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entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup. Hello and welcome to Battleground 45 with me Saul David.

On the 19th of February 1945, just over 80 years ago, US Marines landed on the Japanese Pacific Island of Iwo Jima, 750 miles south of Tokyo as

part of Operation Detachment. Their intention to capture the island and its two airfields,

and thus deprived the Japanese of a base from which their fighters could intercept long-range

B-29 Superfortress bombers flying to strike targets in Japan. Possession of these

AFLs would at the same time allow American P-51 Mustang fighters to escort and protect

bombers en route to Japan. There were, in fact, other factors, and we'll get on to that.

Now, planners assume the island would fall within a week. In fact, it took five weeks and

some of the toughest and bloodiest fighting of the Pacific War to subdue the 21,000 strong

Japanese garrison, only 216 of whom were taken alive. Total American casualties, killed,

wounded and sick, were around 28,000, including almost 7,000 killed.

The only time in the Pacific, as far as I'm aware, and John will correct me on this, that they

exceeded Japanese losses, albeit not in comparison to the fatalities. The battle is probably

best known for the iconic photograph of Marines raising the stars and stripes

on Mount Surabachi, though ironically, that was taken just four days into the battle and a long time

before it was over. Now, joining me to discuss the operation is American historian Jonathan Partial,

adjunct lecturer for the US Naval War College and co-author of Shattered Sword, The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway, numerous articles on the Pacific War, and a forthcoming new history of 1942.

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