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WW2 Pacific Military History #8
Operation Detachment: 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima
A gripping story of amazing heroism and sacrifice by the brave men on Iwo Jima.
The invasion of Iwo Jima was a major Pacific Campaign offensive in World War II. The Marine invasion, known as "Operation Detachment," was charged with the mission of capturing airfields on the island for use by P-51 fighters that weren’t able to reach their main bases at Guam and Saipan.
This battle was marked by some of the fiercest fighting of the war. Imperial Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with vast bunkers, hidden artillery, and eleven miles of tunnels. The battle was the first US attack on the Japanese Home Islands and the Imperial soldiers defended their positions to the bitter end.
This narrative recounts the story of Iwo Jima in vivid, gritty detail. Explore the fascinating feats of strategy, planning, and bravery, handing the Allies what would eventually become a victory over the Pacific Theater and an end to Imperialist Japanese expansion.
The invasion of Iwo Jima was a major Pacific Campaign offensive in World War II. The Marine invasion, known as "Operation Detachment," was charged with the mission of capturing airfields on the island for use by P-51 fighters that weren’t able to reach their main bases at Guam and Saipan.
This battle was marked by some of the fiercest fighting of the war. Imperial Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with vast bunkers, hidden artillery, and eleven miles of tunnels. The battle was the first US attack on the Japanese Home Islands and the Imperial soldiers defended their positions to the bitter end.
This narrative recounts the story of Iwo Jima in vivid, gritty detail. Explore the fascinating feats of strategy, planning, and bravery, handing the Allies what would eventually become a victory over the Pacific Theater and an end to Imperialist Japanese expansion.
95 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 22, 2021
81 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Wrinn
88 books12 followersI write books and narrate audiobooks about WWII Pacific Theater history.
My focus covers three areas: the island-hopping campaigns that defeated Japan, the cultural forces that made Japanese soldiers fight to the death, and the extraordinary stories of Pacific War survivors who defied the odds.
What matters are the real experiences—the Marines on the beaches, the sailors under kamikaze attack, the soldiers who refused to surrender, and the commanders making impossible decisions.
US Navy veteran. Military history author.
My focus covers three areas: the island-hopping campaigns that defeated Japan, the cultural forces that made Japanese soldiers fight to the death, and the extraordinary stories of Pacific War survivors who defied the odds.
What matters are the real experiences—the Marines on the beaches, the sailors under kamikaze attack, the soldiers who refused to surrender, and the commanders making impossible decisions.
US Navy veteran. Military history author.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 7, 2022
A text book on island military landings
I am old enough to remember the newsreel [NO TV back then] of the flag raising, that became so popular. Later in the Korean war I served with some who said they were there, it was extremely deadly.
I am old enough to remember the newsreel [NO TV back then] of the flag raising, that became so popular. Later in the Korean war I served with some who said they were there, it was extremely deadly.
June 29, 2021
This is a book about one of the bloodiest battles American soldiers have ever been in and that's the assault on Iwo Jima. It was felt that the island was necessary to the plans of the military as it could serve as a base for damaged B-29 plans to land on.
It's also the sight of one of the most famous photos ever taken in American history, and that's the raising of the United States flag on Mount Suribachi.The book goes over how the Japanese commander threw out the 'accepted' ideas of island defense and instead emphasized pillboxes, numerous tunnels within the mountains and under the land and the ignoring of the typical beach defense and banzai charges in favor of as much crossing firepower as possible.
There was also some, at least in my opinion, very poor management of the invasion including not allowing the ships to bombard the island long enough and not some reserves when they were really needed.
The book goes into the various problems the invasion had (such as bad weather, technical problems and kamikaze pilots, the importance of the corpsmen, the use of flame-throwing tanks and the importance of the Navajo code talkers.
The book goes into a lot of details but never gets boring. Quite well done.
It's also the sight of one of the most famous photos ever taken in American history, and that's the raising of the United States flag on Mount Suribachi.The book goes over how the Japanese commander threw out the 'accepted' ideas of island defense and instead emphasized pillboxes, numerous tunnels within the mountains and under the land and the ignoring of the typical beach defense and banzai charges in favor of as much crossing firepower as possible.
There was also some, at least in my opinion, very poor management of the invasion including not allowing the ships to bombard the island long enough and not some reserves when they were really needed.
The book goes into the various problems the invasion had (such as bad weather, technical problems and kamikaze pilots, the importance of the corpsmen, the use of flame-throwing tanks and the importance of the Navajo code talkers.
The book goes into a lot of details but never gets boring. Quite well done.
June 30, 2021
Yet another exceptional title from Daniel Wrinn. Operation Detachment is slightly different from his other books I've read in his Pacific theater series. While the other books, focusing on one battle each, detail troop movements and specific unit activity against enemy forces, O-D highlights and analyzes Japanese defenses and American response to those defenses - in addition to touching on some of the specifics that hallmark the other books; O-D also spends more time discussing Japanese leadership than other books in the series.
As someone who's grandfather is counted among Iwo's casualties, I found O-D particularly interesting because it seems to offer more detail specific to 3/21 Marines than I've been able to find elsewhere.
As someone who's grandfather is counted among Iwo's casualties, I found O-D particularly interesting because it seems to offer more detail specific to 3/21 Marines than I've been able to find elsewhere.
September 9, 2021
Very Detailed, but so well done!
This book is a bit of a heavy read with all of the information that is packed in this small package! Very well put-together read about the Battle at Iwo Jima. If you like reading and learning about WW2 and the Pacific battles this book is a great read!
This book is a bit of a heavy read with all of the information that is packed in this small package! Very well put-together read about the Battle at Iwo Jima. If you like reading and learning about WW2 and the Pacific battles this book is a great read!
July 30, 2021
Very short but engaging account if the fight on Iwo Jima. Good primer in the battle.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews