foreign [Music] this video is sponsored by the operations room's new sister channel the Intel report on this new platform we'll be analyzing the battles we cover on the operations room we'll be looking at the campaign's strategy tactics technology people intelligence planning mistakes and other Concepts that explain why things went the way they did Our intention is to release an analysis video on the Intel report at the same time as the corresponding battle animation video on the operations room which it is analyzing for example in support of the battle of the Bold series we'll be looking at how the German forces kept the surprise assault a genuine secret why the German tanks were so ill-suited for the campaign why did the 101st Airborne remain adamant that they didn't need rescuing by pattern and other topics to support the Iwo Jima series we'll be exploring why the naval barrage didn't work The Invasion from the Japanese soldiers perspective the kamikazes the Japanese holdouts that didn't surrender until four years later we'll also be looking back at the Desert Storm campaign and other previous releases we'll be bringing you the most explosive and exciting real combat footage as well as animations photos interviews maps and data as well as some guest writers to help us in our analysis please go subscribe to the Intel report now it's nearly midnight on the 8th of March 1945. at the Naval Air Group command bunker in Northern iwoijima Japanese soldiers prepared to launch a massive Banzai attack on the American Invaders radio man suruji akikuza begs his comrades to take him with them but he is still recovering from the wounds he suffered the week prior as he dashed across the island to deliver a message to the bunker he can only watch as his friends destroy their radio equipment and salute each other with a farewell toast at midnight Ensign satoru omagari leaves the bunker with a company of the third aircraft maintenance unit under the command of Lieutenant hideo Koshi omagari and his men are aircraft technicians and they have not been trained for combat roles but they are willing to die for their country and have been given grenades to hide in their belts to detonate amongst their captors should they be captured by the enemy after three weeks of vicious combat the Japanese defenses on Iwo Jima are beginning to crack under the Relentless pressure from the third fourth and fifth Marine divisions the previous day saw the loss of Hill 362c in the north of the island one of the last Japanese strong points on Lieutenant General tadamichi Curry bayashi's secondary defensive line however many Japanese men remain hidden in bunkers and caves throughout the island karibayashi is intent on preserving his remaining strength as much as possible and forbids his rebellious commanders from ordering Banzai charges over the radio General Curie bayashi begs his men not to throw their lives away those who are listening obey their Commanding General but others are not told of his instructions and climb out of their bunkers to take part in the assault omagari's company moves out with the 1000 Japanese men taking part in the Banzai attack they are told by their superiors that the objective is to recapture Mount suribachi but most men know they are headed to their deaths they will also not have the element of surprise the fourth Marine Division has noticed increased Japanese activity during the day and its men are alerted to a possible attack Lieutenant koshy's men make their way across the mosayama plateau past the turkey knob and Hill 382 which are still holding out however a star shell illuminates their position and they are quickly hit by an American mortar barrage the mortars kill most of the men out in the open while Ensign omagari hugs the ground when it ends he makes his way forward to ask Lieutenant Koshi for instructions only to find him mortally wounded Koshi tells omagari to take over the attack and to leave him behind omagari leads the remaining men across the Broken Ground in front of them braving American artillery fire what's left of omagari's company reaches a destroyed Shinto Shrine near the Airfield where they find 400 Naval troops crowded together in craters the planning for the attack has been poor and the leaderless Japanese units are making themselves easy targets by congregating Marine artillery blasts the shrine and the air maintenance company is forced to take cover two hours pass during which time one by one the men in the craters summoned the courage to attack and leave the area to charge the American lines eventually omagari also leads his company away from the shrine towards the Airfield as they approach they come under intense machine gun fire and are forced to try a different route after walking for another hour omagari and his weary men suddenly find themselves in a quiet sector totally lost he stumbles to a cave entrance where a hidden Japanese tank crewman asks him what he and his men are doing here we are on a general attack what attack no such attack has been authorized you must return to your post at once omagari and the Tank Man argue until Colonel Nishi of the 26th tank regiment appears Nishi produces a written order from General Corey bayashi forbidding Banzai charges realizing he and his men have been lied to omigari and his men follow the tank men inside the bunker where they will spend the rest of the battle a headcounter reveals that only 20 of Lieutenant koshy's original 100 men have survived the night those units that managed to charge the American positions are massacred and the Marines will count almost 800 Japanese bodies the next day at the cost of only 90 dead the failed General attack marks a turning point in the battle the remaining Japanese garrisons are severely weakened and Curry bayashi's secondary defensive line is slowly overcome as the Marines cut off and isolate the toughest strong points the day after the doomed Banzai charge a 28-man patrol from the third division reaches the northernmost coast of Iwo Jima with their commanding officer sending a bottle of water from the captured Beach back to General Erskine as a keepsake on the same day Hill 382 is finally neutralized after heavy fighting with defeat imminent karibayati retreats to make his last stand in the northwest corner of the island an area that will become known as Death Valley the last phase of the battle is not without casualties the U.S Marines continue to fight for every inch of the jagged rock-litted ground north of the second Airfield the turkey knob Falls by March 10th and the eastern half of the Japanese Garrison is forced into a shrinking pocket with the appalling casualties alarming the American public the Navy cynically announces on the 14th of March that Iwo Jima is secured in an official flag-raising ceremony at the base of Mount zoribachi meanwhile in the north of the Island Marine flame tanks are expanding their Napalm fuel at a rate of over 10 000 gallons a day to clear the remaining enemy emplacements on the 21st of March a third flag razor private first class Franklin sously is killed by a Japanese sniper on the Northwestern end of the island on the 23rd of March General Curry bayashi sends a final message to the nearby Japanese Garrison on chichijima all officers and Men of chichijima goodbye from Iwo two nights later 300 Japanese soldiers in curry bayashi's last defensive stronghold slip out of their tunnels and caves they make their way through Death Valley and head south towards the second Airfield so few of these men will end up Surviving so it is unclear how they managed to sneak through the American lines completely undetected in the dead of night they creep silently Through The Ravines and gullies that the Marines have been fighting through for the previous month some U.S Marines would later report that they thought they saw shadowy figures in the Darkness once on the edge of the Airfield the Japanese soldiers split into three groups and prepare to attack a newly constructed American camp this tented area is currently occupied by Seabees the fifth Pioneer Battalion and second line troops who are unaware of the approaching Danger at just past midnight the Japanese soldiers leaped to their feet and give a loud Banzai as they charge towards the camp the confused Americans are awoken by the sudden attack the Japanese slash men in their tents with bayonets and then throw grenades and fire wildly the fighting alerts a nearby Marine Detachment and the shore battery of black soldiers who come to the support of the rear area troops the fighting is desperate and vicious as the Americans try to regain their bearings first lieutenant Harry Martin of the fifth Pioneers organizes a firing line in the middle of the camp which halts the Japanese attack at the same time Martin realizes the enemy has surrounded some of the tents of his unit armed with only a pistol he charges alone towards his trapped men and is wounded twice as he runs through enemy fire he manages to reach his cut-off Marines and directs them back to Friendly lines as they Retreat the Japanese capture a 30 caliber machine gun nest and turn the gun on The Americans Martin again charges firing his pistol at the Machine Gun Nest and manages to kill all three occupants he calls for his men to follow him into a counter-attack before he is killed by a Japanese grenade for his actions Lieutenant Martin will be the last Medal of Honor recipient on iwoijima by Dawn almost every enemy soldier has perished at the cost of 172 American casualties It is believed that General karibayashi personally left this attack but his body is never found the following day the 26th of March D plus 35 the local Marine Commanders declare the island conquered Easy Company of the 28th Marine regiment attends a dedication of the new 5th division Cemetery under the shadow of Mount suribachi 310 men including Replacements served in Easy Company during the battle only 50 are left to attend the ceremony the Battle of Iwo Jima is declared officially over on the 26th of March after 36 Days of fighting however over 2 000 Japanese soldiers remained hidden in the miles of tunnels and caves when the replacement occupation force of U.S army units arrive these hidden fighters will cause Untold chaos the 147th Regiment of the Ohio National Guard will continue anti-gorilla activities to flush out these remnants for months after the Marines have left radio man saruji akikuza and Ensign satoru omagari will hold out until May before giving themselves up to the Americans the last two Japanese soldiers will finally surrender on the 6th of January 1949. in total the Americans suffer over 27 000 casualties 27 Medals of Honor are awarded to Marines on iwoijima making it the most decorated single Battle of the Pacific Theater For the United States armed forces Admiral Nimitz will later say among the Americans who served on Iwo Jima Uncommon Valor was a common virtue of the approximately 22 000 Japanese Defenders on Iwo Jima only 1080 survives to be taken prisoner over half of the remains of the Japanese Fallen have never been recovered this week on our new sister channel the Intel report we'll be looking at the story of the Japanese holdouts on Iwo Jima the last of which surrendered in 1949. on Tuesday we'll be addressing the most heartbreaking question was the hard-fought assault on Iwo Jima necessary next Friday on the operations room we'll be releasing Parts 1 and 2 of our brand new eight-part Battle of the Bulge series