Rare color film of the Battle of Iwo Jima

The Battle of Iwo Jima took place between the U.S. and Japan in Feb. and Mar. 1945. The U.S. invasion, also known as Operation Detachment, was charged with the mission of capturing the airfields on Iwo Jima.

The battle was marked by some of the toughest fighting of the war. Japanese positions on the island were heavily fortified, with bunkers, hidden artillery, and miles upon miles of tunnels.

The battle was the first American attack on the Japanese Islands and the Japanese defended their positions tenaciously. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers present at the beginning of the battle, over 20,000 were killed and only a few hundred were taken prisoner.

Below is a documentary that includes rare color footage of the battle of Iwo Jima.