I am not very well versed on the battle of Iwo Jima. So I wanted to ask a few questions about this scene to some experts. Was General Smith really annoyed with the lack of naval bombardment? Who is he talking to by the name of “Jim”? Would more naval bombardment really have made more of a difference for the poor marines?
I believe even with the ten days of shelling, it wouldn't have helped the Marines with their task of taking Iwo. The Japanese were so dug in with interlocking fields of fire in the mountain (Suribashi) that it made the Marines pay a very high price indeed. Likewise the hidden bunkers and tunnels in and around the airfields also were problematic in eliminating by naval shell fire. The Marines had to take thos position out one by one at great cost. General Smith probably realized he was lucky to even get three days of shelling versus the 10 mentioned earlier. I am not sure who Jim was, but I suspected a staff ops type from Nimitz's staff.
More days of bombardment would only have resulted in moving rocks around on the surface. We would find it a tough nut to crack even with the weapons we have today.
