Tanks on Iwo Jima 1945 (New Vanguard, 329)

Most people imagine that the Iwo Jima campaign was strictly an account of Marine infantry advancing uphill under heavy fire and taking horrific casualties. True to a large extent, but there were some pivotal moments---particularly in taking the airfields---where tank support was crucial. There, and throughout the Island War in the post 1942 Pacific, Allied armored forces were (except in Malaya) greatly superior to those of the Japanese, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The Japanese had few anti-tank guns, and didn't even have a truly effective one (the 47mm) until 1944. Their limited numbers of tanks; some of which were actually "tankettes"; were largely obsolescent. Most of the AFV fighting (unlike as in Europe) was at very close quarters, amidst dense foliage, and involved small numbers of tanks or tanks without infantry vs infantry without armored support. Having few tanks and little modern anti-tank equipment, the Japanese developed weapons and tactics to allow soldiers to attach explosives to armored vehicles and take other improvised; often suicidal; point blank anti-tank measures.The author does an excellent job of explaining the above in considerable detail. The text, pictures, and technical descriptions provide insight into the issues as well as absorbing accounts of bravery and suffering. Both on the part of the Marine tankers and a doomed (many of them knew it) enemy trying to entrap and destroy as many of the metallic beasts as they could. It reminded me of Paleolithic hunters trapping mammoths and other large prey in staked pits and weakening them with bleeding wounds, thirst, and starvation before finishing them off. Fortunately, in the Pacific, these tactics often didn't work.A very interesting book about a little known aspect of a well known battle. A must for those interested in a full perspective of armored combat in World War II.

Books of this type tend to be written more for scale model enthusiasts than history buffs, but the information contained nonetheless was quite good. My grandfather was a Sherman tank commander in the battle of Iwo Jima, and through this book I was able to flesh out and even verify some of his accounts.

The tanks the Japanese and Americans brought to Iwo Jima in 1945 were inadequate to the terrain and the ferocity of the fighting. Both sides would be forced to improvise endlessly during the battle. This Osprey New Vanguard entry captures that struggle.By 1945, the Japanese lacked a modern battle tank. The few tanks the Japanese Army did possess tended to become protected pillboxes to slow advancing U.S. troops. The U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima brought their M4's, often extensively modified for the protection of the crews. Both sides' tanks would take a beating in the long struggle over the island.The text has lots of illustrations and period photographs. Some of the detailed illustrations are quite impressive. Well recommended to students of the battle.

thank you

Whilst,in general,the invasion of the home islands has been laboriously covered I haven’t previously seen a great deal about tank use.This edition is welcome and the information is presented in an easily readable format with decent illustrations and photographs.The discussion on Japanese swarming tactics ,and US counter measures,highlights the horrors of this type of very close quarter combat.

Concise narrative with good photos. Especially the adaptations done to the AFV to cope with conditions and enemy!