Hitting the beach

The intricate landing plan is now at work, sending thousands of Marines and their equipment into the teeth of Japanese resistance. It is a race against time to get the maximum number of Marines ashore before dark.

Heavy smoke from the rocket barrage obscures the view onto the Motoyama Plateau in this aerial still. As the leading waves approached the beach head, Landing Craft Infantry (Rocket) (LCI(R)’s) fired nearly 10,000 4.5 inch rockets to suppress Japanese beach defenses.

Into the mouth of hell – H-hour – 0902. The view from an amphibian tractor onto the Iwo beachhead in the last seconds prior to making shore. Smoke from the pre-landing rocket bombardment hangs in the air. Navy gunfire support ships are firing a rolling barrage, shifting their fire away from the beach just before H-hour. The leading wave of amphibian tanks (amtanks) is just touching down on the shoreline.

Before the first wave touched down, General Cates, watching the bluffs through glasses from the rail of his transport,, shook his head gravely. “If I knew,” he said, “the name of the man on the extreme right of the right-hand squad in the right-hand company of 3/25, I’d recommend him for a medal right now.”

Gen. Clifton B. Cates, as cited by Richard F. Newcomb in Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic

H-hour. The first wave amtanks are just making shore as the rocket barrage clouds hang in the air. The infantry-laden amtracs are minutes behind them.

On the far left flank, elements of 1st Battalion, 28th Marines approach Green 1. These Marines are totally exposed to Japanese defenders in Mount Suribachi.

An amtank section overwatches the first wave as it comes ashore. These vehicles had the mission of suppressing enemy defenses on the beach. The 2nd Armored Amphibian Battalion shepherded the assault infantry waves ashore. 2nd Amtanks put 68 LVT(A)-4s into the water on D-Day.

Lead elements of 1st Battalion, 27th Marines approach Green 1. Closest to shore are amphibian tanks of the 2nd Armored Amphibian Battalion, providing close support to the infantry in the assault waves. 

Heavy gray smoke hangs heavy in the air over the beach head. Just seconds before, Navy fire support ships have fired thousands of 4.5 inch beach barrage rockets directly on the beach.

Steve and I were manning the [tractor’s] .50 caliber machine guns, anxiously looking for possible targets. Neither of us could see anything distinct. At 500 yards we fired several bursts, testing our guns and venting our tension. We didn’t see a single Jap. Ahead, the [amtanks] were now on the beach but couldn’t move inland. Sand terraces rising thirty feet in height with a steep 15-degree slope blocked them.

Searching for ‘Manila John’ Basilone by Chuck Tatum, Leatherneck Magazine

H-hour. The leading infantry wave is ashore and Marines sprint forward to join their unit. At this point, the Japanese have not yet opened fire, and the chief obstacle is the heavy volcanic sand.

M4 medium tanks of the 4th Tank Battalion struggle to move off the beach just after landing. The tanks had a tough time getting ashore because the landing beaches were so clogged with men, equipment and machines. The tanks in this image made three unsuccesful attempts to land before finally locating a clear spot. The tank closest to the camera has bogged down only minutes after landing.

A flamethrower team of the first wave holds their position as a rifle squad sprints to join their unit. The amtracs are standing by to back off the beach to pick up their next load.

Infantry Marines struggle through the volcanic sand as they head off the beach. In some spots, it was nearly impossible to move without sinking into the sand. Laden as they were with weapons, equipment, and all their support gear, Marines all across the 3,500 yards of beach head toiled to simply move forward.

The sloping sands were spotted with American dead. Here and there were dead Japs, but it was apparent that the enemy had not defended his island from the beach. He depended mostly on his mortars, artillery, and hillside machine guns. Whether the dead were Japs or Americans, they had one thing in common; they had died with the greatest possible violence. Nowhere in the Pacific war had I seen such badly mangled bodies. Many were cut squarely in half. In one spot on the sand, far from the nearest cluster of dead, I saw a string of guts 15 feet long….The smell of burning flesh was heavy in some areas.

On to Westward by Robert Sherrod

A fireteam waits to head up the beach terrace. In some spots, this obstacle was over thirty feet high and the sand was so deep, Marines literally sank in as they trudged uphill.

Some of the first Marines ashore get organized just before moving toward their objective. An amphibian tank provides overwatch. The stepped terrace leading off the beach masked direct fire from most of the amtanks. Many could not move inland off the beach because of the heavy volcanic sand.

The bulk of Mount Suribachi looming ominously in the background, infantrymen of the 4th Marine Division climb the beach terrace as they move out in the attack. In just a few minutes, the Japanese will begin to answer the assault with their own heavy fire.

No one walked straight in, standing up.

Mustang by Gerald Averill

Naval gunfire hits a Japanese position on the flank of Mount Suribachi. From about 1015, the Japanese began to pound the landing beaches with fire of all calibers. They had each square yard of the island pre-registered and gun crews had only to crank in the deflection and elevation on their pieces to achieve target effect. 

As enemy guns on Suribachi unmasked to fire, they were engaged by counterbattery fire. In many cases this became a cat and mouse game with deadly consequences. The Japanese had prepared their heavy gun emplacements with blast-proof doors. Only direct hits even had a chance of destroying such positions.

A Navy 40mm gun crew pours fire onto a Japanese position. Although intended for antiaircraft defense, these weapons were also outstanding for suppression of enemy ground positions. In their open gun tubs, these sailors are well within range of many Japanese weapons, especially from those emplaced in Mount Suribachi.

By 1045, the Japanese was pounding the landing beaches. Heavily congested, every area offered prime targets for enemy gunners. From mortars to heavy rockets, this barrage exacted a brutal toll. As the morning wore on to afternoon, life for the exposed Marines turned into a struggle to just survive. There was no cover, no hiding from the constant shellfire.

The island was alive. The Japs were waiting for us. They were on the terraces above the beach and the tabletop airstrips and all through the ridges of the island in pillboxes, bunkers, and blockhouses. The smoke had hardly cleared from our bombardment but there were Japanese firing at us from point-blank range. A mortar shell exploded twenty feet to our left, sending fragments whistling over our tractor. Behind us, another tractor was blown out of the water.

Dispatch by MTSgt Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. USMCR

A 5th Tank Battalion section advances soon after landing. The crews have already ditched their fording gear and they will soon execute the link-up with their assigned infantry units.

Looking forward through my periscope and vision blocks, I could make out seven or eight pillboxes in a line roughly blocking our direction of advance. Now we could go to work! The platoons swung by me and began to work over the pillboxes with their 75mm cannon and machine guns.

Tanks on the Beaches by Robert E. Neiman and Kenneth W. Estes