Fall of the island's southern defences-Kuribayshi: trying to hold line against the Marines' northward advances-"war of attrition" ("Rifles, flame-throwers, grenades, knives and entrenching tools became their weapons of the moment.")-American artillery becomin useless because Japs hugging close to attacker-waiting "in hidden caves until Marines attempted to thrust ahead, the popped up from behind and attacked with a ferocious determination"-one of the two Japanese memorials remembering the Kamikaze pilots ("On D plus 2, around 50 aircraft of the 2nd Mitate Special Attack Unit took off from Katori airfield near Yokosuka...appeared over Iwo towards evening. The attack lasted three hours, the carrier Bismarck Sea being sunk, and the Saratoga badly damaged and forced to return to Pearl Harbor. A third carrier, Lunga Point, was also hit as were the Keokuk and LST 477. There were no Japanese survivors.")-Message of Kuribayashi: "All surviving fighting positions have sustained heavy losses, but fighting spirit still running high. Inflicting great damage on enemy."-"We inflict enemy losses of 798 men and one tank."-"Captured documents say enemy is 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions...in northern district one aircraft shot down, 200 men killed."-AFTER THE BATTLE, number 82.
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