The Battle of Iwo Jima (February 19, 1945 – March 26, 1945) was the United States capture of the island of Iwo Jima from Japan, producing some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific Campaign of World War II.

The Japanese positions on the island were heavily fortified, with vast bunkers, hidden artillery, and 18 kilometers (11 mi) of tunnels. Letters from Iwo Jima - World War II Multimedia Database Battle of Iwo Jima Japanese Defense The battle was the first American attack on the Japanese Home Islands and the Imperial soldiers defended their positions tenaciously. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers present at the beginning of the battle, over 20,000 were killed and only 216 taken prisoner. The U.S. invasion, known as Operation Detachment, was charged with the mission of capturing the airfield on Iwo Jima.

The battle was immortalized by Joe Rosenthal"s photograph of the raising of the U.S. flag atop the 166 meter (546 ft) Mount Suribachi by five Marines and one Navy Corpsman. The photograph records the second flag-raising on the mountain, which took place on the fifth day of the 35-day battle. The picture became the iconic image of the battle and has been heavily reproduced.