Naval Shore Bombardment of Iwo Jima - Flags of our Fathers

Flags of our fathers
Fair use - specifically for educators to use if need be.
PLEASE take a look at some of my drone footage. I have indeed filmed the USS Texas - She was at this engagement!
-Though six battleships (Arkansas, New York, Texas, Nevada, Idaho and Tennessee), five cruisers (Pensacola, Salt Lake City, Chester, Tuscaloosa and Vicksburg) and many destroyers were present and shooting, at the end of the day results were modest, at best.
Visibility, and bombardment effectiveness, greatly improved during the following two days. The task was assisted by occasional Japanese efforts to return fire, which pointed out the location of previously concealed pillboxes and other defenses. Ships worked closer to shore, enhancing accuracy, and more targets became apparent as their cover was blasted away. However, at least 700 fortified positions had been identified, and all could not be dealt with in the remaining time. On 18 February fire was therefore concentrated on the landing beach areas and the adjacent heights.
On the morning of "D-Day", 19 February, the bombardment intensified. Two more battleships (North Carolina and Washington -- a third, West Virginia, arrived later in the day) added sixteen inch shells to the fourteen and twelve inch types of the battleships already on station. Three additional cruisers (Indianapolis, Santa Fe and Biloxi) brought more eight and six inch guns to the battle. Heavy ships stood off Iwo Jima's southeastern and southwestern coasts, many of them placed to inflict a close-in battering on the enemy. Rates of fire were increased, with periodic lulls to allow carrier-based airplanes to add their bombs, rockets and machine gun bullets to the attack. The lower half of the island appeared to be receiving an overwhelming rain of fire.

[@TheNightWatcher1385]

"They told us Iwo Jima was a fortress on an island. In reality, Iwo Jima was a fortress that just looked like an island." - Vet interviewed after the battle

[@jesserivas1387]

Thank you sir for your service to our great nation. And paving the way for the soldiers of today. Your a great man and welcome home!

[@TheNightWatcher1385]

@@jesserivas1387 Lol. I appreciate you wanting to thank a vet, but I’m not one. I was just posting a quote from an Iwo Jima veteran that I liked a lot. But I can see how my comment could be misinterpreted, so I’ve edited it a bit.

[@BradBrassman]

The one I heard from a Veteran was that "the Japanese weren't on Iwo Jima they were in it!"

[@pollxxv]

True story. I’ve been to Iwo Jima a lot in my career with CVW-5. The tunnels beneath the island are vast. They had medical areas and tactical areas. A lot of the gun emplacements were still there. That whole island is a history buff treasure trove.

[@andrewgause6971]

@@BradBrassman well...they're not wrong...

[@dankest_dan]

"Nobody can survive that shit." "Oh, but they can...."

[@arielgoldfarb4118]

@The zerastora Hacksaw ridge

[@LtCWest]

"If they keep that up there wont be no island left to walk on." "Thats just fine with me." "Yeah, no way anybody's still alive on that joint!" "Wont count on that if I were you. Hey, you new guys feel like throwing up? Word of advice, do it now." Different Island but I still remember the dialog....

[@michaelusswisconsin6002]

It’s because they made a fortress within islands making them hard to kill since battleship rounds can’t penetrate the side of a mountain.

[@ablethreefourbravo]

Narrator: But somebody COULD survive that shit.

[@Paladen_X]

Call the Japanese what ever you want during WW2 But you can NEVER call them weak, just like the guy said "Their dug in like ticks"

[@landfair123]

My grandpa was on a hospital ship and saw that bombardment. His ship was a mile away from the gun line but they could still feel the blasts of the battleships below decks. He said he saw some guys cheering and a few that were actually feeling sorry for the defenders. The Japanese that were hit dead on by the shells were atomized. When the wounded started coming aboard the hospital ship he heard stories of the marines finding bits of bodies all over. Some as small as a postage stamp as one marine told him. The way they could tell it was a person was because there were sections of uniform melted into the flesh. He was told the marines could not walk three feet without finding teeth or fingers and bones. As good as movies are the real deal can never be recreated.

[@RoyalDog214]

Movie has limited time frame and props so they're not going to be able to depict everything in real life. But as far as the most realistic portrayal of the Battle of Iwo Jima is concern, this is probably as realistic as it's going to get.

[@AckzaTV]

landfair123 actually this sounds like a great movie scene to replicate.... show how there were little bits of bone and flesh the size of postage stamps everywhere, and show how you couldn't hear anything during battleship big gun bombardments

[@MichalSoukup1995]

they were conscripted and brainwashed...

[@Xecnalxes]

John Rambo Lol don't ever visit Japan. Racist fuck.

[@chronic3705]

Xecnalxes how is he being racist?

[@worldcomicsreview354]

"Shell the hell out of them, and you can just walk on in." "Uh, sir? My dad was in World War 1 and told me..."

[@mathewkelly9968]

Well to be fair once they finally worked out creeping barrages that was the case . Not for you Americans though you skipped the first 3 years of the war and the painful lessons

[@conorcorrigan765]

@@mathewkelly9968 The only wars Americans have been on time for are the ones they started...

[@pilot1721]

@@mathewkelly9968 creeping barrages when done right were down right amazing. They were also used in ww2 by commonwealth forces to pretty deadly effect

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

@Age Of Plankton #Nicaraguadidnothingwrong...

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

@Age Of Plankton also the "reason" for the invasion of Iraq was the weapons of mass destruction. Reportedly, Dubuya is still searching for them...

[@blackhawks81H]

My great uncle died during this operation. He was manning a gun on LCI-449 when they came under heavy fire from the shore. The big ships stayed out where it was relatively safe, and when the shore batteries opened up, due to being less damaged by the shelling than originally thought, the only ones there to defend the smaller landing craft were the big landing craft... The LCIs. They weren't very big boats in the grand scheme of things, and not very heavily armed or armored, but if they'd retreated to safety, the guys heading to shore would have been cut to ribbons and the landing would likely have failed. The LCIs basically acted as decoys. Sacrificed themselves to draw the fire from shore so the marines wouldn't take it. My great uncle was last seen alive firing a 40mm at the shore, they took a shell hit from shore and he was found dead, burned, slumped over the gun. That day more than half the crew of his ship was killed. But they saved a hell of a lot of lives.

[@trotptkabasnbi6655]

Your great uncle is a national treasure and hero as well. He sits in the arms of Liberty today. Wish I could thank him for his sacrifice......May he rest in peace

[@idahorodgersusmc]

blackhawks81H , I too have a family member that died on Iwo Jima, PFC Lyle Everett Rodgers, Blackfoot Idaho, was my grandfather's younger brother, and my inspiration to become a Marine myself.

[@snaketail1]

I just read about LCIs - brave men doing a difficult task.

[@Whitpusmc]

Reminds me of the Navy destroyer crews on DD that came in close and dueled it out with German shore batteries. God Bless your family.

[@ChristopherSmith-bh4sz]

We really have to respect what these men and many others like them did, their sacrifice in an horrific theatre. Even now after years of watching live footage of Pacific battles I still cant take in how non stop and horrific it is. Respect to every last man and their comitment to getting that job done.

[@Suhcamara]

The CO is so pissed off he didnt get the shelling he was promised. I side with him. He was right.

[@Suhcamara]

Thats true, they bombed and shelled the shit out of it, he was just upset at the lack of length of the actions. And like you pointed out, had probably no clue that the bulk of the Japanese defenses were immune to such actions at the time.

[@Suhcamara]

However, in Letters from Iwo Jima, the Japanese perspective sister movie and frankly the better of the pair, they depict the soldiers in the caves as going crazy from the bombardment, so, psychologically they could of broken them. But the U.S. commanders didn't know this at the time.

[@hazmasterocks]

From what I heard people were dying in the caves due to lack of oxygen due to all the explosions around the island so it could very well have made a difference

[@deadendfriends1975]

Fantastic scene

[@nickhanlon9331]

Doesn't matter one bit.The soil is volcanic so it absorbs artillery fire.Troops need to be in the open if they're going to get hit.Otherwise it's just a waste of time.

[@WootTootZoot]

Had an Uncle that landed on Iwo Jima. he never talked much about it, but I remember the only thing he said once was when they landed, there was nowhere to hide, and he was laying there, trying to lay as flat as he could, wishing the buttons on his fatigues were a little bit thinner.

[@nickcormier8571]

Wow!

[@ironseabeelost1140]

@@nickcormier8571 About thirty years later I was wishing the same damn thing!

[@halojump123]

You got that from a documentary. I remember the guy saying that but, he was talking about Tarawa.

[@jacksonchontos2910]

@@halojump123 im sure a bunch of people said that because a bunch of soldiers have had to lay on their stomach in the pacific

[@NazriB]

Lies again? Nashville Battery

[@trent8002003]

The CGs of battleship firing at shore strongholds are super realistic. Too bad the scene is so short!

[@ObamaTookMyCat]

trent8002003 not super realistic, in order to reload the guns had to be brought back to 1 degree elevation to level with the loading tray, while in the scenes they remained elevated.

[@trent8002003]

***** Can you be more picky? That's at most a very minor detail. Besides, some cruisers and battleships were equipped with all angle loading from WW1, the US could have refitted their old battleships for all angle loading at this late stage in war.

[@MrChickennugget360]

you only see the guns fire single salvos, its not like the camera stayed on the ships after they fired to watch them re-load. movie would be less "intense"

[@raphaelvillalobos504]

What movie is this

[@MrChickennugget360]

Raphael Villalobos flags of our fathers

[@fus149hammer4]

The cast in this scene are highly accurate. No big Hollywood actors obviously too old to serve on the front line and pretending to be younger but real kids just like the kids who did the real fighting.

[@StinkyGreenBud]

My grandfather was 36 when he fought in Iwo. Not everyone was a kid.

[@marjanp]

@@StinkyGreenBud Draftees were kids.

[@lordgarion514]

@@marjanp The average age for American men fighting in WW2 was 26. There were a LOT that weren't kids. In Vietnam, it was just 22.

[@ismu34]

Ryan Phillipe is 32 here

[@nickpeloquin5594]

What movie is this

[@barleysixseventwo6665]

Wow you hit everything... *That we did!* ....except the Japanese! *Oh.*

[@llennon73]

in caves duh

[@JohnJohn-pe5kr]

Phil McCrevice you clearly don’t know much about Iwo Jima do you.

[@murphyjack90]

Phil McCrevice not enough to make a difference.

[@pendragonshall]

Jack Murphy of course it made a difference. It made a HUGE impact. You mustnt let hollywood ever be your teacher.

[@murphyjack90]

@@pendragonshall not enough of a difference for the thousands of marines that died on the island.

[@Cha-y412]

My Uncle was a 17 year old sailor manning a 5 inch gun aboard the USS Astoria Cl 90 at Iwo Jima, he talked about 72 hours of the ships non stop bombardment and for the rest of his life suffered from demished hearing loss. God bless the greatest generation.

[@arieson7715]

They didn't even have hearing protection.

[@johncombs2990]

My late uncle William was in the Marines and was wounded by a Japanese machine gun on Iwo. That wound would bother him in his later years. I believe he might have known one of the men who raised the flag in the famous photo. I wish now I had sat around listening to him talk about it at family reunions instead of running around with my cousins.

[@12eike]

Sad thing to hear he suffered for hearing los after bombarding an island this is really not fair xD

[@uppishcub1617]

@@arieson7715 no amount of hearing protection is going to stop that kind of noise. The muzzle blast from those naval guns is like the entire 4th of July fireworks show going off 10 feet from your face.

[@uppishcub1617]

I can only hope that if I ever do go deaf it will be from something as badass as that.

[@mikebutler5409]

They don't tell you in this clip, but the general bitching on the phone at the end of it is the Marine's commander, Holland (Howlin' Mad) Smith- he obviously wasn't too happy with the results of the bombardment. Events proved him right.

[@CABOOSEBOB]

But what difference would the 7 more days of bombardment have made

[@vicenteasaro1823]

@@CABOOSEBOB For every soldier defending the island, each one, is a difference. Bombardment rattles the central nervous system and body equilibrium from functioning properly, organs begin to suffer from rapid changes in pressure and heat, even if you're not in the blast radius. The body will change physically no matter how mentally prepared you are for the bombardment.

[@halojump123]

During the hell that was World War II, the U.S. conducted 72 straight days of vicious bombing raids on the island of Iwo Jima to gain access. America did everything within their power to weaken Japanese forces before sending ground troops in to secure the rest of island for allied use.

[@vicenteasaro1823]

@@capthawkeye8010 under bombardment for 9 months? Either you are over exaggerating previous attacks or your saying a fleet of this size, sitting at this single island for 9 fucking months, continued non stop bombardments with out ever stopping? "An extra 10 days wouldn't make a dramatic difference" well holy shit, we got an admiral armchair over here who knows better then Holland Smith, I'm sure you're credentials can back you up, because that's all you need in your imaginary profession that proves your right.

[@ancaplanaoriginal5303]

@@CABOOSEBOB 7 more days of bombardment are 7 more days of you being stressful, not sleeping well, the entire mountain shaking and bringing down fragile tunnels, and oh boy, all those explosions on the outside are gonna make oxygen a rare consumable on the caves.

[@justintimbersaw3934]

I remember a line from Hacksaw ridge when the bombardment begin on the island. US Marine: "nobody could survive that" Another US Marine who fought at that field before saying with sleepy eyes: "Oh they could. They could"

[@wolftamer5463]

Not sleepy eyes. Thousand yard stare.

[@woofdog4219]

My father was on a Attack Transport USS Hocking "121" a Liberty Ship with mostly special forces on board he took the 5th Marines into Green Beach . He was a officer and joined a group of volunteers during his time in the Navy called UDT . He passed away a little less then a year ago at the age of 96 , he was a incredible swimmer .

[@tacticalpossum7090]

You're kidding, the USS Hocking is named after our county here in Ohio. I've never heard of anyone other than older locals who even know or care about it, besides someone who might haphazardly stumble onto the Wikipedia page.

[@risingsun9595]

Your dad was an OG Navy Seal

[@superp2222]

I love how of the battleships shown in the CG, you can see more modern battleships like the Iowa class, but also USS Texas, one of the last remaining dreadnought ships floating today

[@bamarine247]

It was great seeing Big Tex on screen. Only months earlier, she was on the other side of the world providing naval gunfire support for the Rangers on Pointe du Hoc.

[@idontcare9797]

Older battleships like Texas were used for more for shore bombardment than the newer ones like the Iowa's.

[@bamarine247]

@@idontcare9797 That's because the newer fast battleships like the Iowa class were fast enough to keep up with the carrier strike groups. The older dreadnought battleships were too slow to help the carriers but could support the slower troopship convoys with naval gunfire and antiaircraft support.

[@reicherreinhardtvonkesslri9847]

"I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure." - Ripley

[@mcallahan9060]

Ironically because of the tough fight the Japanese put up here, the US did nuke them... twice.

[@weirdguy564]

From what we've seen of surviving shelling of conventional weapons, a Nuke might not actually do any better.

[@alexanderrahl482]

@@weirdguy564 I don't think you are taking into account nuclear fallout, among other things.

[@kevinanderson9786]

"Fuckin a!" - Hudson

[@notarmchairhistorian7779]

Also America: "Haha. Nuke goes boom!"

[@jebbroham1776]

Could you imagine seeing dozens of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers blasting away at a Pacific mountain fortress with all their heavy guns and AA? That would be a site you'd never forget and that's probably how WW2 vets remember their experiences so clearly they could have happened yesterday.

[@sentinel501]

1:35 Lt. Buck Compton!!

[@Jariid]

TRENCH FOOT

[@40intrepid]

1:50 Detective Medavoy!

[@andre5032]

Lol band of brothers alternate ending.

[@ThePerpetualStudent]

Nice catch.. Still my favorite series of all time.

[@trainknut]

Guess he didn't get enough points. 'least he made captain though.

[@johngreene8619]

I love the 40mm Bofors crews firing away.

[@egocyclic]

But what are they firing at?

[@Seriona1]

@@egocyclic At the beaches. AA guns are very effective against forts and infantry. Basically at that point, you're firing a massive shotgun against a target.

[@matthewwade1115]

@@Seriona1 40mm bofors can still be effective against soft stationary targets at ranges of up to 3-4 km

[@sergeig685]

Yeah, but what soft targets? Obviously all Japanese infantry is taking cover during the bombardment.

[@matthewwade1115]

@@sergeig685 people, equipment, unarmored vehicles, structures, weapon emplacements.. who cares? If it goes far enough, send it. Even if its just psychological.

[@Tom_The_Cat]

Lt. Gen. "Howlin Mad" Smith on the phone was eerily correct. Iwo Jima was a bloodbath

[@josephdizon3493]

@Tom The Cat I remember watching this movie as a kid and this particularly scene was scared shitless because of him. I didn’t know who Lt General Holland “Howlin Mad” Smith was back then until I found out when I was reading about the battle of Iwo Jima as I grew older, and I knew it was him and it flashes my memory because of him. No wonder he got a nickname “ Howlin Mad” for a reason.I always wondered who he was talking to on the phone? Do you know who it was?

[@Seriona1]

@@josephdizon3493 We're not sure but I am guessing it would be an Admiral or at least someone in a high command of this task force.

[@None-zc5vg]

@@josephdizon3493 His name was "Holland McTyeire Smith" so "Howling Mad" was an inevitable, 'asking-for-it', nickname.

[@firingallcylinders2949]

Iwo Jima holds the record for most Medal of Honors given out.

[@Hanaa_ishere]

@@josephdizon3493 The admiral in charge of pre-invasion bombardment was William H.P. Blandy. Why Gen. Smith called him "Jim" here, I'm not sure.

[@ukk2]

My grandfather was at Iwo Jima on the fletcher class USS wedderburn DD-684. He told me a few story but i would hear a lot out of him through his night terrors. He would yell for people as he slept. He went through a lot. He was involved in every major campaign in the pacific. And his sister was at Pearl Harbor during the attack. She died five years later due to cancer, from what i understand, it was from smoke inhalation from the attacks on pearl harbor. They truly were the greatest generation.

[@dankengine5304]

United States Navy: “Fuck anything in that general direction!” The Japanese: “haha tunnel go brrrrrr”

[@lampham5525]

Not Japanese at all, it was Kuribashi, if not for him they would go banzai charges in the beach and failed quickly.

[@VersusARCH]

@@lampham5525 Not just Kuribayashi. All militaries learn and adapt. Kuribayashi was long dead when the Battle of Okinawa started. And again the Japanese dug in. Rabaul - another heavily fortified base - never attacked since it was bypassed (it was not necessary to take it) and cut off due to US air and naval superiority. Japan was fortified... Western Pacific has huge numbers of islands. It is difficult even to supply enough tools, cement and manpower to fortify them all. And different geography presents different challenges for military fortification. Japanese islands or Iwo Jima are volcanic islands. Quite different soil to earlier coral reefs like the Marshall islands or Tarawa.

[@51artvn74]

what means brrrr ?

[@dankengine5304]

@@51artvn74 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpiQk6NoeNtsock

[@colerobertson4411]

The original owner of the funeral home in the town I lived in was one of the Marines who raised the flag on the top of the mountain originally not the picture one the actual one

[@charlessaint7926]

One of the battleships bombarding Iwo Jima was the USS Nevada, a ship that survived Pearl Harbor. Before this she took part in the invasion of Normandy and Operation Dragoon. After those battles, she underwent a refit where the guns of her #1 turret are replaced by the guns of the #2 turret of the USS Arizona, who died in front of Nevada that Sunday. With these new guns, Nevada struck both Iwo Jima and Okinawa, gaining a measure of personal revenge for her fallen comrades.

[@r3ckonner997]

Somewhere on that volcanic island of dust and smoke and booms, there is Saigo desperately trying to retrieve that shit bucket...

[@Schnitzellover12345]

Underrated comment

[@skin234ify]

And Captain Tanida blaming him for being such an useless piece of shit.

[@jgg204]

Legend has it, it's still there

[@Bandog23]

Xd

[@Hazwaste63]

The Texas looks to be riding too high in the water for wartime. Looks like they used her image from her current berth in La Porte and inserted it into the CGI but forgot to account for the weight of her load.

[@coced]

at least its not listing lol

[@normanalvarez5751]

Dreadknots the last one Texas

[@russg1801]

All the ships were heavily laden during combat. Even with the "treaty battleships" - South Dakota and Washington classes - forget that "35,000 ton" nonsense - that was a made-up displacement that the treaties called "standard load." As for the ship you say is riding high, it could be Texas or it could be her sister, USS New York. I don't see a bow number in the video. Texas was battleship hull 35; New York was 34. There were several numbers that never saw commission; hulls were scrapped or cancelled due to the two naval treaties.

[@Backyardmech1]

She’s still fighting to stay afloat. Not far from the battlefield that sealed Texas’ independence in return for what happened at the Alamo. Even turned her 40mm guns myself when I was a kid.

[@kabukiwookie]

As I understand it, in order for USS Texas to hit her assigned targets with her antiquated 14" guns, the Capt. ordered some of her tanks flooded to take on a list to have the elevation necessary. Since both New York class ships where there giving full broadsides... It could be either ship... I didn't see a hull number. What puzzles me is why they depict them firing the BOFORS at the island. I wonder what range the TX was firing at? They couldn't have been so close to shore to use them.... Just a thought...

[@ohfiddlydiddlydoodoo]

I love how the water ripples at the blast of the cannons. Really love that effect!

[@h3lld1v3rfilms6]

0:38 best sound effects.

[@Adhjie]

nostalgic bsp

[@plbwiki768]

My dad served on the USS Estes before and during the bombardment of Iwo and Okinawa. He would tell the story of how they got so close before and during the bombardment they could see our shells going overhead and they were getting hit by small arms fire from the island. . They would also make periodic runs in close to evaluate the damage done to the Island. On his deathbed he seemed to be reliving that time on board the Estes, he said they all thought they were going to die.

[@Moondoggy1941]

My neighbor fought at Iowa Jima, Guadacanal and others, is a Marine, I did not know this until his funeral. He and my father were the nicest men I knew. My father fought in the Korean War.

[@heffyg101]

1:27 damn that liquid terminator is still alive

[@hmartinspliff]

He's looking to terminate Grandpa Connor so that the future leader of the resistance is never born.

[@danielmarshall4587]

@@hmartinspliff .... or can't be arsed doing the homework to find relatives, so just "Joe-Bined " his time.

[@CK-yb5pi]

My great uncle was a Navy radio operator on the USS Nevada and was present at this bombardment. Much Respect to those who were here.

[@CT-5736-Bladez]

Ahh the Nevada the ship that refused to sink even after getting hit by 2 muthafkn atomic bombs

[@garrison3773]

My father was also there on the Nevada.

[@kevinm2365]

My Great Uncle was a captain in the war and was a beach master on Omaha. He went in before the first wave in the attack. He directed the landing on that beach and helped soldiers out of the boats. He was one of the first American soldiers to land in France that day. He also helped land General Patton in the invasion of Sicily at Salerno. He also served in North Africa. On Omaha, he was standing under heavy German fire. Somehow he made it out alive that day. He later served in the Korean War. He served in the Army in WW2, the Coast Guard in Korea, and then served in the Marine Corps, and Navy. He went to VMI and graduated at age 22 and was 35 in 44. After the war he became a sherriff. Rest in Peace Captain F Perry Williams and the rest of the soldiers who sacrificed everything as boys and served in the war.

[@GlorfindelofGondolin]

Hey, there’s Battleship Texas standing in as herself and her sister, New York.

[@davecrupel2817]

Oooo whereabouts? Timestamp? :D

[@GlorfindelofGondolin]

@@davecrupel2817 0:18 and 0:43

[@QuadinarosLS]

0:17, 0:19, 0:23, 0:25, 0:37, 0:40, and 0:43 were all filmed aboard or next to the actual Battleship Texas in La Porte, Texas. :)

[@jacobmoss6830]

The way the battleships are shelling is incredibly accurate historically wise.

[@nikolai60]

The failure of this kind of bombardment is why the new 16 inch shells for the Iowa class were developed, complete with a tactic that involved simply *removing the mountain* rather than trying to take it.

[@AlteryxGaming]

Ah yes, the ‘Ol’ reliable’ W82 fission shells. Would be interesting if they had been in service at Iwo. Probably wouldn’t be much of an island left to capture after a few hours of bombardment.

[@nikolai60]

@@AlteryxGaming The Iowas actually used the W23, which yes were part of that plan, but I was referring to the HC Mk. 13 which would blast a 50 foot crater with each shot, and actually saw use.

[@AlteryxGaming]

Ahh that would make more sense. Weren’t those the shells used by NJ to create helicopter LZs at vietnam?

[@nikolai60]

@@AlteryxGaming That they were! One shell, one area open enough to land and with a tree line far enough to be considered low risk.

[@Packer1290]

I was thinking something similar in that a large 2000 lb modern bomb at the right elevation could literally create an avalanche.

[@stevenklinkhamer9069]

That must of been one heck of a sight to see in real time.

[@benjaminv6039]

I love that they put the Texas in this scene, its a nice little detail

[@khalee95]

The Japanese defense returned a favor by firing guns meant for ships directly at the infantry landing on the beach.

[@hevyc8353]

Those large caliber guns must of teared the Marines apart.

[@desertstorm272]

200 mm guns

[@hevyc8353]

@@desertstorm272 yeah,one of those 200mm HE rounds must of had a kill radius about 100 to 200 meters with all that shrapnal.

[@johnlavery3433]

They planned on beaching the Yamato there as well, singed the Americans couldn’t sink it, they’d have to blast it apart to stop it. Didn’t work though

[@Praxics0815]

@@johnlavery3433 No they didn't. Yamato was sunk during Operation Ten-Go. Operation Ten-Go planned to beach Yamato on Okinawa to defend it. Okinawa and Iwojima are 855 miles apart and the invasion of Okinawa was 2 month later. Yamato was never planned to defend Iwojima at any point in time ever. During the invasion of Iwojima Yamato was safely hidden away at Kure.

[@revman417]

Yet still it was not appreciated how well constructed and camouflaged the Japanese positions were; especially on Mt Suribachi. I well understand the commanding generals concerns which were born out on the beaches and further inland. The bravery of men, on both sides, was amazing. Assaulting positions where the defenders considered dying a privilege would have seemed un-natural to the young US Marines who just wanted to get the job done, end the war and go home. It must have been a horrific experience for all concerned.

[@capthawkeye8010]

In fact the mountain was such a prominent target that US Navy bombardments concentrated on it to excess-it was bunkers and fighting positions beyond the beach that inflicted the most damage on the invasion forces.

[@nationalsocialist5526]

Japanese weren't cowards, simple as that.

[@donarthiazi2443]

@@nationalsocialist5526 No one called them cowards.

[@randomyoutubecommentersecu7639]

@@nationalsocialist5526 Use your brain donkey. There is a difference between not minding dying and fighting for what you believe in and being an idiot on the border of fanaticism. One is guts and conviction with a tactical brain and good use of your resources and life for your side, the other is blindly throwing yourself away to do absolutely nothing and help your own with nothing. And stabbing yourself in the chest for losing or doing mass rushes against machine guns just to " save your honour" is as dumb as it gets. If you lost that island inflict maximum casualties on the bunkers you are stuck with, leave a rear guard to be aggressive and cause chaos and scatter and lie in wait to ambush more troops or get out if you still have the option , withdrawal and regroup to fight and cause more casualties for your enemy again , or go guerilla. Your side does not benefit at all from you throwing away hundreds of experienced and battle hardened troops ready to fight and die, just for a ditch charge that won't cause any change in the end to the outcome of the battle.

[@kevinjohnson7300]

*explosions everywhere* Japanese: So anyway i start digging..

[@mysticdragonwolf89]

Buck, serving on the eastern and western front, despite breaking due to shell shock and seeing comrades blown to bits Buck is a person from the show Band of Brothers

[@davisluong2060]

Buck only served on the Western Front which was in Europe

[@NangDoofer]

@@davisluong2060 He's talking about the actor being here and obviously playing Buck in BoB.

[@scarling9367]

During Vietnam, the BB NJ shelled the enemy trying to overrun a Marine position. They pressed the bombardment for so long, they at one point had to stop and remove shell casing that had built up around the 5" turret, limiting mobility of the battery.

[@Ash-ey9oy]

Really Wow that's very cool

[@OtterTreySSArmy]

​@@Ash-ey9oyif you think thats cool, in the Gulf War, the Missouri bombarded Iraqi positions in Kuwait so hard that upon seeing the spotting drone(a signal that a bombarment was imminent) several of them held up white flags and surrendered to the drone. To my knowledge, that would mark the only instance of a surrender to something unmanned(until the 2022 Invasion of Ukraine). The 16in Naval Guns of the Iowas have a psychological impact unlike nearly any other non-nuclear weapon system ever created. Because when they fire, its never just one shell making impact, its 9. And those shells are each equivalent to a 2000lb(907kg) bomb. They penetrate into the ground and make a 50 foot(15.24m) wide crater. The worst part I suppose is that assuming you survived the first volley, a second one is coming in 30 seconds, and then every 30 seconds after that until a cease fire has been ordered. The amount of planes that would be required to throw that much HE downrange in that short of a time is truely staggering. The battleships may be overlooked nowadays with missiles and such, but they're still the Emperors of the Seas.

[@sce2aux464]

Japanese are like: "This is fine..."

[@Excalibur01]

Japanese is like "Is that the best you got?!"

[@rhianimal19]

Japanese were all, "yes, go in back room to fuck my GF, we get your wallet and keys and leave you tied up nekid to a lamppost."

[@philvanderlaan5942]

We are gona sit on the beach and watch as a 16inch shell sends our balls over the horizon or sit nice an happy in caves? AITAH if I say caves?

[@Hammahz8088]

@@Excalibur01 September 2 1945 USS Missouri

[@raywhitehead730]

There were official in-depth Navy investigation s of the effectiveness of bombardments after the war. If you want to know more, they are now declassified and available.

[@michiganrailfan2141]

From what I've read and seen in history shows 10 days or 3 days of bombardment wouldn't have made any difference considering the tunnel network the Japanese had dug into the island.

[@raywhitehead730]

Like I said, the official report, made by experts of the time is available. Also the US Air Force did a Bombing Survey Report after the war. They are thorough, and were made at great expense by experts who visited the sites bombed.

[@Telyzan]

Wow, if the men watching only knew that this bombardment barely scratched the surface of the fortress that was Iwo Jima. RIP to all of the brave soldiers who stormed the beaches on that island as well as all of the other Allied soldiers who fought in this war!!

[@None-zc5vg]

A scaled-up 'Peleliu' mess, with the shore-bombardment doing little damage to the well-dug-in defenders.

[@troutwarrior6735]

I'm sorry, I can't take you seriously with your profile picture. . .

[@Telyzan]

@@troutwarrior6735 so I can't be taken seriously just because of my profile pic? It's a joke dude.... you can be serious AND have a funny profile pic. Geez...

[@troutwarrior6735]

@@Telyzan Lol sorry I was joking too, I actually could take it seriously its just the profile pic just gave me a laugh. It's a shame that jokes can't be conveyed as well over the internet.

[@Telyzan]

@@troutwarrior6735 Ok, I'm sorry to immediately think that you were trolling me. Thank you for clarifying. I will in the future try NOT to take responses so literal! I LOVE Family Guy, the show is hilarious!!

[@ramsoncole4605]

I was in the Navy, and remember fighting Marines in every port we went to...good times :) Heroes one and all.

[@bryonmyers1058]

I can't imagine those were fair fights. I heard you squids roll pretty deep.

[@owensmith2261]

My great uncle was here... that's really surreal. He wrote over 200 instances of person stories and reading them is just amazing. There's one story of a man that would hold a 6 second grenade for 5 seconds and everybody called him insane. He would throw and laugh as the grenades exploded right as they hit the ground.

[@mainerdmoose9242]

There's no issue, as long as the handle stays attached,. You could hold it for a 1 minute after pulling the safety ring/pin; the firing pin engages (and timing begins) when handle flies off. I'd have a tough time believing a person would remove the handle, while maintaining hold, count to 5, then throw it. Sounds like an embellished story for dramatic effect. Perhaps it was held for a shorter count? Allowing for 2 second air travel- wow that's still pretty dicey- YIKES!

[@northernleigonare]

Honestly contaray to the other comments, I liked the bit with the CO shouting down the phone. That might have been the most realistic, because some commanders cared about their men, even when they were told not to (per say) in order to keep making those tough decisions.

[@VonRammsteyn]

Love that scene!!! One of the best from that movie... The bombardment and the high oficer convesation...

[@raymondyee2008]

0:18 that was indeed a hell of a naval bombardment but in all only a few bunkers and caves were destroyed. No way it could possibly knock down an underground tunnel network.

[@someonecrazy115]

That's why the admiral wanted 10 days, 3 days wasn't enough.

[@capthawkeye8010]

@@someonecrazy115 9 months did not turn out to be enough actually. The idea that the island was only under attack for a few days before the invasion is hogwash. It was bombed almost daily and blockaded for nearly a year before the invasion.

[@anotherconspiracytheorist58]

To see that in real life, must've been a hell of a sight to watch. We will never be able to see that kind of shore bombardment with this new technology.

[@AJxxxxxxxx]

To be fair we’ve gotten way more accurate, so that way we don’t have to waist thousands of projectiles and hope we get lucky with one, but you are right the shelling must have been cool to watch

[@jeremiahmendez3318]

0:45-0:46 EPIC SHOT

[@tankmaster1018]

Amazing CGI and sound design for a miniseries... HBO really steps up their game sometimes.

[@eagleeye761]

somebody once questioned why Iwo Jima was on my Marine Corps ring... 72 hours of that type of bombardment and it was still a bloodbath... bless those who fought there.

[@halojump123]

It was bombed from the air for 72 straight days.

[@marcjohnson4385]

Happen to know an Marine who landed on Iwo Jima he told Me that the Word was " two days " to take the island because "We didn't know about Damm Caves"

[@Coyote-wm5op]

This movie is highly underrated

[@bernecomp]

The three versus ten days of naval shelling surprised the shit out of me when I first read about it. I like how they presented it here.

[@victorhex6380]

My father was an island hopping marine and was on Iwo Jima. He never talked about it. There was no PTSD like today. His way of dealing was to drink. When he passed away around 1977, they gave me a box of his medals and ribbons. Today his service record and the little pins and ribbons are brave testament to the thousands that fought in that slice of hell.

[@rikk319]

There's always been PTSD, just different names--battle fatigue, shell shock. Modern day psychology just knows more about how different trauma affects the brain. My grandfathers fought in WW2 in the Marines and Navy, and my father and uncles in Vietnam in the Army and Air Force. Only two of them were infantry, in the thick of battle, and they never talked about any of it, and I sure as hell don't blame them. Both my grandfathers came out of WW2 alcoholics.

[@1019bulldog]

Not gonna lie, WWII would've been an awful hell to experience, but seeing that much American steel flying in person would've made my jaw drop and make me giddy with excitement.

[@bckraut]

My Uncle George was a Marine on Iwo Jima, and he said they lost over 3000 men on just the first day.

[@reel-ct5tv]

We can all agree that it would be amazing to see this very day in person.

[@TaterChip91]

"Nobody could survive that.." "...oh but they can." Hacksaw Ridge

[@artificialintelligence8328]

Wrong island?

[@MetalBass666]

This scene gives me goosebumps everytime

[@ronlucock3702]

0:32 "Killing 'em! We're killing them!" Such gracious words. Also, I find it hard to believe half the crew wouldn't have been aware of what was about to happen. Pls correct me if that was in fact the case.

[@ablethreefourbravo]

I like that the 40mm were getting in on it. Like they were doing anything useful.

[@rpscorp9457]

whole batteries of pom pom guns with Hi-ex shells...you bet they had some impact to anyone on the surface.

[@desertstorm272]

Reminds me of Call of Duty 5. The mission, Little Resistance. US Navy bombards Pelilu for three days and the plan's went downhill. Tojo has a defensive line below the tree line.

[@heihei3453]

One of those battleships looked like a Washington class. More modern compared to the others.

[@LtCWest]

You mean the one at 0:22? Thats actually the North Carolina-class, that being said, USS Washington BB-56 was also of the same class. ^^

[@shellsbignumber2]

I remember watching a history doc and one of the marines that landed on Iwo Jima said how he had no fear of dying and going to hell because he has already been there.

[@ClementIV]

Do you remember the documentary?

[@BradBrassman]

A marine who was here once wrote, "The problem was that the Japanese Army werent on Iwo Jima they were in it"

[@eldermaxson9061]

Wow Lieutenant Compton gets around quick

[@EngPheniks]

I've read that US naval and aerial bombardment of Iwo Jima went on for days before ground troops were sent in. By orders of Japanese general Kuribayashi, Japanese troops remained underground. US troops were in for a surprise when at first they landed the island looked deserted.

[@idontknow164]

1:19 no wonder the US Navy won, they had the T-1000 with them! (Robert Patrick is one of the officers)

[@tabletophobbies.terraintec2697]

One of the best scenes. A pitty the movie had to keep bouncing between the battle and civie street

[@Tommy06289]

Only dislike about it

[@rredhawk]

0:18 Looks like 2 Iowa-class BBs to the right of USS Texas. Were there Iowa's at Iwo? They look too long and lean to be North Carolina and Washington.

[@AlteryxGaming]

Missouri and Wisconsin were part of TF58, US 5th fleet, and were two of the more prominent warships present at Iwo Jima. As for the other two Iowas, Iowa herself was busy with strikes at the Japanese home islands, and New Jersey was screening the carrier Essex.

[@calebdoty9090]

Yeah, there is definitely an Iowa at 0:23. Two Iowa class were present in the Iwo Jima campaign, but like most of the fast battleships, they were screening the surface fleet, where they could use their superior mobility to head off any sorties by the remaining Japanese surface fleet (Which happened at Leyte Gulf and Okinawa, although the Fast Battleships didn't engage in either, that was what the plan was). So yeah, they aren't historically accurate there, the bombardment fleet was made of standard type battleships almost exclusively. Relatively minor issue though, since there were two in the general area.

[@halojump123]

List of Ships at Iwo Jima * Amphibious Command Ship * USS Auburn (AGC-10) Command Ship Amphibious Group 2 * USS Eldorado (AGC-11) Invasion Command Ship Gen Holland Smith/James Forrestal * USS Estes (AGC-12) D-2 2/17/45 UDT Action Command Ship * USS Biscayne(AGC-18) Flagship for Transport Screen * * * Aircraft Carriers * USS Saratoga (CV-3) Hit by Japanese Aircraft 2/21 123KIA * USS Enterprise(CV-6) * USS Essex (CV-9) TF58 * USS Hornet(CV-12) * USS Lexington(CV-16) * USS Bunker Hill(CV-17) * USS Wasp(CV-18) * USS Hancock(CV-19) Air Group 80 VF-80/VB-80/VT-80 * USS Bennington(CV-20) * USS Belleau Wood(CVL-24) * USS Cowpens(CVL-25) * USS San Jacinto(CVL-30) * * * Escort Carriers * USS Anzio (CVE-57) VC-82 * USS Natoma Bay (CVE-62) VC-81 * USS Wake Island (CVE-65) VOC-1 * USS Tulagi (CVE-72) * USS Petrof Bay (CVE-80)VC-76 * USS Rudyerd Bay (CVE-81) VC-77 * USS Saginaw Bay (CVE-82) * USS Sargent Bay (CVE-83) VC-79 * USS Shamrock Bay (CVE-84) * USS Steamer Bay (CVE-87) VC-90 * USS Windham Bay (CVE-92) * USS Makin Bay (CVE-93)VC-84 * USS Lunga Point (CVE-94)VC-85 * USS Bismark Sea (CVE-95)VC-86 Sunk by Kamikaze 2/21/45 119KIA * USS Salamaua (CVE-96) * USS Asmiralty Islands (CVE-99) * USS Bougainville (CVE-100) * * * Battleships * USS Arkansas (BB-33) * USS New York (BB-34) * USS Texas (BB-35) June 6th 1944 D-Day Veteran * USS Nevada (BB-36) * USS Idaho (BB-42) * USS Tennessee (BB-43) 2/17 Hit by Japanese Coastal Gun/Pearl Harbor Survivor * USS North Carolina (BB-55) * USS Washington (BB-56) * USS South Dakota (BB-57) * USS Indiana (BB-58) * USS Massachusetts (BB-59) * USS New Jersey (BB-62) * USS Missouri (BB-63) * USS Wisconsin (BB-64)

[@hoofgripweightlifting6872]

I read many comments from sons and grandsons of fathers and grandfathers who fought there. Thanks for sharing their personal accounts.

[@bsgtrekfan88]

After being up for six years this video is getting a lot of attention over the past few weeks where are you all coming from? Is this video embedded on a website or did a KZbinr share it?

[@Cananatra]

I got it on the regular homepage suggestions, haven't even been watching a lot of military vids. Whatever started it, its youtube blanket promoting it now it seems.

[@Ash-ey9oy]

Popped up in my feed

[@bluejay7842]

tHe aLgOriTHm

[@HamletNOR]

This just popped up on my home feed. The algorithm works in mysterious ways.

[@ultimatehalomuffinpony3355]

This is what the algorithm does. It hides things for years and then suddenly decides they're relevant.

[@robbhahn8897]

At 1:20 and 1:45 battleships with the old baskets and tripod masts are shown. Pretty sure those old mast pipes were replaced by that point in the war.

[@trevortrabeaux4]

I know I’m two years late. You are right to an extent. The US Standard BB’s (Nevada’s through the Colorado’s) had their lattice cages and rear tripods removed. The battleships you are pointing out in both those scenes (0:20 and 0:45) are New York Class (New York and Texas) kept their tripods throughout the end and in Texas’s case even retirement.

[@JohnSmith-uy5bj]

unfortunately the Navy denied the Marines 7 days of full shore bombardment and only gave them 2 and a half

[@None-zc5vg]

(...a la Peleliu).

[@halojump123]

It was bombed by air for 72 straight days.

[@MuggynPuggy]

My world of warships dreams!!! Having a line of battleships ready to lay way

[@GhostTrueCapitalist]

I can understand rockets and the main guns firing at the island... but @ 0:38, why are they firing an anti-air gun at the island? Save the ammo just in case for an air assault.

[@hevyc8353]

HavocKitsune maybe those are bullets who,when hit will explode and the little pieces if metal kill or wounde the enemy?idk,but its an option.

[@William-13]

HavocKitsune Bofors 40mm Anti Aircraft cannons were just as effective against infantry & tanks instead of what they were designed for .

[@derpypara1952]

Cool Cat you right

[@novaterra632]

Yes but why are we shooting those if we have 16 inch guns firing at it.

[@groll3716]

HavocKitsune the Japanese air Force was no match for US air power by then

[@hpep9159]

I would love, just once, to be on a battleship like USS Iowa and just feel, hear, and see the guns firing, it make my life complete, sadly i dont think that would ever happen

[@chrisd2051]

Don't say never

[@robbhahn8897]

You can visit the USS Iowa in Long Beach. They probably won't fire the guns for you though.

[@bsgtrekfan88]

Well it’s a good thing you’re talking to a drone pilot that spends his free time all of it actually filming historic vessels :-) one of which being the Iowa class USS New Jersey! The whole point or at least most of my point in filming and editing and presenting these videos is for people like yourself that either haven’t yet or cannot visit them in person. Enjoy! kzbin.info/www/bejne/faOQZ3ubqbV4rq8

[@maximilianodelrio]

"My men hit that beach with less than 10, and ill be taking them home to their mommas in buckets" 💀

[@davidponseigo8811]

My uncle was the Captain of the USS Arkansas in 1943-45 during this battle and many others. He was Captain George McFadden O'Rear.

[@marcinzysko1653]

0:18 awsome shot

[@geekane9462]

I wonder how accurate this is. Because the shock wave from the big guns was very powerful I thought that no one could be on deck, much less right next to the barrels as they're showing here

[@brianevans9719]

My Great Uncle Corporal James Wade Carr served in the 5th Marine Division and was the fifth marine to reach the top of Mount Suribachi. He survived the war and told me he wasn't too far away and watched the raising of the first flag

[@TrainBoi6095]

Were the Iowa class involved in bombarding Iwo jima ? I know about the bombardment itself but don’t know how many ships were involved

[@nursestoyland]

i think they were with the fast carrier task force

[@glenchapman3899]

@@nursestoyland North Carolina was definitely there - not sure about the others though

[@somerandomguyfromthebeyond1821]

sadly we are never going to see something like this ever again

[@jb76489]

26000+ people died

[@BicyclesMayUseFullLane]

It was a meat grinder, and the Okinawa campaign was even worse. Thank $DEITY we don't see shit like this nowadays, and I dread the day when we eventually do shit like this again.

[@mrhollisterjr]

Sadly?

[@jonnnyren6245]

There's just something about big naval guns on battleships firing. Gives me feelings I shouldn't be feeling.

[@groll7957]

The noise overhead is a F-35 or F-18 instead of a Corsair today

[@WizzRacing]

I remember my dad telling me..When he was on one. You don't want to be on deck when them guns are firing. The vacuum of the air rushing back in. Will suck you off the deck... Not to mention it feels like the ship is moving sideways 20 feet...

[@RealityIsTheNow]

People weren't allowed on deck when the big guns fired. The concussive forces could literally kill you. Cracked skull, blown ears, etc.

[@peterkropotkin6224]

At least in hindsight, like Operation Stalemate II (invasion of Peleliu), Operation Detachment should never have happened. Like Peleliu, Iwo Jima was a heavily fortified stronghold which could have been bypassed and would have made no significant difference in American operations in the Pacific. The island's airfield was of very limited strategic value and neither posed a serious threat to nor was of meaningful use to the Army Air Force . American strategists also clearly overestimated their advantage in firepower and manpower and took inevitability of victory for granted. They also underestimated the depth, meticulousness, and resiliency of Japanese defenses. A campaign that was projected to last only a few days turned into weeks, and in the end the U.S. suffered the loss of hundreds of tanks, two carriers, over a hundred aircraft, and 27,000 casualties for practically nothing. Instead, the Battle of Iwo Jima was mythologized as an epic tale of heroism and valor in order to rationalize and downplay the severity of the losses. Am I saying our American servicemen died in vain? Of course not. They did their duty, and sometimes operations that are even well intentioned turn out to be misguided or flawed (e.g. Market Garden, Tidal Wave). Mistakes and shortcomings are inevitable in operational warfare and strategic thinking. Clausewitz's concept of an ideal "absolute war" is a myth, as he realized. I would argue, however, that honesty in portraying the circumstances of the war matter.

[@guhalakshmiratan5566]

Disclaimer: Not trying to piss off any USN or USMC vets here. Just a humble lover of history who has great admiration and respect for all combatant arms during that great cataclysm chiming in.... for what its worth. Thing is - the scene with Gen. Holland Smith is not completely accurate. He knew before the invasion fleet left that is amphibious forces were guaranteed 3 (with maybe an optional 4) days of naval bombardment. He didn't like it ("I don't even want to take Iwo, but I will" - but that's a completely different topic) but he knew it before hand. The brass thought and fought for 2 months before the plans were finalized for the operation. The problem is not a simple one - and the heavy casualties suffered by the Marines make it a bitter subject to this day. One problem identified by Kelly Turner was that they didn't have enough bombardment ships to spare, since the Navy was still supporting MacArthur's drive in the Philippines at this point. And even if they were available, a 10 day bombardment would exhaust the magazines of the bombardment ships before the landings could begin. Fleet replenishment on-site was very experimental at the moment and the nearest bases at (the large base at) Ulithi or the limited capacity anchorage at the Marianas were about 900 and 650 miles from Iwo. As grand and as powerful as the fleet was, logistics was definitely a concern and I feel sometimes people forget how VAST the Pacific Ocean is! (The invasion of Okinawa was on par with the size of the invasion force as Normandy - the difference being a dash across a sea channel versus thousands of miles of empty ocean!) Finally there seemed to be local effects - Once the bombardment started, the target was usually obscured by tremendous amounts of fire, smoke and debris. Reconnaissance was generally poor of obscured targets (some deliberately with blast doors installed to withstand shelling.) Naval gunfire shot - but what did they hit? And did it cause damage? It at times took a fire control party on land to talk to a close in ship (often a destroyer) to lay accurate naval gunfire on a particular target.... and then report their excellent results to the crew with the thanks of the Marines or Infantrymen! This does NOT disparage the naval bombardment of our battleships - and acknowledges the damage to the ships and the sacrifice of the crew in the process. Goodness knows they packed a wallop, the enemy felt it and the troops certainly loved it!

"Nobody can survive that" "Oh, but they can"

[@andrewlee-do3rf]

*Kid:* Dad, can we go to Wonderland?" *The Dad:* 1:30 (Sorry, I just felt it was amusing thinking of it like that)

[@Puzzoozoo]

The yanks did something similar on Kiska island, unaware the Japanese had left it two weeks before. :)

[@kimmer6]

My dad's attack transport landed Marines on Kiska. He said that the only living thing was a terrified dog. Attu was a different story.

[@tucker1012]

@@kimmer6 wasn’t Attu a case of friendly fire?

[@kimmer6]

@@tucker1012 Attu was a full scale invasion in terrible conditions of cold, fog, and misery. There was friendly fire but the Japanese attacked the American camp Bansai style with close quarter combat...knives and bayonets.

[@jamesm3142]

A lot of times in warfare these bombardments didn’t do much damage to the enemy. They were more for the moral of their own troops, seeing the enemy position getting ripped up makes it a lot easier to attack that position. An example of this would be Gettysburg, July 3rd 1863 right before Pickett’s charge, which is still considered one of the largest artillery bombardments on the Western Hemisphere. The bombardment didn’t do much harm to the Union side, who annihilated the incoming assault of 3 Confederate divisions. More examples can be seen from both World War 1 and 2, like the Somme or any of the islands in the Pacific War. Even the invasion of Normandy. The bombardments were ineffective. Napoleon Bonaparte recognizes artillery’s effect and found it more efficient to bombard the enemies artillery before the main assault, so they had a severe disadvantage and his own men wouldn’t have to deal with marching through an artillery barrage. “God favors the side with the best artillery” - Napoleon Just a side note, Robert E Lee intended his barrage at Gettysburg to disable the Union artillery, going off of Napoleon’s idea. It just didn’t work out the way he thought it would.

[@stephenwood6663]

One advantage caused by a well-planned bombardment is that a good fortified position will be laid out with the intent that the defenders will have cover and the attackers won't. A bombardment will tear up the landscape, creating craters and generally making the terrain more uneven: not as good as a trench, but it goes some way towards evening up the defender's terrain advantage.

[@billbright1755]

Shore bombardment only works on surface emplacements, they were dug in far under ground. The shelling had very little effect. So when the Marines hit the beach it was slaughter. I think the New Jersey was there but. Not sure.

[@asrielthespaceshiba7723]

It was more realistic to have New-York class Battleship wity AA refit for ww2 on the scene. Really well done

[@sike5227]

That was uss Texas

[@asrielthespaceshiba7723]

@@sike5227 It's a New York Class BB too

[@tabletophobbies.terraintec2697]

Wish they made that scene a bit longer

[@bsgtrekfan88]

Yeah 100% in fact if they want to make it the whole movie just be in the bombardment from every angle I’m OK with that :-)

[@tabletophobbies.terraintec2697]

@@bsgtrekfan88 its a pity they made the movie where they kept going back and forth between the battle and civi street

[@tabletophobbies.terraintec2697]

@B. Tacktheritrix 100% agreed mate I had to get Letters from Iwo Jima just get the full battle experience