This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(February 2022) |
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 Pacific Fleet
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz HQ at Pearl Harbor
Expeditionary Troops (Task Force 56)
Lieutenant General Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith [lower-alpha 1]
V Amphibious Corps
Major General Harry Schmidt
Left landing area (Green and Red Beaches):
Right landing area (Yellow and Blue beaches):
Floating reserve:
Lieut. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi , commanding
Colonel Tadashi Takaishi, chief of staff
21,060 total men under arms
Army
Navy
Orders of battle involving United States Marine forces in the Pacific Theatre of World War II:
The VII Army Corps of the United States Army was one of the two principal corps of the United States Army Europe during the Cold War. Activated in 1918 for World War I, it was reactivated for World War II and again during the Cold War. During both World War II and the Cold War it was subordinate to the Seventh Army, or USAREUR and was headquartered at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart, West Germany, from 1951 until it was redeployed to the US after significant success in the Gulf War in 1991, then inactivated in 1992.
The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. "Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and "Carlson's" Raiders of 2nd Marine Raider Battalion are said to have been the first United States special operations forces to form and see combat during World War II.
Michael Strank was a United States Marine Corps sergeant who was killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He was one of the Marines who raised the second U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, as shown in the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima by photographer Joe Rosenthal. Of the six Marines depicted in the photo, Strank was the only one to be correctly identified from the beginning; the other five were either assigned the wrong locations, or, were given the names of Marines who were not in the photo.
This is the order of battle for the Guadalcanal Campaign, called Operation Watchtower, the first major Allied offensive in the Pacific Theater of Operations in World War II. The campaign lasted from the initial American landings on 7 August 1942 until the final Japanese evacuation on 9 February 1943, a period of six months, far longer than was expected by Allied planners.
The 5th Marine Division was a United States Marine Corps ground combat division which was activated on 11 November 1943 at Camp Pendleton, California during World War II. The 5th Division saw its first combat action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 where it sustained the highest number of casualties of the three Marine divisions of the V Amphibious Corps. The 5th Division was to be part of the planned invasion of the Japan homeland before Japan surrendered. Assault troops of the 5th Division were included in the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to the V Amphibious Corps for extraordinary heroism on Iwo Jima from 19 to 28 February 1945. The 5th Division was deactivated on 5 February 1946.
This is the complete order of battle for the Battle of Crete and related operations in 1941.
The 23rd Marine Regiment is a reserve infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. It is headquartered in San Bruno, California and falls under the command of the 4th Marine Division and the Marine Forces Reserve.
On 15 June 1944, United States Marine forces landed on the southwest coast of the island of Saipan in the central Marianas chain; these were followed a day later by US Army forces. This invasion was part of Operation Forager, an effort to recapture the entire Marianas chain from the Empire of Japan.
3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment (3/23) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps located throughout the Southern United States consisting of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. The battalion was first formed in 1943 for service in the Central Pacific Area during World War II, taking part in a number of significant battles including those at Saipan and Iwo Jima before being deactivated at the end of the war. In the early 1960s, the unit was reactivated as a reserve battalion. The battalion is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri, with outlying units throughout the Southern United States. 3/23 falls under the command of the 23rd Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division. Recent operations have included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Harold George Schrier was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who served in World War II and the Korean War. In World War II, he was awarded the Navy Cross for leading the patrol that captured the top of Mount Suribachi, where he helped raise the first U.S. flag on Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. In the Korean War, he was wounded in North Korea during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir while commanding a rifle company.
The Order of battle for the American airborne landings in Normandy is a list of the units immediately available for combat on the Cotentin Peninsula between June 6, 1944, and June 15, 1944, during the American airborne landings in Normandy during World War II.
Combat Logistics Regiment 27 is a logistics regiment based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and falls under the command of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group and the II Marine Expeditionary Force, United States Marine Corps.
John Keith Wells was a United States Marine during World War II who led one of the most decorated infantry platoons to come out of a single engagement and the first to raise a flag over the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during World War II, 3rd Platoon, Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division. This platoon was made famous for its attack on Mount Suribachi and for raising the first flag on the summit.
Battle of Chosin Reservoir order of battle is a list of the significant units that fought in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir between November 27, 1950 and December 13, 1950.
The Battle of Ongjin Peninsula was a series of battles that occurred in Ongjin Peninsula between 25 and 26 June 1950 and was a part of the Operation Pokpung and Operation Western Region that marked the beginning of the Korean War. On 25 June, the Korean People's Army Ground Force (KPAGF) 3rd 38-Guard Brigade, reinforced with the 1st Infantry Regiment of the 6th Infantry Division, launched a surprise attack on the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) 17th Infantry Regiment in Ongjin Peninsula, modern-day Ongjin and Kangryong. The battle ended on 26 June with a KPA victory, but many ROKs were able to escape from the peninsula.
William Robert Collins was a highly decorated officer of United States Marine Corps with the rank of major general. As lieutenant colonel, Collins distinguished himself as Tank Battalion Commander during Iwo Jima battle, but he is most noted for his service as commanding general of III Marine Expeditionary Force at the beginning of Vietnam War.
John Ralph Lanigan was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of brigadier general. He is most noted as commanding officer of 25th Marine Regiment during Battle of Iwo Jima. Lanigan was a recipient of the Navy Cross, the United States military's second-highest decoration awarded for valor in combat.
On 21 July 1944, United States Marine and Army forces invaded the island of Guam, the southernmost of the Mariana Islands chain in the Central Pacific, with the intent to take control of the island from the Imperial Japanese Army. Operation Forager II, as it was called by American planners, was a phase of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
On 10 November 1943, men of the United States Marine Corps invaded the island of Betio, located at the southwest corner of Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands chain in the Central Pacific. This invasion, known as Operation Galvanic, was a phase of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
On 15 September 1944, United States Marine Corps forces landed on the southwestern shore of the island of Peleliu in the Palau island chain, 470 nautical miles due east of the Philippine island of Mindanao. This action, called Operation Stalemate II by American planners, was a phase in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. Whether possession of the island was necessary for the Allied cause has been the source of much controversy.