At the time of the bombing of the Japanese mainland, the Fourth Theater of Operations also launched an offensive operation against Iwo Jima.

The 2nd Marine Corps was still involved in the direct landing operation, and under the cover of a huge fleet, it was close to Iwo Jima.

Satellites in the sky are constantly transmitting back all kinds of clear photos of Iwo Jima, and early warning planes and high-definition reconnaissance planes also take high-definition pictures of Iwo Jima from time to time.

The results of intensive reconnaissance showed that the Japanese troops on Iwo Jima had long been ready for a landing operation in the face of the enemy.

The island was full of bunkers, and the Japanese dug a large number of tunnels and bunkers on the island, hollowed out the mountains, or dug caves, and then sealed the entrances to form secret firing points.

Even the Red Guard Corps felt a lot of pressure on the situation on Iwo Jima, and this may be the most casualty landing battle since the war with Japan.

Although at this moment on Iwo Jima, the Japanese air base has long been devoid of planes that can take off, and it has also lost its sea supremacy, and only the army units on the island can use it.

The plan for the attack on Iwo Jima had already been drawn up, and the Red Guard Corps, which had sea and air supremacy, was vigilant against the movements of the Japanese Combined Fleet on the one hand, and on the other hand was actively preparing to land on Iwo Jima for operations.

In the past three months, Japan has further strengthened the defense of Iwo Jima, tried its best to send the last batch of 6,000 troops to Iwo Jima, and formed the 109th Division to defend Iwo Jima, with the famous Japanese general Awabayashi Tadamichi as the division commander.

In order to protect this last barrier to the mainland, Japan also deployed a large number of 120-mm and 155-mm coastal defense guns, large-caliber anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns on the island.

Originally, Japan also wanted to increase the strength of an air force on the island, but unfortunately, the fighters were sunk by the submarine of the Red Guard Corps before they could reach Iwo Jima.

By the time the Fourth Theater troops had left, the Japanese had 18,000 troops on Iwo Jima, and more than 7,000 navy troops left on the island, for a total strength of 25,000 troops, not a single aircraft, and no naval vessels.

Tadamichi Awabayashi was the supreme commander of the island, and he was also an excellent professional soldier who served as the emperor's ban. The commander of the Guards, after taking office on Iwo Jima, realized that without air and sea supremacy, there was no point in fighting on the beachhead.

However, not all the troops on the island were really under the control of Awabayashi Tadado, and the naval garrison on the island insisted that it was necessary to defend the probe and annihilate the enemy at the time of landing.

In this regard, Awabayashi Tadamichi could only make a compromise decision, focusing on in-depth defense, supplemented by probe defense, and the coast garrison built permanent fortifications and solid fire support points along the beach to carry out forward defense.

The army relied on the favorable terrain of Mt. Oriba and Mt. Wonsan on Iwo Jima Island and relied on strong fortifications to carry out defense in depth.

Awabayashi Tadamichi was determined to turn Iwo Jima into a fortified fortress on the sea, because there was a large amount of cement left over from the island, which was originally intended for transshipment to the Mariana Islands, but naturally turned out to be unusable.

For three months, all the cement was put to good use, and the island's defenses were strengthened as much as possible.

At the same time, the army took Oribo Mountain as the core position, took the two airfields as the main defense zone, and established fortress firepower in the most suitable landing area, combined with cement-enclosed underground tunnels, concrete and karst caves, and set up communication trenches to connect with each other.

In order to be able to resist artillery fire from the sea, the Japanese artillery positions on the island were all built in semi-underground structures, although the firing range of the attack was sacrificed, but the survival probability of the artillery was greatly improved.

The island's artillery and communication networks were all protected, and the mountain was almost completely hollowed out, and a large number of tunnels, various vertical and horizontal tunnels and fortifications were built, and the upper and lower layers reached as much as ninety.

And in view of the characteristics of the landing operations of the Red Guard Corps, at the front of the beach, a large number of anti-tank mines, artillery guns and anti-tank guns hidden inside cement bunkers were arranged, combined with machine-gun fire, forming a dense fire defense network.

These defensive firepower configurations and firing targets are accurately calculated, which can not only conceal themselves, but also maximize the damage to the enemy.

Moreover, the real problem of attack on Iwo Jima is not the beachhead landing operation, but the joint defense system between the two high mountains on the island.

In the Wonsan area, the Japanese built a 28-kilometer tunnel that was connected to the defense tunnels of Mt. Oriba.

In other words, the main defense force of the Japanese army can move freely between the two mountains, flexibly distribute forces, and can also flexibly withdraw and counterattack.

This defensive configuration of Awabayashi Tadamichi changed the Japanese army's desperate tactics, strictly stipulating the distance at which soldiers could shoot, dividing troops into mobile defense, and decoy ambush tactics, and strictly requiring all soldiers to prohibit suicide charges, and calling on every soldier to kill ten enemies.

Awabayashi Tadamichi's painstaking management was indeed to build a terrible sea fortress with Iwo Jima.

Historically, the United States also faced the most brutal bloody battle on Iwo Jima, and the opponent of the U.S. military at that time was also Awabayashi Tadamichi.

However, this time, Su Lin Zhongdao was not facing the US military, nor was it the previous Red Police Force.

This time, Japan will face a brand-new Red Guard Corps, a unit that has completely realized informationized warfare.

When the landing battle was approaching, Long Yun, who personally inspected Iwo Jima on a reconnaissance plane, could not help frowning after seeing the situation on Iwo Jima.

Long Yun served as the commander-in-chief of this landing operation, and the situation on Iwo Jima was a little more difficult than that faced by the US military in history.

At this time, there was no sign of Japanese activity on Iwo Jima, and there was bare mud and weeds everywhere, and the Japanese troops who were completely concealed and camouflaged were as if it were an empty island with no people.

The two airfields were also very quiet, and there were no defensive positions in sight, not even a single mortar.

The Japanese did not have time to set up false targets, and the island became very empty.

At the same time, Awabayashi Tadamichi on the island also sensed the coming of war, and repeated aerial reconnaissance made him realize that the enemy was about to land on Iwo Jima.

Tadamichi Awabayashi gave an order for all soldiers to prepare for battle, and from now on, according to the standards after the enemy landed, all soldiers were strictly required to appear outside the fortifications at will.

This command made Iwo Jima as quiet as a ghost land, and it was very uncomfortable to be quiet.

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