POST #22-27
Day Seventeen...Iwo Jima Battle Narrative, 8 March, 1945..
Mikey's Dads 100th Birthday Was on 2-22-2022...
We continue the day-by-day story of the First Battalion, 24th Marines, Baker company in the bloody battle of IWO JIMA...
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| Day Seventeen...Breakdown |
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On morning of this day, 8 March 1945, Dad and Baker Company had
appreciated the opportunity to catch up on some sleep in relative safety
several hundred yards behind the front lines.
But today
these Marines and dozens of their comrades in seriously depleted ranks were again tasked with breaking
through the same defensive line that defied their efforts for the past several
days.
Captain
William Eddy brought Baker Company up to the lines to relieve Easy
Company, 2/24, at about 0430. Easy Company’s relief by Baker was the last
action it would take in the battle. That morning, Easy was disbanded and the
survivors assigned to other units in the battalion, an extreme measure that
spoke to the tremendous casualties suffered in the past week.
Baker
and Charlie were about fifty yards short of a ridgeline covered with bunkers
and pillboxes. The men hoped to be atop the ridge by nightfall.
Demolition work filled the morning’s advance, with many pillboxes and caves gradually being overrun. Baker and Charlie Companies used countless rounds of small-arms ammunition, gallons of flamethrower fuel, and pounds of TNT every couple of yards, eliminating one fortification after another.
It
took nearly six hours to traverse those fifty yards, but at last portions of
Baker and Charlie gained the top of the ridge.
At
noon, Able Company was moved back into regimental reserve. Charlie Company
occupied the high ground except for the right flank, where a stubborn Japanese
blockhouse resisted capture.
Baker
Company had one platoon on the ridge with another working its way forward. An
advance of fifty yards may sound modest, but considering the number of
casualties sustained in trying to cross this same ground over several days,
scaling the ridge was a significant achievement.
The
terrain beyond was another endless sprawl of boulders, crags, and gullies, but
for a brief moment, it seemed that First Battalion had finally achieved a
breakthrough.
Of
course, the Japanese were waiting. The Jap spotters who withdrew from the ridge
had new positions, and they knew the exact coordinates of the ridge. Every time
a Marine showed his head, he drew fire, not just rifles and machine guns, but batteries
of Japanese mortars.
These
occasional heavy barrages continued at the slightest provocation for the next
several hours. Then, at 1515, the Japanese unleashed everything they had.
The
afternoon of 8 March 1945 was the point that all but ended the First
Battalion’s effectiveness as a combat unit and came closest to breaking their
collective spirit.
The
worst happened about 1515 when an extremely heavy barrage killed 15 men in the
two companies, including the last two remaining platoon leaders in “C” Company.
The only officer left in “B” Company was Captain Eddy.
It
will never be known how long this shelling lasted. The top of the ridge
exploded in a series of blasts that shook the earth and filled the air with
flying pieces of metal. Countless 81mm and 90mm bombs ripped the ground, and
there may have been some of the man-sized 320mm shells. The shrieks of the
missiles mingled with the screams of the men who fell from with shrapnel. The men were in a state of physical and
emotional collapse.
After
the shelling came they realized that they could not stay where they were. It
was late too for air support, and they did not know where to send it...the Japanese
batteries were too well hidden. And, looking up and down the line, it was clear
that not enough Marines remained to mount an effective nighttime defense.
Down
the slope they went, bearing the wounded and the dead, searching for a point to
consolidate and dig in for the night. As they went, the Japanese dropped a second
“extremely heavy” barrage on the top of the ridge.
Able
Company provided reinforcements. One platoon went into line with Baker Company;
another reported to the remnants of Charlie Company.
This
emergency move proved to be a good idea. Japanese fire usually tapered off at
nightfall, but tonight the mortarmen fired as though they had all the
ammunition in the world, hitting the top of the ridge and dropping shells
blindly all along the line of the 24th Marines.
The
Marines would be busy that night. The Japanese were out in force, striking up
and down the Marine line. It was the heaviest infiltration attempts that First
Battalion experienced during the campaign.
Dad
remembered hearing the Japanese soldiers chattering in the dark and trying to
figure out where they were...It was a long night, and tomorrow the grueling
advance would begin one more time...
Dads
Baker Company had 9 Marines killed this day and 33 wounded.
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