the waters of Iwo Jima.The U.S. landing force consists of three divisions of the Marine Corps, with the fourth and fifth marine divisions as an echelon, and the third marine division as a reserve team. The first landing force consists of eight battalions. At 9:00, the U.S. Army began to land. It went very smoothly at first, and the resistance of the Japanese army was very weak.But the good times didn't last long. The U.S. troops who landed had only advanced more than 200 meters, and the Japanese troops entered the position from the tunnel.The artillery fire of the Japanese army accurately covered the landing beachhead. For a while, the U.S. troops were completely suppressed on the beachhead and suffered heavy casualties. At this critical moment, the naval artillery firepower of the US military gave the landing force extremely strong support.It can be said that in all the landing battles of the Pacific War, naval gun fire support has never been as effective as the Iwo Jima landing battle.Throughout the day, the U.S. military consumed nearly 40,000 rounds of naval gun shells with a caliber of 127 mm or more, and the fire support was unprecedented.With the strong support of naval gun fire, the US landing force pushed forward with difficulty. At 9:30, US tanks began to land, and then led the landing troops forward.However, most of the tanks were trapped in the volcanic ash and could not move. A few of them also faltered and became the targets of the Japanese anti-tank guns and were destroyed one by one.The U.S. military can only rely on soldiers to use explosive kits and flamethrowers to advance step by step, and every step has to pay a heavy price. At 10:30, eight infantry battalions and one tank battalion of the U.S. Army had landed, and they were trying their best to expand the landing field. At 11 o'clock, the wind direction turned to the southeast, and the wind gradually increased, which brought a lot of trouble to the landing of the US military.At this time, the follow-up landing force was landing, and many landing craft were blown out of control by the strong gust, and even capsized. Coupled with the bombardment of Japanese artillery, damaged landing craft were everywhere on the beach.However, follow-up materials and personnel are still going ashore as planned, and the entire beach is in chaos. At 14:00, the 23rd Regiment of the 4th Marine Division of the US Army attacked Airport No. 1, but the 25th Regiment made little progress on the day of landing.The situation of the 5th Marine Division was a little better. The 28th Regiment had severed the connection between Suribachi Mountain and the Japanese troops in other areas and surrounded it.After being trapped on the beach for 40 minutes, the 27th Regiment finally made a breakthrough and advanced to the south end of Airfield 1. At sunset that day, the U.S. military had 6 infantry regiments, 6 artillery battalions, and 2 tank battalions with a total of about 30,000 people ashore, occupying a landing field with a width of about 3,600 meters and a depth ranging from 650 meters to 1,000 meters. 566 were killed and 1,858 wounded. Among these victims, the most famous was Basilone, the hero of the Battle of Guadalcanal.On the day of the landing, Basilone participated in the battle as a platoon leader of the 27th Regiment of the 5th Marine Division.Basilone, armed with a Browning machine gun, took the lead on the beach.At that time, the firepower of the bunkers of the Japanese army suddenly fired, suppressing the marines on the coast, and the recruits began to panic.Seeing that the situation was critical, Baslon showed the quality and experience that a veteran should have. He braved the hail of bullets and rushed forward alone, blowing up two bunkers and clearing the beach for the landing troops.His bravery inspired the recruits, who were inspired and followed him to the Japanese airport on the island.Unfortunately, at this time, a mortar shell exploded nearby, and a piece of hot shrapnel was inserted into the chest of Basilone, who couldn't dodge, and Basilone died heroically.He could never return to his hometown, nor to his wife and children. After the Battle of Iwo Jima, Basilone was posthumously awarded the "Navy Cross", which is the second highest military honor awarded by the US military after the "Congressional Medal of Honor".Basilone's body was buried in the famous Arlington National Cemetery. In fact, the first day of the American Iwo Jima landing was not too bad, but the subsequent battle was more difficult. After dark, the U.S. military worried that the Japanese army would launch another suicide charge.But this time the Japanese army learned to be smart, and Kuribayashi Tadamichi resolutely abandoned this two-shot style. On February 20, from the early hours of the morning, the US naval guns carried out fire attacks according to the requirements of the landing troops. At 8:30, the US landing force launched an attack. With the support of naval guns and tanks, the 4th Marine Division captured Airport No. 1 and cut off the connection between the Japanese army in the south of Iwo Jima and the Wonsan area.The Fifth Marine Division launched an attack on Suribachi Mountain. Under the cover of tanks, they used grenades, explosives, and flamethrowers to eliminate the Japanese troops in the cave one by one, and sometimes even sent out bulldozers to seal the cave entrance, so the progress was extremely slow. On the 21st, the fierce fighting on the island continued, but the progress of the US military was very limited. On the 22nd, heavy rain fell, and the U.S. landing troops were forced to stop their offensive and hurry up to rest on the battlefield.In the past three days, the number of US troops killed and missing on Iwo Jima has reached 1,204, and 4,108 were injured.Out of humanitarian considerations, the U.S. military still did not use poison gas in this kind of combat situation. As a result, a large number of outstanding marines lost their lives. On February 23, the 4th US Marine Division launched a general attack targeting the No. 2 airport, but the advance was extremely slow.The only result of the day was on Mount Suribachi.After four days of bloody battles, at 10:20, the 28th Regiment of the 5th Marine Division, led by Lieutenant Harold Shearer, a 40-member detachment finally reached the top of Mount Suribachi and rose to the top. An American flag.Four hours later, six American soldiers hoisted an even larger Star-Spangled Banner.A reporter from the Associated Press took pictures of the soldiers planting the flag, and the famous photo became widely circulated. Like the photo of the Soviet army planting the red flag on the dome of the Reichstag, it became a symbol of victory. Secretary of the Navy Forrestal, who had just arrived at Iwo Jima for inspection, saw the Stars and Stripes flying on the top of Mount Suribachi and said excitedly: "The flag raised on Mount Suribachi means the honor of the Marine Corps for the next 500 years! When the sailors on the sea saw this flag symbolizing victory, they cheered loudly. Later, the Pacific Theater Headquarters also specifically inquired about the names of the marines who planted the flag for commendation.It turned out that three of the six had been killed later in the battle.It can be seen how fierce the battle on Iwo Jima was! On February 24, the battle became more intense. With the strong support of sea and air firepower, the 21st Regiment of the 3rd Marine Division finally broke through the Japanese defense line on the south side of No. 2 Airport with tanks clearing the way.The Japanese army immediately launched a counterattack. The 21st Regiment was caught off guard and was forced to retreat for a while, and then fought back desperately with the support of naval guns to consolidate its position. The U.S. military soon discovered that as the terrain gradually rose, the Japanese army built dense bunkers like ant nests and criss-cross tunnel networks. With these fortifications, the resistance became more and more tenacious. In the next few days of fighting, the American troops on Iwo Jima had to pay a bloody price for every step forward, and sometimes they only advanced 4 meters in a whole day.In the struggle for Height 382, ​​the second commanding height on the island, the 4th Marine Division repeatedly fell into the cross-fire network arranged by the Japanese army. The casualty rate was as high as 50%, and the experienced company commanders, platoon commanders and sergeants suffered all casualties.It was not until March 2 that the twenty-fourth regiment attacked the high ground, but officers and soldiers of several companies were either killed or injured, and almost all companies were wiped out. By this time in the battle, the Japanese army had already understood the tactics of the US military. First, aviation firepower was prepared, then naval gunfire bombardment, then ground artillery fire, and finally infantry charges.Therefore, the Japanese army first avoided the artillery fire of the US army in the tunnel, and then entered the position to meet the attack of the infantry, defeating the attack of the US army time and time again.The U.S. military learned from the painful experience and finally changed its tactics. At dawn on March 7, without any artillery preparations, the U.S. military quietly approached the Japanese position in the dark night before dawn, and suddenly launched an attack, which caught the Japanese army by surprise and captured another high ground in one fell swoop. The heroic sacrifice of U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima was not in vain. On March 3, a US military transport plane landed at the No. 1 airport on Iwo Jima.The next day, a B-29 bomber damaged during an air raid on the Japanese mainland made an emergency landing on Iwo Jima.The great value of Iwo Jima has already begun to be reflected. On March 7, the U.S. military launched a general offensive. The Third Marine Division, which was responsible for the central breakthrough task, made rapid progress. When encountering difficult Japanese positions, they tried to bypass them and continue to advance.Although this left a lot of "nails" for the follow-up 4th and 5th Marine Divisions, they finally broke through the Japanese defense line and attacked the west coast of Iwo Jima two days later, dividing the Japanese army into two parts. When Tadamichi Kuribayashi learned that the U.S. army had broken through the defense line and split the Japanese army in two, he immediately organized troops to fight back.He ordered the troops to penetrate the US defense line as much as possible, infiltrate into the rear of the US military and re-open the connection between the two wings.Many Japanese troops crossed the forward defense line of the US military, and some even penetrated as far as 1,600 meters.However, the U.S. counterattacked the Japanese army with heavy losses, and the Japanese army's counterattack was completely smashed, with at least 1,000 casualties. By March 16, more than 800 Japanese troops in the northeast of Iwo Jima had been annihilated, and the U.S. military announced at 18:00 that day that it had occupied Iwo Jima. However, the fighting on the island continued, and Tadamichi Kuribayashi commanded the remnants to continue to resist, and sometimes the fighting was quite fierce.Then an interesting thing happened.The 3rd Marine Division found two Japanese prisoners of war, gave them a lot of dry food, and equipped them with an up-to-date talking machine, and then asked them to bring a letter of persuasion to Kuribayashi Tadamichi.The two prisoners of war tried to hand over the letter of persuasion to the messenger, but the Japanese army still did not surrender after the stipulated time limit.The two prisoners of war were moved by the humanitarian treatment of the U.S. military, so they stayed in the Japanese defense line and guided the U.S. artillery fire through the talking machine. On the same day, Kuribayashi Tadamichi sent a farewell telegram to the Japanese mainland: "The war situation is at the last moment, and I am on the front line, praying for the victory of the imperial kingdom and peace and prosperity... At present, there are only a few soldiers, and I will put all my eggs in one basket. Soldiers, shout long live the emperor, and let this be a farewell." The Japanese base camp mistakenly believed that Kuribayashi Tadamichi had died in battle. On the 17th, Emperor Hirohito specially promoted him to the rank of general of the army. At the age of 53, he was the youngest general in Japan at that time. When Kuribayashi Tadamichi led his army to resist tenaciously on the island, the Japanese "Kamikaze Special Forces" also launched a crazy attack on the US fleet attacking Iwo Jima, sinking and damaging the "Bismarck Sea" escort aircraft carrier and other ships. After the U.S. military announced the occupation of Iwo Jima, it took another week of fierce fighting until March 24 to compress the remaining Japanese troops within a narrow range in the northern part of the island.Kuribayashi Tadamichi burned the military flag that night, sent a final farewell telegram, and then destroyed the code, preparing for a desperate counterattack. At sunset on March 26, Kuribayashi Tadamichi gathered more than 300 people.He tore off his military rank and threw it on the ground, and the other officers also tore off their ranks.Holding a sword in one hand, Kuribayashi Tadamichi made a final pre-war speech to the soldiers: "Even if I fall before you, your great achievements in fighting to this day will not be forgotten... You, please die for your country with peace of mind." Speech At the end, Kuribayashi held a saber and led the remnant army to attack the U.S. troops at No. 2 Airport under artillery fire. The suicide charge commanded by the army general himself was the best among the Japanese troops in World War II.But Lilin quickly died in the battle.After three hours of fierce fighting, the remaining Japanese troops were also annihilated by the U.S. military. So far, the Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima have been "broken". After the war, each of the captured Japanese soldiers claimed to have seen their supreme commander Tadamichi Kuribayashi, which surprised the US military. The number of U.S. Marines that Kuribayashi Tadamichi fought against was 3.5 times that of the Japanese army on the island, and the equipment had an overwhelming advantage.At that time, the U.S. military thought that Iwo Jima could be captured in five days. As a result, the navy, air force, and ground forces fought together for more than a month before taking it. This was the only battle in the Pacific War in which the U.S. military suffered more casualties than the Japanese army.After the war, even the generals of the U.S. Army praised Tadamichi Kuribayashi unceasingly, and praised him as the best general of the Japanese army in World War II, and his evaluation even surpassed that of Yamamoto Fifty-Six.It seems that the reason why the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties in the past was not only the backward equipment, but also the stupidity of senior generals.One general is incompetent, exhausting thousands of troops. In 2006, hundreds of letters were found beneath Iwo Jima.It was a farewell letter written by a Japanese soldier who fought on the island to his family 61 years ago.These unsent letters entrusted the Japanese soldiers' longing for their hometown and relatives.Director Eastwood saw these letters, including Kuribayashi Tadamichi's family letter.He became very interested in the Japanese army guarding the island, especially the commander Kuribayashi Tadamichi, so he made the film "Letter from Iwo Jima", which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and the Golden Globe Award. Prior to this, Eastwood directed another film "Flags of Our Fathers", which told the story of six American soldiers who planted flags on the top of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima.Among them, three survived. After the battle, they were transferred back to the United States to promote the issuance of war bonds.While enjoying the honor, they also reflected on the war. A brutal battle has spawned two excellent films for people living in peacetime to reflect on the war.