Marines Land on Iwo Jima: Fierce Battle Begins
About 30,000 US Marines stormed the black volcanic beaches of Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, beginning a 36-day battle that killed nearly 7,000 Americans and virtually all 21,000 Japanese defenders. The island, only eight square miles, was needed as an emergency landing strip for B-29 bombers returning damaged from raids over Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi had spent months constructing an elaborate system of tunnels, bunkers, and hidden gun positions that made the island a fortress. Unlike previous Pacific battles, the Japanese did not waste men in suicidal banzai charges; they fought from concealed positions, emerging to attack and disappearing underground. Marines had to clear each position individually with flamethrowers and demolition charges. The battle's most famous image, Joe Rosenthal's photograph of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi, was actually the second flag raised that day, though its iconic status remains undiminished.
February 19, 1945
81 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on February 19
Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus each brought 150,000 men to Lugdunum in 197 AD. The battle lasted two days. At one point, Severus's flank collapsed and he…
Constantius II banned pagan worship in 356, but he couldn't ban the temples themselves. Too many. Too expensive to destroy. So Romans kept visiting them — not t…
Constantius II ordered every pagan temple in the Roman Empire shut in 356. Not destroyed — closed. The difference mattered. Priests couldn't perform sacrifices.…
Boniface III waited eight months to become pope. The longest gap between popes in the church's first thousand years. He needed approval from Constantinople — th…
Sigismund III became the only person to rule both Sweden and Poland simultaneously. He'd inherited Poland through his mother in 1587, then Sweden through his fa…
Huaynaputina erupted with such force in 1600 that it ejected enough ash to bury nearby villages and trigger a global volcanic winter. The resulting drop in temp…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.