Iwo Jima was the US Marine Corps's toughest ever battle and a turning point in the Pacific war. In February 1945, three Marine Divisions stormed the island's shores in what was supposed to be a ten-day battle, but they had reckoned without General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the enemy commander. Do not plan for my return, he wrote in one of his letters to his wife. He knew that he and his garrison could not defeat the Marines, but he was determined to exact a fearful toll in American casualties. In the 36-day battle for Iwo Jima, which eclipsed all that had gone before, the Marines lost nearly 6000 men and the enemy garrison was virtually wiped out. This history draws upon letters, photographs and drawings by General Kuribayashi and is supported by many other eyewitness accounts - including that of Paul Tibbetts, pilot of the Enola Gay, and the true story, from Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, of the famous flag-raising on Mount Suribachi. The text is illustrated with over 80 photographs and includes maps showing the locations of defences and the progress of the battle; drawings of the principal tanks and aircraft of the campaign; and reproductions of the paintings by Col Charles Waterhouse USMC (Ret), the former official artist to the US Marine Corps.