Pacific War Fifth and Thirteenth Air Forces to attack targets throughout the Philippines and the South China Sea. The Battle of Iwo Jima ("Operation Detachment") in February 1945 was one of the bloodiest battles fought by the Americans in the Pacific War. Iwo Jima is an 8 sq mile (21 km) island situated halfway between Tokyo and the Mariana Islands. Holland Smith, the commander of the invasion force, aimed to capture the island and prevent its use as an early-warning station against air raids on the Japanese Home Islands, and to use it as an emergency landing field. Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi,
Structure of the Imperial Japanese forces in the South Pacific Mandate A surface vessel and submarine port, with naval coastal defenses, possessed capacity to receive some Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boat bombers, Nakajima A6M2-N "Rufe" hydrofighters and Aichi E13A1 "Jake" recon-hydroplanes. Makin, Apamama, Betio, and Tarawa Atolls Structure of the Imperial Japanese forces in the South Pacific Mandate This article covers the Japanese garrisons on the by-passed Pacific islands from 1944 to 1945, including the Japanese mandated territory of the South Pacific Mandate. Japanese positions at Kwajalein, Wotje, and Eniwetok (Enewetak) and Roi-Namur Atolls (3,600 Japanese defenders) Mili Wotje Maloelap Atoll Total: 2,000 men Japanese base at Truk, the pivot of