Soon the U.S. military had eight infantry battalions and one tank battalion ashore and was trying to expand the landing grounds. www.biquge.info At 11 o'clock, the wind direction turned to the southeast, and the wind gradually increased, which brought a very unfavorable impact on the landing of the US troops, at this time the reserve battalions of the regiments were landing, and many landing craft were blown out of control by strong gusts of wind, and even capsized, coupled with the bombardment of Japanese artillery, the beachhead was full of damaged landing craft, and the follow-up materials and personnel were still going ashore as planned, and the entire beach was in chaos. But the scene was so dusty and thick with smoke that the warships on the sea could not be seen clearly, and Turner reported to Nimitz that the landing force met with little resistance and suffered minor casualties.

At about 12 o'clock, the 23rd Regiment of the 4th Marine Division of the US Army advanced 450 meters, and then continued to attack and advance with fire support, until 14 o'clock, when it reached the No. 1 airfield. The 25th Regiment, another regiment of the Fourth Division, was blocked by a large number of permanent launch points on the cliff by the side of a small boat in the northeast of Lanertan, and suffered serious casualties, but no progress was made. The threat of these firing points was finally eliminated, but the twenty-fifth regiment made little progress on the day of the landing. The situation of the 5th Marine Division was good, and the 28th Regiment had severed the connection between the Japanese troops in Zhebo Mountain and other areas, and surrounded it; After being trapped on the beach for forty minutes, the 27th Regiment finally made a breakthrough and advanced to the southern end of Airfield 1.

At sunset, about 30,000 people from six infantry regiments, six artillery battalions, and two tank battalions had gone ashore and occupied the landing site, which was about 3,600 meters wide and 650 meters to 1,000 meters deep, with 566 killed and 1,858 wounded throughout the day, accounting for about 8 percent of the total number of people landed. In terms of the first day, it wasn't too bad, but the battle that followed would be even tougher.

After dark, the US military was afraid that the Japanese army would launch a large-scale night attack, and the warships on the sea fired flares almost incessantly on the island, illuminating the night as if it were day. This is because Kuribayashi is well aware of his own strength and is determined not to take a suicidal charge. After the first peaceful night, the American troops will be greeted by even more brutal fighting.

On February 20, the 24th year of the Taichu Dynasty, from the early hours of the morning, the guns of the US ships were preparing for fire according to the requirements of the landing force. At 8:30 a.m., the U.S. landing force launched an attack, and the 4th Marine Division, supported by naval guns and tanks, captured the No. 1 airfield and cut off the connection between the Japanese troops in the south of the island and Wonsan. As soon as the airfield was captured, the sappers began to rush to repair it with all their might, so that it could be put into operation as soon as possible. The 5th Marine Division attacked the Oribo Mountain, because many of the Japanese fortifications were built in caves that could not be shot by naval artillery fire, before the arrival of the tanks, the 28th Regiment was almost unable to advance, and finally under the cover of the tanks, the Japanese troops in the caves were eliminated one by one with hand * grenades, explosive packs, and flamethrowers, and sometimes even bulldozers were dispatched to close the holes, so the progress was extremely slow, and it was not until dusk that a total of 180 meters was advanced. Moreover, several explosions and suicide counter-attacks of the Japanese army caught the American army by surprise and lost part of its troops.

On February 21, the twenty-fourth year of the first century, fierce fighting continued on the island, and progress was very limited. After unremitting efforts, the beach service brigade resolved the chaotic situation on the beachhead, but the weather became more and more harsh, and the wind and waves at sea were high, which seriously affected the unloading of supplies. Due to the heavy casualties of the troops on the island, the 21st Regiment of the 3rd Marine Division, as a reserve, was ordered to go to the island and enter the battle.

On February 22, the 24th year of the Taichu Dynasty, due to heavy rain, the US landing force was forced to stop the offensive and hurry up to rest on the battlefield. In the past three days, the number of US troops killed or missing on Iwo Jima has reached 1,204 and 4,108 wounded. The press in the United States even strongly demanded that "the Marines be given a breather -- poison gas the Japanese." Although neither the United States nor Japan signed the Geneva Convention, which strictly prohibits the use of poison gas, neither President Roosevelt nor Nimitz was willing to violate the Convention, and after the war, Nimitz admitted that the failure to use poison gas was purely out of moral considerations, and as a result, a large number of excellent Marines paid with their lives.

On February 23, the 24th year of the Taichu Dynasty, the 4th Marine Division of the U.S. Army launched a general attack with the goal of Airfield No. 2, but in front of the Japanese defense line composed of permanent launch points, tunnels, bunkers and cave fortifications, the advance was extremely slow, almost like a snail crawling. Throughout the day, only the right flank advanced about 300 meters, and there was almost no progress on the left flank and in the center. The only result of this day was at Oribo Mountain, because the US army called it "hot rock" because of its continuous eruption of smoke, the Japanese army almost hollowed out the entire mountain, and built thousands of dense firepower points like honeycombs, especially the observation post on the top of the mountain, which condescendingly overlooked the entire east coast, and could accurately guide and correct the shooting of artillery fire in depth, which was a great threat to the US army. After four days of bloody fighting, at 10:20 a.m., the 28th Regiment of the 5th Marine Division was defeated by Harold. A small team of 40 people led by Lieutenant Shearer finally stormed the top of Mt. Oriba and raised an American flag. Despite the fact that there were still nearly 1,000 Japanese troops resisting desperately with the help of tunnels and cave fortifications. Four hours later, Shearer's soldiers planted an even bigger Star-Spangled Banner. Rosenthal captured the flag, which went viral and became a symbol of victory. Later, the Pacific Theater Headquarters also made a special inquiry into the names and home addresses of the Marines who planted the flags for commendation. U.S. Secretary of the Navy Forrest and Commander Smith of the Fifth Amphibious Force, who had just arrived at Iwo Jima to inspect the island, looked at the national flag fluttering on the top of Mt. Oriba, and were very excited, Forrest concluded: "The flag raised on Mt. Origa means the honor of the Marines for the next 500 years!" "The sailors on the warship on the sea thundered with joy when they saw this flag symbolizing victory! -- Turner left the 28th Regiment of the 5th Marine Division at Oribasan to clear the remnants of the Japanese army on the mountain, while the other two regiments of the 5th Division were transferred to the north to coordinate with the 4th Division to attack the Japanese forces in the Wonsan area.

On the same day, the U.S. aircraft carrier group rendezvoused with the Maritime Service Group in the waters east of Iwo Jima, received supplies from the sea, and marched to the Japanese mainland again that night to suppress possible Japanese support for Iwo Jima.

On February 24, the 24th year of the Taichu Dynasty, the battle was more fierce and cruel, the 21st Regiment of the 3rd Marine Division, with the strong support of sea and air firepower, opened the way by tanks, and finally broke through the Japanese defense line on the south side of the No. 2 airfield, advanced 730 meters, and uprooted nearly 800 Japanese pillboxes. It soon became clear to the U.S. military that as the terrain gradually elevated, the Japanese built a dense network of bunkers and tunnels crisscrossing them, and the resistance became more and more tenacious with these fortifications. By that day, the total number of US casualties had reached 6,000, of which 1,600 were killed, and in the face of such heavy casualties, the US troops sent the headquarters of the 3rd Marine Division, the 9th Marine Regiment, and the 12th Field Artillery Regiment to the island as a reserve and put them into battle.

On February 25, the 24th year of the Taichu Dynasty, three marine divisions began to attack side by side on Iwo Jima, with the fourth division on the right, the third division in the center, and the fifth division on the left, advancing side by side to the northeast. At dawn on the same day, the US aircraft carrier group arrived 190 nautical miles southeast of Tokyo and dispatched carrier-based aircraft to carry out air strikes on Japanese airfields and aircraft factories in the Tokyo area. On March 1, the 24th year of the beginning of Taichu, an air raid was carried out on Naha, the capital of Okinawa, and aerial photography of Oshima, Kerama Islands, and Amami Oshima to provide information for the upcoming Battle of Okinawa. The aircraft carrier group finally returned to Ulisi on March 4, the 24th year of the Taichu Dynasty.

The U.S. forces on Iwo Jima had to pay a huge price for every step they took, and the battle had become a literal attrition, sometimes advancing as little as 4 meters in a full day, and the heavy casualties made the officers even less courageous to throw their soldiers into battle. In the struggle for the second commanding height on the island, the 382 Heights, the 4th Marine Division repeatedly fell into the crossfire network of the Japanese invaders, and the casualties were extremely heavy, so the 382 Heights were called the "meat grinder", and the casualties of the combat units were as high as 50 percent, and the experienced company, platoon commander, and sergeant major were killed and wounded, and the company commanders of many units were served by second lieutenants or sergeants, and the platoon and squad leaders were all served by ordinary soldiers. The U.S. troops had to eliminate the Japanese positions on the flanks one by one and remove the flank threat before it was possible to move forward, so the battle was extremely cruel and fierce, and it was not until March 2, the 24th year of the Taichu Dynasty that the 24th Regiment attacked the high ground, but the casualties paid were huge, and several companies of officers and soldiers were either killed or wounded, and almost all of them were wiped out.

The 5th Division on the left flank, the encounter of attacking the 362nd Heights was the same as that of the 4th Division on the 382nd Heights: as soon as they attacked the top of the mountain, the Japanese on the flank immediately blocked the retreat of the American troops with intensive firepower, and then wiped out all the American troops attacking the high ground with deep firepower and ferocious counterattacks. The Japanese army had already mastered the attack procedures of the US army, first aviation fire preparation, then naval artillery fire bombardment, then ground artillery fire, and finally infantry attack, so the Japanese army always dodged the US artillery fire in the tunnel, and then entered the position to meet the infantry attack, and the US army's offensive again and again failed. At dawn on March 7, the 24th year of the beginning of the Taichu Dynasty, the American army did not make any artillery preparations, and with the help of the night before dawn, quietly approached the Japanese position, suddenly launched an attack, caught the Japanese army by surprise, and captured the 362 heights in one fell swoop.

The great sacrifice of the Marines was not in vain, and on March 3, the 24th year of the first century, a C-47 transport plane landed at Airport 1 on Iwo Jima. The next day, a B-29 that was wounded during an air raid on the Japanese mainland made an emergency landing on Iwo Jima, and the strategic value of Iwo Jima had begun to be realized. Although Iwo Jima has been basically controlled by the US military, the Japanese counterattack is still like maggots on tarsal bones, the blood of the Americans has not yet been shed, and what the Americans did not expect is that their disaster is still brewing.