Due to popular request, we are re-releasing our entire Iwo Jima series as one complete animated documentary! We have launched just our Patreon where we are creating an exciting new community. If you would like to support us, please take a look here www.patreon.com/TheOperationsRoom
I remember watching a documentary 30 years ago. They briefly mentioned the USAAF bombed a US division for 3 straight days in Italy. I have never been able to find it again. The gunhos killed far more than we are told?
My piano teacher growing up was on Iwo Jima with the 24th Marine regiment as a flamethrower operator. He never mentioned anything about the Battle besides anecdotes about trading his cigarettes for chocolate bars, because he didn't smoke, or playing a pedal-powered pipe organ for church services, but I later found out that his entire platoon, barring him and his platoon Commander, was wiped out, and he temporarily lost use of his hand due to shrapnel from a mortar. Passed away peacefully from old age few years back. Frank Matthews. Fair Winds and following Seas.
My entire life I've been enamored with WW2 history. I'm a first generation American but have many friends who had grandfathers who fought during WW2 on the ground or in the air. The stories I've read, watched, and have been told in 1st or 2nd hand accounts still never cease to amaze me. The men and women who sacrificed and rallied together in unity will never fail to remind me how humans with conviction could make sure Good would triumph over Evil when the time called. There is without doubt that they should be remembered as the Greatest Generation.
You should watch Shaun Ryan's interview with an Iwo Jima flamethrower, Don Graves, 36 days on the island and was the only one out of the 300 flamethrowers in his unit that survived. Its hard to listen to to 3 hour interviews all in one shot, but I can't remember the last time, if ever at all, I was glued to a 3 hour UA-cam interview like that. 98 years old as sharp as ever, and part of the greatest generation that will ever live
I've been on Iwo Jima and the beach sand was like walking up marbles, Sarabachi was steep as hell, we attempted to climb the north east side from the supply beach until we linked up with the paved access road. The tunnel entrances are mostly still wide open and the sunken supply ships still sticking out of the surf. It's essentially locked in time. It was eye opening to see it largely untouched. Absolutely balsy fighting by my fellow marines! Semper fi
Did you see a bunch of shell casings and other remnants of the battles? I’d like to visit that island one day. Rest in Peace to all who fought there. 🙏🏻
All i recall (I am 44 now and he has been dead of old age for awhile) is that he was in the second wave of the landings and wounded by a grenade. I remember him mentioning it was his job to secure the airfield. He had pieces of shrapnel from the grenade that would work it's way out of his leg till the day he died at 60+
@@ME-ke7qc Yes.....I am...44.....My Mom is now.....I think around 70....my grandad...you know...her dad....died at 60+. Not sure why the math is that hard....
@@alexfloate2420Everyone in WW2 had balls of steel. I'm a Marine as well 2008-2012 and just felt like an imposter. Couldn't imagine being put on an AAV after just completing boot camp some never going at all. And knowing death was basically iminent.. greatest generation was just built different.
My best friends grandfather kept the sword he was stabbed with while in his bunker on Iwo Jima. The Japanese soldier stabbed him through the sandbags and then made the mistake of jumping over the bunker to finish him off only to find himself facing a 6' 2" Iowa farm boy who was only slightly wounded. He never told us the rest of the story but he brought the sword home.
You don’t wanna know. It’s one thing to see a dead body, and see someone killed, like me… It’s a whole nother animal to take a life, something I have not done, and pray I never have to.
Ironically @@Beau-wp9yi that same friend and I joined the Army in the mid 80's. He even went airborne. We both earned national defense medals and lost friends in desert storm but it was nothing like Iwo Jima.
Jesus, seeing it animated like this really sets in how horrendous the battle was, along with the commentary. Kuribayashi really did a number in this battle, coming at it from a realist perspective the entire time.
True that. I wonder just how scary the Japanese forces will be if their high command did not tend to exaggerate the smallest of wins and more realistic over the whole die with honor thing.
@almofo2237 the fact that he forbade the bonzai attacks is what lead to the prolonged campaign. Just imagine the added horrors on the other islands if it was like he did on Iwo.
Old guy here. I loved this series. Very in depth and detailed. John Basilone was one heck of a marine! It makes me want to rewatch the pacific series. I just can’t imagine the kind of courage it took to land on that beach and face that carnage. They were the Greatest Generation!
Few things make me as happy as an Ops Room upload, even if I have seen these multiple times before. Super congratulations on nearly reaching 1M subs, y'all deserve every one!
"12 days of shelling might waste too many shells.. let's cut it back to 3 days, with a further cutback to 1.5 days. Better to waste Marine's lives than waste shells." -The Navy, back then.
My grandfather was a stretcher-bearer (corpsman) on Iwo Jima. While carrying one of the many wounded, a shell exploded next to him. He received minor shrapnel wounds and shortly after that, a purple heart. He lived to tell the tale of Iwo Jima, yet never uttered a word about it. He was one of the kindest men I've ever known. His soft spoken nature belied his 6'3"frame. Both those features landed him the corpsman designation. The shell shock (PTSD) he came away with, according to Mom, his daughter, affected him deeply, but I never saw evidence of that. He was a damn tough Marine, and damn proud of it, just quietly. He was a man of God who loved his family and his country, and I never knew what took place on Iwo Jima, the odds he faced, until today as I viewed this video. Now I know why he was so reluctant to share his experience and I have even greater respect and admiration for him and how he lived the rest of his life. Publishing this video, you did him and all the troops there a great honor and educated me in the process. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. God bless you and God bless America. ❤
That stuff affects everybody differently. Most kids don't ask and the fathers don't think they're really interested. Iwo Jima was the 4th landing my father made with the 4th Marine Div, first wave. He was lightly wounded on the beach on Saipan by a Japanese 70mm knee mortar. If I asked him about the war he would tell me. Looking back I'm sure the war affected him with some form of PTSD though.
Why do many American commentators on these types of WW2 videos always bang on about God blessing each other, were you all heavily indoctrinated in your formative years by religious nonsense. 🤔
@@beachcomber1able It used to be a much religious country back then. It fact is was a Christian country for all intents and purposes. Just how far back does your memory go?
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217 Back to the days when Christian mobs would regularly lynch black people from the nearest tree and the USA operated an evil apartheid system.
Yes. I love these guys. And they tell the truth. Our stupid channels try to be nice. But, being telling the truth is real. And we get it from Deutchers and Ruskies. Tell the truth and let everyone know. It was fucking evil.
I am a Japanese, my grandfather Takashi Hiroshi, a resolute Japanese soldier, clung to his post with unwavering determination at Turkey nob. As the battle neared its brutal climax, a wounded American soldier lay helpless nearby. Overwhelmed by a surge of compassion, Hiroshi, torn between duty and humanity, approached the injured foe. Ignoring the war, he extended a hand of mercy, giving the man water and bandage. My grandfather died soon after, but american soldier wrote of his deed. Thank you, from a Japanese.
That is an incredible story thank you for sharing it with us! ....I would love to read any books from the Japanese perspective that we might not know about in the USA if you have any recommendations I would enjoy reading them Americans don't know a lot about the pacific theater quite as well as Stalin and Hitler and Europe.
@@peytonnorris7244 Even from the Europe front most Americans does'nt know much. For example most only hear about Omaha beach because how hard was it to take but most beaches was poorly defended and a cakewalk to take. By Operation Overlord the war was already lost on the German side and by the operation it was hastened greatly. For all the stories and battles and heroic deeds and horrific deaths when it comes to fighting the Russians it's always comes to a great power trying to invade than the russian winter spits into their plans, same happened in WW2. Sadly I can't offer good stories since My great granddad never shared what happened only that my granddads older brother did'nt recognize his father when he came home and the area where I'm from was occupied by Germany in the early was and than taken by Russians at the end. What I heard about is no war story but the german soldiers would trade stuff for ciggs or alcohol and the russians was so poorly supplied they would eat the raw garlic from the ground and was often fed by our civils that could share a bit because it was really sad to see soldiers basically starving.
John Basilone is the most badass soldier I’ve ever seen, his men must’ve felt like he was a superhero when they followed him into battle. When he got killed I can’t even imagine how that must’ve affected the morale of the troops behind him.. for them to keep fighting shows why these guys were the greatest generation
They truly don't make them like they used to. I mean, I'm 27, and I can't imagine going through half of the things they went through, at an even younger age.
@@DonVigaDeFierro in Marine Corps boot, during the Crucible, we have a challenge called the Basilone Challenge. it an ammo and water plus casualty run up a 50yeard hill at 40-45% incline. it fucking sucks but you find yourself wanting to do it again after the first time. i believe my squad did it 3 times.
To say that WW2 vets are the greatest generation is a slap in the face of every combat vet. Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, the gulf War. Iraq Afghanistan each generation has it's hero's.
My grandfather was an Amtrack driver with the 11th AmTrack BN, 5th MarDiv in this battle. He went ashore at the foot of Suribachi (landing zone Red 2) in the first wave. He went back and forth exiting the vehicle to retrieve wounded to return to the hospital ships, then over to the transports to pick up fresh troops for the entire campaign. Said he didn't take his boots off for 36 days. Also had some much more tragic and grisly stories. :(
My dad was in WW2 because he joined the Marines from 38-46. He never talked about what he did during the war but he passed before I hit 17. I joined the Marines from 68-70 and served at Chu Lai 68-69 1st MAW. I’ll always wonder what he did and where.
You can obtain his record of service. Contact the Veteran’s Agent for your city or town. If they do not exist in your state contact the DAV or a military recruiting office. The process starts with a standard form; SF 180.
This is hands down the most in depth overview of the battle of Iwo Jima I have seen thank you for this video. I am friends with a WWII Marine who fought at Iwo Jima and it is amazing to see what exactly him and his fellow Marines faced during that battle.
General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and Colonel Baron Takechi Nishi were both students of Harvard and even attended West Point as guest students. So they both know alot about American Tactics and Strategies. Also, General Kuribayashi were good friends with alot of the American and UK officers since he was a veteran of ww1. Colonel Baron Nishi also lived in the US before ww2 since he was an Olympic Athlete in Showjumping and Horse Dressage and won medals in two olympic games
I’ve seen other channels go to long-form, but they don’t have the production capability and knowledge required to make it work. But this is excellent! Never once did I think “This is too long.” The content is there and it’s so well presented! Keep it up!
These videos are so compelling, the fear these boys must have felt, but there superb training, and shear bravery got them through. As American citizens we owe these soldiers, more than can be given!
So many deaths caused by miscommunication... First there was the corsair and naval barrage killing friendlies, then there was the breakout order by the Japanese that didn't reach the troops, and then there was a suicide charge despite explicitly being ordered not to charge.
@@tappytibbons735 except not having today's technology has nothing to do with it, boomer. did you watch the video? none of these miscommunications were due to a lack of reliable tech, they were all human error.
@@tappytibbons735I’m surprised you even know what a text is. You’ve spent so much time replying random angry comments to people on this video that I thought it was your first time ever being on the internet. Do better bro, we can all see the drivel you type.
These animations are crazy! I went to Iwo Jima for 2 days with 3rd MarDiv, 4th Marines back in the early 2000s. It was remarkable. Walking on the black sand at night was like a dream. Must have been a hellscape during the battle! Imagine the fear and the courage from both sides of men. Good lord.
You do that my brother. Show them all of the relevant ones. Ops Room is absolutely high-quality stuff. I learnt more history from these Brits than I did at uni.
Our former VFW commander was on one of the transports at Iwo Jima. He said that when the fleet saw the flag raised on Mt. Suribachi, all the ships whistles and horns sound all around the island.
I always find it funny how the Secretary of the Navy wanted the first flag, and the Marines are just in disgust over him being a politician and wanting a "souvenir" of a deadly battle. Then the second flag raising being the photo most people know of. Just ironic, and the Flags of our Fathers movie and book just represent this so well.
Excellent presentation! My Dad tried to enlist into the SeaBees during WW2 but was denied because he wore glasses. Instead enlisted with the Army Engineers and served in Europe. Who knows what would have been his fate (and mine too!) had he been able to join the SeaBees.
My dad was a Seabee and went from North Africa to France,then on to the Pacific, to build more airstrips, never wounded by bullets but would never go to a movie or talk about the war, until I enlisted in the USN 1961-65,, and then, said WE all bleed the same color blood, alcohol wouldbring him down after only 61 years on thisFzzzz89ked world
It’s fascinating to watch this video because in 1995 I had asked my stepdad to write a bio of his time in the Marines during WWII and turns out he was in the 4th Marines and fought (received a Purple Heart) on Iwo Jima at hill 382! I know this because after watching this video I pulled the letter out and reread it and he recounted exactly every step he took and it matches exactly day by day of what is in this video even his description of the “bloodiest battles” in Marine Corps history during WWII up until that point! It literally brought chills down my spine! He spent seven days in battle and saw several of his comrades get shot or blown up right next to him! He recounted how he felt he had a 50-50 chance of making it out alive. This is a very accurate video of what happened because I read it from someone who was there!
I've visited Harry Martin's grave in his hometown of Bucyrus, Ohio. A large granite marker with his picture and MOH etched on one side, and a ship that was named after him on the other. A small glass window in the marker has sand from Iwo in it
Awesome having Drach on. This long format videos are super good. Thank you so much. I'm reading "So sad to fall in battle" so its great having this along
I thank ur channel 4 showing these brave men the respect they deserve. Many channels say so and so won this medal or that medal. As if it is a game show. Your channel, and ur sister channel, the Intel Report, always say either "Awarded" or "Received" a medal. That is showing the respect these men deserve. As the son of a vet, grandson, great grandson, and great great grandson of vets, I thank both channels.❤😊
The Light Cruiser mentioned as part of the bombardment is (CL-97) USS Flint. Being from Flint, Michigan it's a point of pride, albeit a forgotten one. It was "purchased" with a single war bond drive, and was oringally supposed to be (CL-64) a Cleveland-class cruiser. The sinking of (CA-44) USS Vincennes resulted in the reallocation of the hull, and was commissioned as (CL-64) USS Vincennes. USS Flint was instead commissioned as an Oakland-class, which is a sub-class of the Atlanta-class Light Cruisers.
@@RealBelisariusCawlIt's the principal of the matter, Indiana stole the ship Flint paid for. It's also not the first time something that belongs to Michigan is inside Ohioan state borders. ***looks at Toledo***
@@MiishaKorvian We got the UP for Toledo. We got the better end of the deal. For those interested, there's actually is a 3rd peninsula to Michigan. It's located in Lake Erie just Northeast of Toledo.
Being English, I've absorbed so much information on the European theatre, and while I had heard many times that the pacific theatre was no joke, this video really brought home just how much harder you guys had it there... While the Germans were well trained, at least they would surrender when it made sense to.
It's almost bizarre how vicious and savage that the Pacific theater was. The Japanese were utterly brutal and without any mercy, and they loathed any soldier who surrendered. The massacred the Chinese like dogs, and frequently tortured and murdered US prisoners. About 3% of US POWs were murdered by the Germans in captivity, compared with 35% of US POWs in Japanese hands. So very early in the pacific war, the US forces realized that they would be given "no quarter" by the Japanese, and they just stopped taking Japanese prisoners. The problem was so bad that the US intel officers had to start offering a reward to soldiers who bought in live Japanese prisoners. Another strange thing was the US troops taking Japanese skulls as trophies. That was pretty commonplace and is said to be a by-product of the rage and hatred they felt for the Japanese. Navy sailors would drag heads behind their ship in a net to scour all the flesh off. It was forbidden, but happened anyway.
I will always argue that (as a Americlap myself) the US' true story about WW2 is told in it's journey across the Pacific Theater of Operations. It's immeasurable and almost completely decisive in its involvement compared to the Greater ETO (East & West).
My wife's best friend's dad was a Marine scout on Iwo, he refused to ever talk about it. He would only say that assaulting hell itself would have been preferable.
Some will talk about it and some won't. My father made 4 landings in the Central Pacific with the 4th Marine Division , including Iwo Jima (Yellow Beach 2 first wave) and if I asked him he would answer me. I could be wrong but I think it has a lot to do with those combat vets realizing that most young people don't care about that stuff nor do they have any understanding of history or war. It's totally foreign to them. They're just wrapped up in their own worlds. It's only years or decades later that their children (sometimes) realize that they have no idea what their father's did in the war and wish that they had asked so they could tell their children.
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217While that could be a reason in some cases. I think watching dozens of men get mown down by mg fire and killed by random mortar blasts not knowing if every crevice was looking back at you. Plus seeing the enemy get melted alive would maybe make you unforthcoming in all the gruesome detail. Some people can look back on trauma objectively in detail without digging up all the emotions with it some can’t.
People react differently, that's all I'm saying. The first Jap(anese) my father killed was with his combat knife (I never heard him say "Kabar" though it may well have been one. @@dylanmorgan2752
My Dad was wounded when the Pensacola got hit by a shore battery. Thank you for this comprehensive story of the entire event at Iwo Jima. I've never seen anything like it before.
Exceptional video. The courage and fortitude displayed on both sides was amazing. I was incredulous at the numbers killed in the friendly fire incidents. I suppose this led to the resistance to use supporting fire from the troops without accurate co-ordinates being supplied. The raw courage displayed was outstanding, truly the Greatest Generation. The machinations by politicians and the photo op over the flag. Although an iconic image, I can't help but feel a little disgusted at politicians wanting a souvenir when they weren't involved in the sacrifice to obtain those results. We owe those that fought for freedom, a debt that we can never repay. God bless them and their families, who had to pick up the pieces and carry on with life, when their loved ones didn't return. Words seem so paltry and inadequate for that Generations sacrifice but for what it is worth, every day, from the bottom of my heart, I thank God for you.
An amazingly detailed account of the battle.I think with this one you hit a home run.Imagine this island right at this moment...when its really quiet you can still hear"You Die Marine"on the wind..
i love. detailed, with beautiful and objective distance but sprinkled with heartfelt empathy when needed. gives happiness to both the nerd and the story enjoyer
Dan Daly was awarded 2 medals of honor, the Army Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross, while serving as a United States Marine. John Basilone was an epic Marine and outstanding badass, but he was not the only U.S. Marine to receive the United States 2 highest awards for gallantry.
Wow it’s crazy watching this format of video getting to see the details so close its like I’m almost able to imagine being in the battle in my head but I know I can’t even fathom that much chaos non stop that the only way to turn off is killing or being killed.
I've learned more intimate details and facts about Iwo jima from the Animated Documentary than 50+ years of interest in it's history. Bravo my Friend... Bravo,
The friendly fire incident on D+1 at the quarry was madness. I was shaking my head at the F4U attack, and then when the ship's artillery hit just after? Unbelievable luck; Mr. Murphy was busy that day. I don't remember learning about this incident; good on you for teaching me something new.
some battles in wwii had up to 10% of US casualties due to friendly fire. that happens when you combine mobile warfare with lots of artillery and lots of ground attack aircraft bombing.
@@ThorneWorthingtonand then there is Kiska island where the USA suffered a load of casualties against zero Japanese soldiers due mostly to friendly fire but also to booby traps left behind by the Japanese.
My wife's uncle was with the 4th Marines and was killed in this battle and my uncle was Admiral George McFadden O'Rear and was the commander of USS Arkansas and commanded the fleet during the battle.
Fantastic vid. I’ve studied the 2nd World War for a huge portion of my life. Regarding the battle of Iwo? This is absolutely one of the best, if not The Best that I have ever seen. Details matter…that’s a given. You simply put the details in perspective and show the “fog” that is tactical warfare. Great, Great job sir. Thank You!
Thank You Brother! For those of us who can’t read enough about the great men in our history, you give a much needed visual perspective of these battlefields.
My dad was in the 5th Marine Division. He is now 97 years old and in good health. You can also find him in the Library of Congress by searching Iwo Jima Alfread Jennings
In 1965 I was a young 19-year old Marine in boot camp where we shown films of the battle of Iwo Jima. I have watched countless movies, videos and TV shows about the battle. This was the best of the best. Having seen my share of combat in Vietnam I often thought about those incredibly brave Marines that fought and died on Iwo Jima; it gave me inspiration to keep going. By God's grace I survived, but have been left with PTSD. I'm sure those surviving Marines and soldiers never received the kind of medical care after their battles that we who have followed in their footsteps have received. They just suffered in silence till they passed. What a crying shame.
My wife's grandfather was a Marine combat demolition man laying satchel charges as part of a flamethrower squad on Tarawa. After that he became a Underwater Demolitionman as the Navy UDTs were getting ready for Normandy. The wife said he could never go into caves.
I was watching when you had 200k subs and left a comment about how incredible your work was. You graciously responded, I’m now seeing 5x that in subs. How incredible for you. Talent creativity and drive are excellent markers for success. Congratulations. Simply incredible. Thank you for your continued efforts.
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217 If 65 million people "instantly" died it would have been a fairly short war. Please read posts before typing for likes please.
BTW, it's totally true or do you dispute that? People die in war, lots of them. How is pointing that out fishing for likes? Make a real point to someone who cares what you think!
I don’t know whether the Japanese had anything equivalent to the Medal of Honor. But if they did then General Kuribayashi should have been posthumously awarded one. What a magnificently planned defense.
I read a book a long time ago that touched quite a bit on him, if I remember correctly he was an ambassador to America before the war, or he went to a military academy maybe, I’m not sure. I wanna say it was similar to Yamamoto in that regards, but I digress. All I know is he didn’t do the retarded shit the Japanese usually did, like wasting men by using human waves that maybe cause 8% casualty’s while taking 100% causality’s yourself. He mounted a serious defense, and he would have kept it up for a lot longer if his subordinates didn’t disregard direct orders. He would have made a fine military commander for America or for any other country where the military was more United and not two competing factions like the IJN and IJA.
@@jason200912idk if men that were lied to, and died as a result, in order for the insubordinate leadership to fail anyways is necessarily funny but ok.
I love all of your content. I showed my wife one of your videos and she really liked it a lot as well. That is huge coming from her. She loves history but has never had an interest in war but how you showed and explain it is something that she really enjoyed. Allow me to suggest that for what you did for Iwo Jima that you consider doing the same for the Battle of Okinawa. I know that is an even bigger project I am sure but you people have what your doing perfect if my wife enjoyed it! I love you guys!
Riveting is not high enough praise. My Grandfather was a B17 gunner in France, but had an Iwo Jima paperweight on his office desk- removable brass flag. I have been interested since the age of 5, some 5 decades ago. This was fabulous.
I’ve Been fortunate enough to Travel the world with the Marine Corp. I had the time of my life, even though I’ve lived my fair share of combat. This was my favorite place that I’ve visited. Taking 30 minutes or so just to sit quietly, by myself, and look out over the beaches and vast ocean brought chill bumps in the humid summer.
My father was on Iwo Jima as a Marine. His duty was as a radio repairman for airplanes that were forced landed. He told me that when he was on sentry duty one night, a jeep drove by and failed to give the required password. As he cocked his gun and was about to fire, the jeep slammed on its brakes. Happily just US Marines. In addition, 3 years ago I met a old man who was wearing a B-29 hat. I asked him if he ever landed at Iwo Jima. He told me that his plan was the very first B-29 to land there. They lost 2 engines from flak while flying a mission over Japan and were forced to land on Iwo Jima. Upon landing he and his crew ran to a trench while Japanese machine guns were shooting at the plane. Told him of my father. Just an interesting meeting.
@@rc5924not necessarily just because the airfield was safe when that first plane landed doesn’t mean it was always, especially since Japanese infiltrators would break through american lines in small groups constantly. Even after the battle was “ officially over”, the US kept an infantry regiment on the island to clear out holdouts from caves, tunnels, and bunkers which still took 3 months after the end of the battle. Also it could’ve been that these airmen were not used to machine gun bullets at such a range and were more scared than a marine who would be more used to the distance.
@@rc5924 The video's depth and representation of the battle is extensive, however it's FAR from depicting every soldier's location and where they would have been. Let's not forget that fact, it's detailed but it's also a best guess to fill in the gaps of documented information which is scarce. Furthermore Planes are extremely easy to see and all you would need to fire on it from a great distance would be a slight hill, something they had plenty of.. I don't doubt for a second that guns would've been firing at the first plane, which according to the video did land during the battle...
The fact that men on Iowa Jima were still fighting a good four years after the war ended is kind of nuts to think about. I know that Hiroo Onoda, Teruo Nakamura, and Shoichi Yokoi made history by not surrendering or being captured until the 1970s, but to me there's something extra grim about the Iowa Jima men holding out for years after the surrender of Japan since the conditions for them were particularly hellish
Ahh this made me go watch Letters from Iwo Jima again. Was awesome to watch it again while knowing more about the assault. Great upload, again. Thank you.
Just found this channel. Hell of a job on this. Your "team" (however many that may be) did their homework. Subscribing right now. Thank you for the time and effort you put in to this.
While stationed in the Pacific, (USAF), I was able to stop on Iwo Jima once. It was a very hot day with no wind. The first thing we noticed when the aircraft doors opened was the smell. Dead fish and rotting seaweed. We didn't stay long but I get to say I've been there. When I was on Guam, (1973), the jungle was off limits due to unexploded ordnance. We walked many of battle fields any way. When on Okinawa unexploded ordnance was everywhere and the jungle was not off limits. If UXO was above the high tide line you just reported it. If it was below the water on the reef no one cared. Tinian was interesting because of the Nuke Bomb loading area. Midway and Wake were isolated with nothing to really look at. This video was outstanding. I don't know if I would want to walk those battle fields again I'm a lot older now.
Absolutely fantastic, thank you so very much, thoroughly enjoyed the whole vid. Not sure why I missed these when they were originally released as shorter episodes. Drach's presence was a really nice surprise as well!
my friend and neighbor Mel Lemon fought on Iwo. he is 97 and still farming. he told me he recently found out his neck had been broken years prior and somehow he never knew! He said the only thing he could think of that would've caused it was that an American bomb was dropped short as he was cresting a hill blowing him 20 feet into the air. he came down on his head and was knocked out. he said he had a horrible headache when he woke up, but apparently he had a broken neck too and never knew it!
This series is so good. Since I watched the original release months ago l, when I read or hear Iwo Jima, my mind automatically pictures the black volcano on the bottom left corner animated in this series!
This was fantastic! My grandfather was a corpsman with the 2nd Marine Division on Saipan and Tinian...it would be so awesome if you could do the same video for those battles
My Father was on both islands in the 4th Marine Division. He always told me that for him Saipan was the worst of the four landings that he made, including Iwo Jima. I guess it depends when and where you are in any given battle.
Do you know what regiment and company he was in? The only record for corpsman was the battalion they were assigned to and he was in the 1st battalion 2nd Marine Regiment. From the limited stories he told I'm pretty sure he was assigned to a rifle company but don't know which one.
We'll, there are four Companies in a USMC Battalion so 1st Battalion, 2nd Regt should be enough information to get you a fairly small list of names... from the US Government at least if you order his service record. It's not rocket science and since you're his son it shouldn't cost you much if anything at all to get them sent to you.@@mikewhite965
Excellent presentation, thank you. I especially note how pre the battle the USA commanders completely underestimated the Japanese. Never underestimate how determined or intelligent your enemy is or could be. If after the battle it was easier than expected, that is not a problem.
It was only the ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) that never got anything right that they didn't get from code breaking. Saipan had double the Japanese that ONI said, Tarawa and the reef problem... @@simonamerica1
Great documentary. A very bloody invasion that really showed the high level of resistance the Japanese had against invasion. I imagine it was certainly one of the catalysts for the Americans opting to choose the A-Bomb over Japan to minimize US casualties. Because of battles like this, the Americans knew how hare it was going to be to take the Japanese mainland.
the production value of your videos amazes me; thank you for putting in so much effort! I'm not affluent enough to support you financially and I'm sorry for that!
Still amazes me until this day,how the Japonese hold on for so long almost without nothing and against a Behemoth. The Resilience,Stamina,Training,determination and the sheer will power to defend their land in those conditions,and even so were capable of inflicting terrible casualties to the Enemy,is a Testament to a Mindset that only few people are willing to accept.
Due to popular request, we are re-releasing our entire Iwo Jima series as one complete animated documentary!
We have launched just our Patreon where we are creating an exciting new community. If you would like to support us, please take a look here www.patreon.com/TheOperationsRoom
This is awesome. Thank You!
I remember watching a documentary 30 years ago. They briefly mentioned the USAAF bombed a US division for 3 straight days in Italy. I have never been able to find it again.
The gunhos killed far more than we are told?
Oh wow nice
It wasn't nice for US army.
Against the Wermacht and their own medal hunters who thought they were the Wermacht.
@@rayw3294 It was their first war and they did not exist yet so cut them some slack.
My piano teacher growing up was on Iwo Jima with the 24th Marine regiment as a flamethrower operator. He never mentioned anything about the Battle besides anecdotes about trading his cigarettes for chocolate bars, because he didn't smoke, or playing a pedal-powered pipe organ for church services, but I later found out that his entire platoon, barring him and his platoon Commander, was wiped out, and he temporarily lost use of his hand due to shrapnel from a mortar. Passed away peacefully from old age few years back. Frank Matthews. Fair Winds and following Seas.
Wow. Cool.
My entire life I've been enamored with WW2 history. I'm a first generation American but have many friends who had grandfathers who fought during WW2 on the ground or in the air. The stories I've read, watched, and have been told in 1st or 2nd hand accounts still never cease to amaze me.
The men and women who sacrificed and rallied together in unity will never fail to remind me how humans with conviction could make sure Good would triumph over Evil when the time called.
There is without doubt that they should be remembered as the Greatest Generation.
Thanks, now I shall never forget too
And now, unfortunately the Communists are winning at home.@@chinqlinq89
You should watch Shaun Ryan's interview with an Iwo Jima flamethrower, Don Graves, 36 days on the island and was the only one out of the 300 flamethrowers in his unit that survived. Its hard to listen to to 3 hour interviews all in one shot, but I can't remember the last time, if ever at all, I was glued to a 3 hour UA-cam interview like that. 98 years old as sharp as ever, and part of the greatest generation that will ever live
I've been on Iwo Jima and the beach sand was like walking up marbles, Sarabachi was steep as hell, we attempted to climb the north east side from the supply beach until we linked up with the paved access road. The tunnel entrances are mostly still wide open and the sunken supply ships still sticking out of the surf. It's essentially locked in time. It was eye opening to see it largely untouched. Absolutely balsy fighting by my fellow marines! Semper fi
How were you able to get there ? Who offers tours ?
@@bettinaripperger4159 If I remember right a few years ago the Marines went back to do a honorary hike up the mountain side.
That wasn't a cheap trip........... It must have been special.
Did you see a bunch of shell casings and other remnants of the battles? I’d like to visit that island one day. Rest in Peace to all who fought there. 🙏🏻
Thank you for your service, and thank God for men like them and yourself.
My Grandad was wounded on Iwo jima. As a kid he told me about the battle. It is fascinating seeing it told again with visuals. Thank you.
All i recall (I am 44 now and he has been dead of old age for awhile) is that he was in the second wave of the landings and wounded by a grenade.
I remember him mentioning it was his job to secure the airfield.
He had pieces of shrapnel from the grenade that would work it's way out of his leg till the day he died at 60+
Mine great grandfather was on one of the crashing b-29s he had to kick out a fire bomb over the open bomb bay while plummeting towards the island
1.2.3..my grandad lol
@@ME-ke7qc ?
@@ME-ke7qc Yes.....I am...44.....My Mom is now.....I think around 70....my grandad...you know...her dad....died at 60+. Not sure why the math is that hard....
I'm fairly certain if I took part in this battle I would have died without doing anything productive. The bravery of these men gives me chills
I am a Marine, and i wonder the same thing.
@@alexfloate2420 You will know once you feet hit the sand, even if you take a volley maybe it will help one of your brothers get to cover.
Crazy to think most of them were kids. 18 and 19 year olds
@@alexfloate2420Everyone in WW2 had balls of steel. I'm a Marine as well 2008-2012 and just felt like an imposter. Couldn't imagine being put on an AAV after just completing boot camp some never going at all. And knowing death was basically iminent.. greatest generation was just built different.
I have a feeling amphetamines and alcohol helped and made this war particularly brutal.
My best friends grandfather kept the sword he was stabbed with while in his bunker on Iwo Jima. The Japanese soldier stabbed him through the sandbags and then made the mistake of jumping over the bunker to finish him off only to find himself facing a 6' 2" Iowa farm boy who was only slightly wounded. He never told us the rest of the story but he brought the sword home.
He probably beat the shit out him
You don’t wanna know.
It’s one thing to see a dead body, and see someone killed, like me…
It’s a whole nother animal to take a life, something I have not done, and pray I never have to.
Ironically @@Beau-wp9yi that same friend and I joined the Army in the mid 80's. He even went airborne. We both earned national defense medals and lost friends in desert storm but it was nothing like Iwo Jima.
@brianhagmeier8065 thank you, Sir for your service.
If someone is foolish enough to try to take out a US Marine they will not escape the whirlwind
What a fantastic, well-made video. I enjoyed it thoroughly. My grandfather was at Iwo Jima, a sailor - he's still living today in fact! 98 years old!
That's awesome! 🪖
I thank him for his service!
Neat living piece of history!
Jesus, seeing it animated like this really sets in how horrendous the battle was, along with the commentary. Kuribayashi really did a number in this battle, coming at it from a realist perspective the entire time.
Lucky most of the Japanese high ranking officers weren't brilliant strategists like kuribayashi
True that. I wonder just how scary the Japanese forces will be if their high command did not tend to exaggerate the smallest of wins and more realistic over the whole die with honor thing.
@almofo2237 the fact that he forbade the bonzai attacks is what lead to the prolonged campaign. Just imagine the added horrors on the other islands if it was like he did on Iwo.
Old guy here. I loved this series. Very in depth and detailed.
John Basilone was one heck of a marine! It makes me want to rewatch the pacific series. I just can’t imagine the kind of courage it took to land on that beach and face that carnage. They were the Greatest Generation!
Especially since no one was expecting that level of carnage.
Few things make me as happy as an Ops Room upload, even if I have seen these multiple times before. Super congratulations on nearly reaching 1M subs, y'all deserve every one!
#sycophant
Still seeing 971,000 subs.. must be a glitch?
"12 days of shelling might waste too many shells.. let's cut it back to 3 days, with a further cutback to 1.5 days. Better to waste Marine's lives than waste shells." -The Navy, back then.
@@74KU 972k subs is what I see.. why? What's the real number? I even see 972k when I go to their main UA-cam account page
I second that!!!
My grandfather was a stretcher-bearer (corpsman) on Iwo Jima. While carrying one of the many wounded, a shell exploded next to him. He received minor shrapnel wounds and shortly after that, a purple heart. He lived to tell the tale of Iwo Jima, yet never uttered a word about it. He was one of the kindest men I've ever known. His soft spoken nature belied his 6'3"frame. Both those features landed him the corpsman designation. The shell shock (PTSD) he came away with, according to Mom, his daughter, affected him deeply, but I never saw evidence of that. He was a damn tough Marine, and damn proud of it, just quietly. He was a man of God who loved his family and his country, and I never knew what took place on Iwo Jima, the odds he faced, until today as I viewed this video. Now I know why he was so reluctant to share his experience and I have even greater respect and admiration for him and how he lived the rest of his life. Publishing this video, you did him and all the troops there a great honor and educated me in the process. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. God bless you and God bless America. ❤
That stuff affects everybody differently. Most kids don't ask and the fathers don't think they're really interested. Iwo Jima was the 4th landing my father made with the 4th Marine Div, first wave. He was lightly wounded on the beach on Saipan by a Japanese 70mm knee mortar. If I asked him about the war he would tell me. Looking back I'm sure the war affected him with some form of PTSD though.
Why do many American commentators on these types of WW2 videos always bang on about God blessing each other, were you all heavily indoctrinated in your formative years by religious nonsense. 🤔
@@beachcomber1able It used to be a much religious country back then. It fact is was a Christian country for all intents and purposes. Just how far back does your memory go?
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217 Back to the days when Christian mobs would regularly lynch black people from the nearest tree and the USA operated an evil apartheid system.
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217 Back to the days when Christian mobs would lynch black people and the USA operated a brutal segregation policy.
The effort in these videos and animations is incredible!
These videos are both incredible graphically but the content is 10/10 as well. Hands down my favorite military history videos
Yes. I love these guys. And they tell the truth. Our stupid channels try to be nice. But, being telling the truth is real. And we get it from Deutchers and Ruskies. Tell the truth and let everyone know. It was fucking evil.
Yes, they did a much better job than the dumbass navy barrages! They had one job from point blank range and still could not manage it! Useless.
Right? So much attention to detail, very easy to follow and understand, just great storytelling.
I am a Japanese, my grandfather Takashi Hiroshi, a resolute Japanese soldier, clung to his post with unwavering determination at Turkey nob. As the battle neared its brutal climax, a wounded American soldier lay helpless nearby. Overwhelmed by a surge of compassion, Hiroshi, torn between duty and humanity, approached the injured foe. Ignoring the war, he extended a hand of mercy, giving the man water and bandage. My grandfather died soon after, but american soldier wrote of his deed. Thank you, from a Japanese.
That is an incredible story thank you for sharing it with us! ....I would love to read any books from the Japanese perspective that we might not know about in the USA if you have any recommendations I would enjoy reading them Americans don't know a lot about the pacific theater quite as well as Stalin and Hitler and Europe.
As an American. Consider the beef squashed. We can hopefully look forward to a long friendship.
@@peytonnorris7244 Even from the Europe front most Americans does'nt know much. For example most only hear about Omaha beach because how hard was it to take but most beaches was poorly defended and a cakewalk to take. By Operation Overlord the war was already lost on the German side and by the operation it was hastened greatly. For all the stories and battles and heroic deeds and horrific deaths when it comes to fighting the Russians it's always comes to a great power trying to invade than the russian winter spits into their plans, same happened in WW2. Sadly I can't offer good stories since My great granddad never shared what happened only that my granddads older brother did'nt recognize his father when he came home and the area where I'm from was occupied by Germany in the early was and than taken by Russians at the end. What I heard about is no war story but the german soldiers would trade stuff for ciggs or alcohol and the russians was so poorly supplied they would eat the raw garlic from the ground and was often fed by our civils that could share a bit because it was really sad to see soldiers basically starving.
John Basilone is the most badass soldier I’ve ever seen, his men must’ve felt like he was a superhero when they followed him into battle. When he got killed I can’t even imagine how that must’ve affected the morale of the troops behind him.. for them to keep fighting shows why these guys were the greatest generation
They truly don't make them like they used to.
I mean, I'm 27, and I can't imagine going through half of the things they went through, at an even younger age.
@@DonVigaDeFierro in Marine Corps boot, during the Crucible, we have a challenge called the Basilone Challenge. it an ammo and water plus casualty run up a 50yeard hill at 40-45% incline. it fucking sucks but you find yourself wanting to do it again after the first time. i believe my squad did it 3 times.
Every generation of Americans is the greatest generation.
looks like someone forgot to take their meds@@JOECURR1488
To say that WW2 vets are the greatest generation is a slap in the face of every combat vet. Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, the gulf War. Iraq Afghanistan each generation has it's hero's.
My grandfather was an Amtrack driver with the 11th AmTrack BN, 5th MarDiv in this battle. He went ashore at the foot of Suribachi (landing zone Red 2) in the first wave. He went back and forth exiting the vehicle to retrieve wounded to return to the hospital ships, then over to the transports to pick up fresh troops for the entire campaign. Said he didn't take his boots off for 36 days. Also had some much more tragic and grisly stories. :(
All of these stories need to be told anywhere they can. I feel a lot of insight to these battles is being lost because no one shares them enough.
My dad was in WW2 because he joined the Marines from 38-46. He never talked about what he did during the war but he passed before I hit 17. I joined the Marines from 68-70 and served at Chu Lai 68-69 1st MAW. I’ll always wonder what he did and where.
I BET HE WENT TO TOKYO AND DROWNED HIMSELF IN TOKYO LOLI PUSSIES
You can obtain his record of service. Contact the Veteran’s Agent for your city or town. If they do not exist in your state contact the DAV or a military recruiting office. The process starts with a standard form; SF 180.
@@philbrown9764
Thanks for serving, and I’m happy you made it back from Vietnam!
My Dad was with the Marines in Korea. I regret not asking about his time there.
This is hands down the most in depth overview of the battle of Iwo Jima I have seen thank you for this video. I am friends with a WWII Marine who fought at Iwo Jima and it is amazing to see what exactly him and his fellow Marines faced during that battle.
You say "I am friends", does that mean he's still alive? There are so few left, that would be amazing.
This is one of the best history series I’ve ever seen on any media platform. Ops Room is king.
My uncle was a pilot during the campaign and my grandfather was on the USS New Jersey providing support fire. I couldn’t be prouder.
This channel’s ability to portray the info in such an easy to understand way is amazing. Not many channels can show battles like this🔥👍🏾
General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and Colonel Baron Takechi Nishi were both students of Harvard and even attended West Point as guest students. So they both know alot about American Tactics and Strategies. Also, General Kuribayashi were good friends with alot of the American and UK officers since he was a veteran of ww1. Colonel Baron Nishi also lived in the US before ww2 since he was an Olympic Athlete in Showjumping and Horse Dressage and won medals in two olympic games
I’ve seen other channels go to long-form, but they don’t have the production capability and knowledge required to make it work. But this is excellent! Never once did I think “This is too long.” The content is there and it’s so well presented! Keep it up!
These videos are so compelling, the fear these boys must have felt, but there superb training, and shear bravery got them through.
As American citizens we owe these soldiers, more than can be given!
So many deaths caused by miscommunication... First there was the corsair and naval barrage killing friendlies, then there was the breakout order by the Japanese that didn't reach the troops, and then there was a suicide charge despite explicitly being ordered not to charge.
Lessons etched in blood for the future
Welcome to the 1940s. They can't exactly send a text zoomer.
@@tappytibbons735 except not having today's technology has nothing to do with it, boomer. did you watch the video? none of these miscommunications were due to a lack of reliable tech, they were all human error.
@@tappytibbons735I’m surprised you even know what a text is. You’ve spent so much time replying random angry comments to people on this video that I thought it was your first time ever being on the internet. Do better bro, we can all see the drivel you type.
Failure to communicate has led to more deaths than any War combined
These animations are crazy! I went to Iwo Jima for 2 days with 3rd MarDiv, 4th Marines back in the early 2000s. It was remarkable. Walking on the black sand at night was like a dream.
Must have been a hellscape during the battle! Imagine the fear and the courage from both sides of men. Good lord.
What was the sand like ? 🏝️
This is simply fantastic. I'm showing it to my history class.
would have LOVED these back in 2015 when I was in highschool
Take teacher's permission first 😉
Educate your history class on Jewish expulsions
@@outofturn331I’m guessing he is the teacher
You do that my brother. Show them all of the relevant ones. Ops Room is absolutely high-quality stuff. I learnt more history from these Brits than I did at uni.
Our former VFW commander was on one of the transports at Iwo Jima. He said that when the fleet saw the flag raised on Mt. Suribachi, all the ships whistles and horns sound all around the island.
I would love a medal of honor series. Telling those stories with your detail would be wonderful.
And heart wrenching 😢 but I second the request.
I don't know if or if it is still being broadcast, but Netflix had a Medal of Honor series. Might want to check that out if still on the network.
I always find it funny how the Secretary of the Navy wanted the first flag, and the Marines are just in disgust over him being a politician and wanting a "souvenir" of a deadly battle. Then the second flag raising being the photo most people know of. Just ironic, and the Flags of our Fathers movie and book just represent this so well.
Excellent presentation! My Dad tried to enlist into the SeaBees during WW2 but was denied because he wore glasses. Instead enlisted with the Army Engineers and served in Europe. Who knows what would have been his fate (and mine too!) had he been able to join the SeaBees.
My dad was a Seabee and went from North Africa to France,then on to the Pacific, to build more airstrips, never wounded by bullets but would never go to a movie or talk about the war, until I enlisted in the USN 1961-65,, and then, said WE all bleed the same color blood, alcohol wouldbring him down after only 61 years on thisFzzzz89ked world
What is seebee
@@ioance3526 It is the construction arm of the Navy. The SeaBee is a nickname for the letters “CB” which is short for “construction battalion”.
It’s fascinating to watch this video because in 1995 I had asked my stepdad to write a bio of his time in the Marines during WWII and turns out he was in the 4th Marines and fought (received a Purple Heart) on Iwo Jima at hill 382! I know this because after watching this video I pulled the letter out and reread it and he recounted exactly every step he took and it matches exactly day by day of what is in this video even his description of the “bloodiest battles” in Marine Corps history during WWII up until that point! It literally brought chills down my spine! He spent seven days in battle and saw several of his comrades get shot or blown up right next to him! He recounted how he felt he had a 50-50 chance of making it out alive.
This is a very accurate video of what happened because I read it from someone who was there!
I've visited Harry Martin's grave in his hometown of Bucyrus, Ohio. A large granite marker with his picture and MOH etched on one side, and a ship that was named after him on the other. A small glass window in the marker has sand from Iwo in it
Awesome having Drach on. This long format videos are super good. Thank you so much. I'm reading "So sad to fall in battle" so its great having this along
I'm so glad you turned this into a movie. This is why I love this channel
I thank ur channel 4 showing these brave men the respect they deserve.
Many channels say so and so won this medal or that medal. As if it is a game show.
Your channel, and ur sister channel, the Intel Report, always say either "Awarded" or "Received" a medal.
That is showing the respect these men deserve. As the son of a vet, grandson, great grandson, and great great grandson of vets, I thank both channels.❤😊
The Light Cruiser mentioned as part of the bombardment is (CL-97) USS Flint.
Being from Flint, Michigan it's a point of pride, albeit a forgotten one.
It was "purchased" with a single war bond drive, and was oringally supposed to be (CL-64) a Cleveland-class cruiser. The sinking of (CA-44) USS Vincennes resulted in the reallocation of the hull, and was commissioned as (CL-64) USS Vincennes. USS Flint was instead commissioned as an Oakland-class, which is a sub-class of the Atlanta-class Light Cruisers.
Well, Michiganders couldn’t very well purchase something in a class named after a city in Ohio, could you? Lol.
@@RealBelisariusCawlIt's the principal of the matter, Indiana stole the ship Flint paid for. It's also not the first time something that belongs to Michigan is inside Ohioan state borders. ***looks at Toledo***
I'm a sub class of flint called Battle Creek😁
@@MiishaKorvian We got the UP for Toledo. We got the better end of the deal. For those interested, there's actually is a 3rd peninsula to Michigan. It's located in Lake Erie just Northeast of Toledo.
@@timothydonlan9112 we might have gotten a concession, but it's still Michigan's rightful clay :P
Being English, I've absorbed so much information on the European theatre, and while I had heard many times that the pacific theatre was no joke, this video really brought home just how much harder you guys had it there... While the Germans were well trained, at least they would surrender when it made sense to.
It's almost bizarre how vicious and savage that the Pacific theater was.
The Japanese were utterly brutal and without any mercy, and they loathed any soldier who surrendered. The massacred the Chinese like dogs, and frequently tortured and murdered US prisoners. About 3% of US POWs were murdered by the Germans in captivity, compared with 35% of US POWs in Japanese hands.
So very early in the pacific war, the US forces realized that they would be given "no quarter" by the Japanese, and they just stopped taking Japanese prisoners. The problem was so bad that the US intel officers had to start offering a reward to soldiers who bought in live Japanese prisoners.
Another strange thing was the US troops taking Japanese skulls as trophies. That was pretty commonplace and is said to be a by-product of the rage and hatred they felt for the Japanese. Navy sailors would drag heads behind their ship in a net to scour all the flesh off. It was forbidden, but happened anyway.
I will always argue that (as a Americlap myself) the US' true story about WW2 is told in it's journey across the Pacific Theater of Operations. It's immeasurable and almost completely decisive in its involvement compared to the Greater ETO (East & West).
My wife's best friend's dad was a Marine scout on Iwo, he refused to ever talk about it.
He would only say that assaulting hell itself would have been preferable.
Some will talk about it and some won't. My father made 4 landings in the Central Pacific with the 4th Marine Division , including Iwo Jima (Yellow Beach 2 first wave) and if I asked him he would answer me. I could be wrong but I think it has a lot to do with those combat vets realizing that most young people don't care about that stuff nor do they have any understanding of history or war. It's totally foreign to them. They're just wrapped up in their own worlds. It's only years or decades later that their children (sometimes) realize that they have no idea what their father's did in the war and wish that they had asked so they could tell their children.
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217While that could be a reason in some cases. I think watching dozens of men get mown down by mg fire and killed by random mortar blasts not knowing if every crevice was looking back at you. Plus seeing the enemy get melted alive would maybe make you unforthcoming in all the gruesome detail. Some people can look back on trauma objectively in detail without digging up all the emotions with it some can’t.
People react differently, that's all I'm saying. The first Jap(anese) my father killed was with his combat knife (I never heard him say "Kabar" though it may well have been one. @@dylanmorgan2752
My Dad was wounded when the Pensacola got hit by a shore battery. Thank you for this comprehensive story of the entire event at Iwo Jima. I've never seen anything like it before.
Exceptional video. The courage and fortitude displayed on both sides was amazing.
I was incredulous at the numbers killed in the friendly fire incidents. I suppose this led to the resistance to use supporting fire from the troops without accurate co-ordinates being supplied.
The raw courage displayed was outstanding, truly the Greatest Generation.
The machinations by politicians and the photo op over the flag. Although an iconic image, I can't help but feel a little disgusted at politicians wanting a souvenir when they weren't involved in the sacrifice to obtain those results.
We owe those that fought for freedom, a debt that we can never repay.
God bless them and their families, who had to pick up the pieces and carry on with life, when their loved ones didn't return.
Words seem so paltry and inadequate for that Generations sacrifice but for what it is worth, every day, from the bottom of my heart, I thank God for you.
An amazingly detailed account of the battle.I think with this one you hit a home run.Imagine this island right at this moment...when its really quiet you can still hear"You Die Marine"on the wind..
This documentary is probably the best visual of a battle I've ever seen. Nice work!
i love. detailed, with beautiful and objective distance but sprinkled with heartfelt empathy when needed. gives happiness to both the nerd and the story enjoyer
what a nice surprise when u realize its a cooperation with drachinifel. very nice! quality is off the charts!
Expected some of the top comments to mention this!
I like that Medal of Honor recipient, Basilone's perspective/actions is included in this video.
Dan Daly was awarded 2 medals of honor, the Army Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross, while serving as a United States Marine. John Basilone was an epic Marine and outstanding badass, but he was not the only U.S. Marine to receive the United States 2 highest awards for gallantry.
They are very high gallantry medals.
Really nicely done. I wasn't aware of the gallantry of John Basilone. Thank you for this video!
I'm proud to say my grandfather Harry was one of those Seabees on Iwo. This was an excellent overview of the operation. Keep the great content coming!
Wow it’s crazy watching this format of video getting to see the details so close its like I’m almost able to imagine being in the battle in my head but I know I can’t even fathom that much chaos non stop that the only way to turn off is killing or being killed.
These are so well done! This channel will be a treasured resource for people to learn from for years.
I've learned more intimate details and facts about Iwo jima from the Animated Documentary than 50+ years of interest in it's history. Bravo my Friend... Bravo,
The friendly fire incident on D+1 at the quarry was madness. I was shaking my head at the F4U attack, and then when the ship's artillery hit just after? Unbelievable luck; Mr. Murphy was busy that day. I don't remember learning about this incident; good on you for teaching me something new.
some battles in wwii had up to 10% of US casualties due to friendly fire. that happens when you combine mobile warfare with lots of artillery and lots of ground attack aircraft bombing.
@@ThorneWorthington Proof that the only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
@@ThorneWorthingtonand then there is Kiska island where the USA suffered a load of casualties against zero Japanese soldiers due mostly to friendly fire but also to booby traps left behind by the Japanese.
My wife's uncle was with the 4th Marines and was killed in this battle and my uncle was Admiral George McFadden O'Rear and was the commander of USS Arkansas and commanded the fleet during the battle.
Thank you for sharing
Wow... a truly small world isnt it
Love a crossover from Drach, thank you so much for releasing this as one video - onto 3rd watchthrough now!
Thank you for combining videos, it's genuinely appreciated
Fantastic vid.
I’ve studied the 2nd World War for a huge portion of my life.
Regarding the battle of Iwo? This is absolutely one of the best, if not The Best that I have ever seen.
Details matter…that’s a given.
You simply put the details in perspective and show the “fog” that is tactical warfare.
Great, Great job sir.
Thank You!
Thank You Brother! For those of us who can’t read enough about the great men in our history, you give a much needed visual perspective of these battlefields.
I like that you discuss each side's perspectives ahead of the fight.
My dad was in the 5th Marine Division. He is now 97 years old and in good health. You can also find him in the Library of Congress by searching Iwo Jima Alfread Jennings
Cool.
In 1965 I was a young 19-year old Marine in boot camp where we shown films of the battle of Iwo Jima. I have watched countless movies, videos and TV shows about the battle. This was the best of the best. Having seen my share of combat in Vietnam I often thought about those incredibly brave Marines that fought and died on Iwo Jima; it gave me inspiration to keep going. By God's grace I survived, but have been left with PTSD. I'm sure those surviving Marines and soldiers never received the kind of medical care after their battles that we who have followed in their footsteps have received. They just suffered in silence till they passed. What a crying shame.
My wife's grandfather was a Marine combat demolition man laying satchel charges as part of a flamethrower squad on Tarawa. After that he became a Underwater Demolitionman as the Navy UDTs were getting ready for Normandy. The wife said he could never go into caves.
Doubtful Story
Explain more... fascinating yet true life story...pls continue whenever possible...PLUS, hope all is GOOD on UR side of the World🤕🤟🤟
I was watching when you had 200k subs and left a comment about how incredible your work was. You graciously responded, I’m now seeing 5x that in subs. How incredible for you. Talent creativity and drive are excellent markers for success. Congratulations. Simply incredible. Thank you for your continued efforts.
Very kind, thanks for your continued support 🫡
John Basilone's death shows you how quickly you can go from living to instantly dying in war.
65 million other people showed us the same thing...
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217 If 65 million people "instantly" died it would have been a fairly short war. Please read posts before typing for likes please.
What are you on about? I don't care if nobody likes what I post, I really couldn't care less.@@47streetcop96
BTW, it's totally true or do you dispute that?
People die in war, lots of them. How is pointing that out fishing for likes? Make a real point to someone who cares what you think!
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217 /sigh
The best Iwo documentary I have ever watched. By far! Thank you for sharing!
I don’t know whether the Japanese had anything equivalent to the Medal of Honor. But if they did then General Kuribayashi should have been posthumously awarded one. What a magnificently planned defense.
They did late in the war. The stories were not as heroic as medal of honor stories.
I read a book a long time ago that touched quite a bit on him, if I remember correctly he was an ambassador to America before the war, or he went to a military academy maybe, I’m not sure. I wanna say it was similar to Yamamoto in that regards, but I digress. All I know is he didn’t do the retarded shit the Japanese usually did, like wasting men by using human waves that maybe cause 8% casualty’s while taking 100% causality’s yourself. He mounted a serious defense, and he would have kept it up for a lot longer if his subordinates didn’t disregard direct orders. He would have made a fine military commander for America or for any other country where the military was more United and not two competing factions like the IJN and IJA.
@@jason200912idk if men that were lied to, and died as a result, in order for the insubordinate leadership to fail anyways is necessarily funny but ok.
@@jason200912you are so right , 100's of dead? That's so funny! Let's all laugh at their suffering! That's not disgusting or anything
@@AlexDMC laugh at their terrible tactics. It saved hundreds of thousands of us marines and army
Really, really good. This makes the Iwo Jima Order of Battle easier to understand than most other attempts.
I love all of your content. I showed my wife one of your videos and she really liked it a lot as well. That is huge coming from her. She loves history but has never had an interest in war but how you showed and explain it is something that she really enjoyed. Allow me to suggest that for what you did for Iwo Jima that you consider doing the same for the Battle of Okinawa. I know that is an even bigger project I am sure but you people have what your doing perfect if my wife enjoyed it! I love you guys!
Fantastic video. Battle of Longewal, battle of tiger hill, kargil battle, battle of Dhaka, Bangladesh war, major Shaitan Singh...So many remaining.
Thank you so much for putting these together. A truly impressive document in it's clarity about such a humbling moment in human history.
Recorded history
This is one of my favorite channels on UA-cam. So well researched and informative.
John Basilone got taken out doing John Basilone stuff. Leader of men . Superhero with my undying respect.
Riveting is not high enough praise.
My Grandfather was a B17 gunner in France, but had an Iwo Jima paperweight on his office desk- removable brass flag. I have been interested since the age of 5, some 5 decades ago.
This was fabulous.
This is brilliant work. Thank you very much!
Fun fact. These beaches are now 50 feet above sea level due to the swelling of the magmatic chamber under the island.
I’ve Been fortunate enough to Travel the world with the Marine Corp. I had the time of my life, even though I’ve lived my fair share of combat. This was my favorite place that I’ve visited. Taking 30 minutes or so just to sit quietly, by myself, and look out over the beaches and vast ocean brought chill bumps in the humid summer.
My father was on Iwo Jima as a Marine. His duty was as a radio repairman for airplanes that were forced landed. He told me that when he was on sentry duty one night, a jeep drove by and failed to give the required password. As he cocked his gun and was about to fire, the jeep slammed on its brakes. Happily just US Marines. In addition, 3 years ago I met a old man who was wearing a B-29 hat. I asked him if he ever landed at Iwo Jima. He told me that his plan was the very first B-29 to land there. They lost 2 engines from flak while flying a mission over Japan and were forced to land on Iwo Jima. Upon landing he and his crew ran to a trench while Japanese machine guns were shooting at the plane. Told him of my father. Just an interesting meeting.
Well according to this video that guy was a liar
@@rc5924not necessarily just because the airfield was safe when that first plane landed doesn’t mean it was always, especially since Japanese infiltrators would break through american lines in small groups constantly. Even after the battle was “ officially over”, the US kept an infantry regiment on the island to clear out holdouts from caves, tunnels, and bunkers which still took 3 months after the end of the battle. Also it could’ve been that these airmen were not used to machine gun bullets at such a range and were more scared than a marine who would be more used to the distance.
@@rc5924 The video's depth and representation of the battle is extensive, however it's FAR from depicting every soldier's location and where they would have been.
Let's not forget that fact, it's detailed but it's also a best guess to fill in the gaps of documented information which is scarce. Furthermore Planes are extremely easy to see and all you would need to fire on it from a great distance would be a slight hill, something they had plenty of..
I don't doubt for a second that guns would've been firing at the first plane, which according to the video did land during the battle...
I thought I knew pretty much everything about the battle but I learned so much!!! This is why I love this channel.
The fact that men on Iowa Jima were still fighting a good four years after the war ended is kind of nuts to think about. I know that Hiroo Onoda, Teruo Nakamura, and Shoichi Yokoi made history by not surrendering or being captured until the 1970s, but to me there's something extra grim about the Iowa Jima men holding out for years after the surrender of Japan since the conditions for them were particularly hellish
That was at the Philippines
@@spearfisherman308there were holdouts on Iwo Jima until December 1949
Ahh this made me go watch Letters from Iwo Jima again. Was awesome to watch it again while knowing more about the assault.
Great upload, again. Thank you.
Just found this channel. Hell of a job on this. Your "team" (however many that may be) did their homework. Subscribing right now. Thank you for the time and effort you put in to this.
While stationed in the Pacific, (USAF), I was able to stop on Iwo Jima once. It was a very hot day with no wind. The first thing we noticed when the aircraft doors opened was the smell. Dead fish and rotting seaweed. We didn't stay long but I get to say I've been there. When I was on Guam, (1973), the jungle was off limits due to unexploded ordnance. We walked many of battle fields any way. When on Okinawa unexploded ordnance was everywhere and the jungle was not off limits. If UXO was above the high tide line you just reported it. If it was below the water on the reef no one cared. Tinian was interesting because of the Nuke Bomb loading area. Midway and Wake were isolated with nothing to really look at. This video was outstanding. I don't know if I would want to walk those battle fields again I'm a lot older now.
Absolutely fantastic, thank you so very much, thoroughly enjoyed the whole vid. Not sure why I missed these when they were originally released as shorter episodes. Drach's presence was a really nice surprise as well!
my friend and neighbor Mel Lemon fought on Iwo. he is 97 and still farming. he told me he recently found out his neck had been broken years prior and somehow he never knew! He said the only thing he could think of that would've caused it was that an American bomb was dropped short as he was cresting a hill blowing him 20 feet into the air. he came down on his head and was knocked out. he said he had a horrible headache when he woke up, but apparently he had a broken neck too and never knew it!
This is an amazing and horrific story. I was glued to this video from beginning to end.
This series is so good. Since I watched the original release months ago l, when I read or hear Iwo Jima, my mind automatically pictures the black volcano on the bottom left corner animated in this series!
Excellent!! Great job honoring all those that served!!
This was fantastic! My grandfather was a corpsman with the 2nd Marine Division on Saipan and Tinian...it would be so awesome if you could do the same video for those battles
My Father was on both islands in the 4th Marine Division. He always told me that for him Saipan was the worst of the four landings that he made, including Iwo Jima. I guess it depends when and where you are in any given battle.
Do you know what regiment and company he was in? The only record for corpsman was the battalion they were assigned to and he was in the 1st battalion 2nd Marine Regiment. From the limited stories he told I'm pretty sure he was assigned to a rifle company but don't know which one.
We'll, there are four Companies in a USMC Battalion so 1st Battalion, 2nd Regt should be enough information to get you a fairly small list of names... from the US Government at least if you order his service record. It's not rocket science and since you're his son it shouldn't cost you much if anything at all to get them sent to you.@@mikewhite965
This is incredible! Thank you! It is so hard to find such detailed animations of WW2 battles, and yours is the best I have yet to find!
If you could do an in depth video like this on the Battle of Okinawa that would be amazing.
Video is so detailed, amazing work... Its hard to even process how many people actually died and this was just one part of the war.
Excellent presentation, thank you. I especially note how pre the battle the USA commanders completely underestimated the Japanese. Never underestimate how determined or intelligent your enemy is or could be. If after the battle it was easier than expected, that is not a problem.
True. But the downside is under ambitious plans
Marines learned not to count on Naval Intelligence after Tarawa.
the Navy & Marine planners did NOT know about the underground defenses & tunnels
It was only the ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) that never got anything right that they didn't get from code breaking. Saipan had double the Japanese that ONI said, Tarawa and the reef problem... @@simonamerica1
Yes! Thanks, I was one of the people asking for this.
Basilone was a true bad ass. Man knew what to do at all times.
Great documentary. A very bloody invasion that really showed the high level of resistance the Japanese had against invasion. I imagine it was certainly one of the catalysts for the Americans opting to choose the A-Bomb over Japan to minimize US casualties. Because of battles like this, the Americans knew how hare it was going to be to take the Japanese mainland.
Uploaded 12mins ago and already 1500 views. Your reputation precedes you!
the production value of your videos amazes me; thank you for putting in so much effort! I'm not affluent enough to support you financially and I'm sorry for that!
Still amazes me until this day,how the Japonese hold on for so long almost without nothing and against a Behemoth.
The Resilience,Stamina,Training,determination and the sheer will power to defend their land in those conditions,and even so were capable of inflicting terrible casualties to the Enemy,is a Testament to a Mindset that only few people are willing to accept.
I appreciate the bravery of all sides with different motivations / sides.
However Lt Harry Martin. What a legend.
This was very fascinating. 😢 Thank you for the extraordinary breakdown of this battle.
This was fantastic! Brought to memory a lot of what I saw in Flags of Our Fathers / Letters from Iwo Jima