<P> Japanese combat deaths numbered three times the number of American deaths although, uniquely among Pacific War Marine battles, American total casualties (dead and wounded) exceeded those of the Japanese . Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima at the beginning of the battle, only 216 were taken prisoner, some of whom were captured because they had been knocked unconscious or otherwise disabled . The majority of the remainder were killed in action, although it has been estimated that as many as 3,000 continued to resist within the various cave systems for many days afterwards, eventually succumbing to their injuries or surrendering weeks later . </P> <P> Despite the bloody fighting and severe casualties on both sides, the American victory was assured from the start . Overwhelming American superiority in numbers and arms as well as complete air supremacy--coupled with the impossibility of Japanese retreat or reinforcement, along with sparse food and supplies--permitted no plausible circumstance in which the Americans could have lost the battle . </P> <P> On February 18, 1945, the 133rd Naval Construction Battalion (NCB) joined the Fifth Marine Amphibious Corps and the Fourth Marine Division for the amphibious assault on Iwo Jima . The entire force landed on Iwo Jima on D - Day with the first assault wave led by the Fourth Marine Division . The 133rd NCHB suffered severe casualties during the fight for Iwo Jima, where it distinguished itself in both front - line combat and construction . The 133rd NCHC had 370 casualties, more than 40 percent of the 875 men that landed, the highest casualties as part of a single battle in Seabee history . </P> <P> Joe Rosenthal's Associated Press photograph of the raising of the U.S. flag on top of the 169 m (554 ft) Mount Suribachi by six U.S. Marines became an iconic image of the battle and the American war effort in the Pacific . </P>

Who won the battle of iwo jima and okinawa