Being there . . . . between 9 and 10 am on the morning of 19 February 1945 when after 72
straight days of heavy bombardment, the longest and heaviest of the entire Pacific War, 8,000
U.S. Marines in the initial wave stormed the black sanded shores of Iwo Jima under the largest
“protective” collection of vessels ever assembled, organized, and positioned by our navy
planners. Aboard almost 500 vessels from our Fifth Fleet were 30,000 more Marines of the 4 th
and 5 th Divisions awaiting transfer to landing crafts. Meanwhile, 40,000 U.S. battleship, cruiser,
and destroyer shells rained down on the tiny (8 sq mile) volcanic lump of sand fortress.
Tragically, the massive “softening-up” barely scratched the tough, resolute, elite Japanese
defenders perfectly dug in. After all, Tokyo, directly to the north, was only 660 nautical miles
away. So, the Japanese, in anticipation of countless assaulting Semper Fi’s, continued their
digging elaborate miles upon miles of mazed caves, tunnels, and crevices, all carefully
camouflaged, especially pillboxes and bombproof underground hideouts. To make invasion
matters even worse, hundreds of veteran artillery troops hidden within and atop Mount
Suribachi, hovering 550 feet above the somewhat rocky island, awaited the signal to unleash
their thousands of artillery and mortar shells to slaughter pinned-down, hapless marines a mere
200 to 300 yards below them. What was urgently needed were battalions of flamethrowing
tanks.
LEAVE IT TO OSPREY PUBLISHING TO SHED NEW LIGHT ON THE MOST VICIOUSLY FOUGHT
BATTLE OF THE PACIFIC WAR – – ONE IN WHICH THE NUMBER OF AMERICAN CASUALTIES
OUTBUMBERED THOSE OF THE JAPANESE – – THE BATTLE FOR IWO JIMA, AN INFERNO SO
GREAT, SOME SAID, THE ENTIRE SAND-COVERED ISLAND-TERRAIN WAS ABLASE. AS WAS OFTEN
THE CASE IN THE ISLAND-BY-ISLAND CAMPAIGNS, BRAVE TANK ACTION WAS USUALLY
OVERSHADOWED BY THE AMAZING EXPLOITS OF THE RESOLUTE INFANTRY. THANKS TO
UNPUBLISHED PHOTOGRAPHS FROM PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AND METICULOUSLY RESEARCHED
NEW COLOR PROFILES, WE RELIVE THE BATTLE THAT STILL RAGES ON IN THE HEARTS OF THOSE
DESCENDANTS OF THE HERO MARINES WHO LOST THEIR LIVES FIGHTING SO VALIANTLY.
Reviewed and highly recommended by Don DeNevi
“TANKS ON IWO JIMA 1945”, by Romain Cansiere, Illustrated by Felipe Rodriguez. OSPREY
PUBLISHING/Bloomsbury Plc: 2024, 48 pages, softcover, 7 ¼” x 9 ¾”, $20. Visit,
www.ospreypublishing.com.
“U.S. BATTLE TANKS 1917 – 1945”, by Steven J. Zaloga. OSPREY PUBLISHING/Bloomsbury Plc:
2024, 272 pages, hardcover, 7 ¾” x 9 ¾”, $35. Visit, www.ospreypublishing.com.
Almost all military historians concur that the Pacific Campaign’s Battle of Iwo Jima was the
most intense of ALL World War II battles in Europe and the Pacific Seas. Admiral Chester W.
Nimitz, Commander of Central Pacific Operations, said there, “Uncommon valor was a common
virtue”. Even the most ardent WW II buffs and enthusiasts are unaware that a quarter of all the
Congressional Medals of Honor awarded during the 1941-1945 years were won on Iwo, virtually
all during the eradication of 22,000 Japanese seeking safety in 1,500 bunkers linked by 16 miles
of tunnels, enabling them to quietly exit and strike Marines in areas believed to be secure. The
emblematic event of the Battle was the raising of our flag on 23 February atop Mount
Suribachi. Each side fielded tanks in support of its infantry. With a ratio of more than four U.S.
tanks for every Japanese tank, author Romain Cansiere is superlative in his easy-to-understand
explanations brining new light on the roles of both Japanese and American armored vehicles
and their influence on the course of the brutal fighting.
In “U.S. BATTLE TANKS 1917 – 1945”, OSPREY’S other new 2024 tank book, this one by
author Steven J. Zaloga, examines the complete history of U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps
battle tanks. He focuses on the history of the tank in American service from the first
experiments with armored vehicles in the early years of the 20 th century through to the end of
World War II. Expanding on material published in Osprey great series, i.e., New Vanguard,
Campaign, and Duel, this handsome, coffee-table sized, well-illustrated, book explores the
concepts and practices of tank development, for example, the Renault FT through the M4
Sherman, then the M26 Pershing. Author Zaloa describes the experiences of the crews who
witness combat; the performance of each tank in battle; and how each American armored
fighting vehicle compared with the enemy armor it faced, as well as the key lessons learned
from combat that led to new tank concepts and technological breakthroughs.
