Below is a photo of the map. I've given two photos per nation for the major participants, one photo per nation for minor participants. One of Japan's photos went to Yamamoto. The other went to Tadamichi Kuribayashi. Now, I know what you're thinking. Who on Earth was Yamamoto? Just kidding. In 1914, the French believed they could beat the Germans with superior French fighting spirit, élan. The epitome of élan was the bayonet charge. The French learned the hard way why it was a bad idea to charge machine gun posts with bayonets. Japan didn't participate in European trench warfare. It didn't gain the institutional knowledge the European and North American nations had gained during WWI. A Japanese banzai charge in 1942 had a lot in common with a French élan bayonet attack in 1914. Consequently, the U.S. Army achieved favorable exchange rates in its battles against Japan. Tadamichi Kuribayashi broke with Japan's old tactics. If a Japanese-held island was being invaded, Kuribayashi would not contest it at the water's edge. He forbade banzai charges or suicide attacks. His men dug an extensive tunnel network and defended in depth. Iwo Jima was the only major Pacific land battle in which U.S. casualties exceeded those of Japan. Kuribayashi represents Japan's army, just as Yamamoto represents Japan's navy. [image: image.jpeg]