Editing Battle of Iwo Jima (section)

==Northern Iwo Jima==
[[File:Iwo Jima Tunnels.JPG|thumb|left|Sketch of Hill 362A, made by the 31st U.S. Naval Construction Battalion. Dotted lines show the Japanese tunnel system.]]

Despite the loss of Mount Suribachi on the south end of the island, the Japanese still held strong positions on the north end. The rocky terrain vastly favored defense, even more so than Mount Suribachi, which was much more vulnerable to naval artillery fire. The fortifications on the northern section of Iwo Jima were also more impressive than those at the southern end of the island.<ref name="Wheeler 1979">{{harvnb|Wheeler|1979|p=[https://archive.org/details/roadtotokyo0000whee/page/50 50]}}</ref> Remaining under the command of Kuribayashi was the equivalent of eight infantry battalions, a tank regiment, and two artillery and three heavy mortar battalions. There were also about 5,000 gunners and naval infantry available for combat. The most arduous task left to the Marines was seizing the Motoyama Plateau, with its distinctive Hill 382 and "Turkey knob", as well as the area in between, referred to as "the Amphitheater". These obstacles formed the basis of what came to be known to the Marines as the "meatgrinder". While these Japanese positions were being reduced on the right flank, American units on the left were clearing out Hill 362 with just as much difficulty.

The Marines' overall objective at this point was to take control of Airfield No. 2 in the center of the island. However, every "penetration seemed to become a disaster" as "units were raked from the flanks, chewed up, and sometimes wiped out. Tanks were destroyed by interlocking fire or were hoisted into the air on the spouting fireballs of buried mines".{{sfn|Leckie|1988|p=[https://archive.org/details/deliveredfromevi00leck/page/870 870]}} As a result, the fighting bogged down, and American casualties piled up rapidly. Even capturing these points did not guarantee that the captured territory was secure, since a previously cleared fortification could be reoccupied by Japanese troops utilizing the island's tunnel system. As such, it was said that "[the Marines] could take these heights at will, and then regret it".{{sfn|Leckie|1988|p=[https://archive.org/details/deliveredfromevi00leck/page/871 871]}}

[[File:Browning M1917 Marine Iwo Jima fixed.jpg|thumb|A U.S. Marine firing his [[M1917 Browning machine gun|Browning M1917]] machine gun at the Japanese]]
[[File:"Hotch Kiss" From Japs, 1945 (16989117215).jpg|thumb|Two Marines using a "[[Type 3 heavy machine gun|Hotch Kiss]]" from the Japanese, 1945]]
American troops observed that during bombardments, the Japanese would hide their guns and themselves in caves, only to reemerge when Marine units began to advance and lay down devastating fire on them. Over time, the Japanese learned basic American combat tactics, which usually involved laying down a heavy bombardment before an infantry attack. Consequently, Erskine ordered the [[9th Marine Regiment (United States)|9th Marine Regiment]] to attack under the cover of darkness with no preliminary barrage. This was a resounding success, with many Japanese soldiers killed while still asleep. This became a key moment in the capture of Hill 362.{{sfn|Leckie|1988|p=[https://archive.org/details/deliveredfromevi00leck/page/872 872]}} The hill held such strategic importance that the Japanese organized a counterattack to retake it the following night. Although Kuribayashi had forbidden the massed infantry charges often used by the Japanese in previous battles in the Pacific, the local IJA commander of the area decided on a ''banzai'' charge with the optimistic goal of recapturing Mount Suribachi.

On the evening of 8 March, Captain Samaji Inouye and his 1,000 men charged the American lines, inflicting 347 casualties (90 deaths). The Marines counted 784 dead Japanese soldiers the next day.<ref name="Wheeler 1979" /> The same day, elements of the 3rd Marine Division reached the northern coast of the island, splitting Kuribayashi's defenses in two.{{sfn|Antill|2001}} There was also a ''kamikaze'' air attack (the only one of the battle) on the ships anchored at sea on 21 February, which resulted in the sinking of the escort carrier {{USS|Bismarck Sea|CVE-95|6}}, severe damage to {{USS|Saratoga|CV-3|6}}, and slight damage to the escort carrier {{USS|Lunga Point||6}}, an LST, and a transport.{{sfn|Leckie|1988|p=[https://archive.org/details/deliveredfromevi00leck/page/872 872]}}

Although the island was declared secure at 18:00 on 16 March (25 days after the landings), the 5th Marine Division still faced Kuribayashi's main stronghold, located in a gorge {{cvt|640|m|yd}} long at the northwestern end of the island. On 21 March, the Marines destroyed the command post in the gorge with four tons of explosives, and on 24 March Marines sealed the remaining caves at the northern tip of the island.<ref>{{harvnb|Moskin|1992|pp=372–373}}</ref> However, on the night of 25 March, a 300-man Japanese force launched a final [[counterattack]] in the vicinity of Airfield No. 2. Army pilots, Seabees, and Marines of the 5th Pioneer Battalion and 28th Marines fought the Japanese force for up to 90 minutes, suffering heavy casualties (53 killed, 120 wounded).{{citation needed|date=January 2009}} Although still a matter of speculation due to conflicting accounts from surviving Japanese veterans, it is possible that Kuribayashi personally led this final assault,{{efn|"General Kuribayashi may have been killed in this foray; but his body was not identified, and it seems more likely that this brave and resourceful officer committed ''hara-kiri'' in his subterranean command post."{{sfn|Morison|1960|p=68}}}} which - unlike the loud ''banzai'' charge of previous battles - was conducted in silence by the Japanese infantrymen. If he did participate in this assault, Kuribayashi would have been the highest ranking Japanese officer to have personally led an attack during World War II.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Additionally, this would also be a departure from the normal practice of commanding Japanese officers committing [[seppuku]] behind the lines while their subordinates perished in a last-ditch ''banzai'' charge, as occurred during the battles of Saipan and Okinawa. The island was officially declared secure at 09:00 on 26 March.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Once the island was officially declared secure, the U.S. Army's [[147th Regiment (United States)|147th Infantry Regiment]] was ostensibly there to act as a garrison force, but soon found itself locked in a bitter struggle against thousands of [[Japanese holdout]]s engaging in a [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] campaign to harass the Americans.<ref name="theamericanwarrior.com">{{cite web |url=https://theamericanwarrior.com/2015/12/06/the-curious-case-of-the-ohio-national-guards-147th-infantry/ |title=The Curious Case of the Ohio National Guard's 147th Infantry |date=6 December 2015 |access-date=26 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003162404/https://theamericanwarrior.com/2015/12/06/the-curious-case-of-the-ohio-national-guards-147th-infantry/ |archive-date=3 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Morison|1960|pp=68–70}} Utilizing caves and tunnel systems, the remnants of the Japanese garrison conducted numerous attacks on American forces. For three months, the 147th slogged across the island, using flamethrowers, grenades, and [[satchel charge]]s to dig out the enemy, ultimately killing some 1,602 Japanese soldiers in small unit actions (along with many others who died in sealed caves) while suffering fifteen men killed in action and another 144 wounded. The Ohioans were also credited with capturing 867 Japanese soldiers; combined with the number of enemy soldiers killed by the regiment, this casualty figure represented over 10% of the original Japanese garrison.{{sfn|Robertson|Neimeyer|Nash|2019|p=39}}