thedrifter
01-17-06, 12:40 PM
‘Howlin’ Mad’ Smith led Marines at Iwo
By Robert F. Dorr and Fred L. Borch
Special to the Times
Holland M. Smith was an aggressive officer whose unusual first name and middle initial — and hard-charging approach to both training and fighting — earned him the nickname “Howlin’ Mad.”
His success in amphibious warfare, demonstrated at Tarawa in 1943 and Iwo Jima in 1945, made him a major figure in the Pacific during World War II and a legend in Marine history.
When the U.S. entered World War I, Smith, who was a captain at the time, served in a machine-gun company with 5th Marines and fought with great bravery in France at Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Oise and Meuse-Argonne. He remained in Germany with occupation forces after the armistice before returning to the U.S. in 1919.
Over the next 20 years, Smith held a number of staff, training and school assignments. In the 1920s, he became the first Marine officer to serve on the Joint Army-Navy Planning Committee. In the 1930s, he was exposed to amphibious warfare when he participated in studies of amphibious tactics and equipment. Smith’s early work on specialized landing craft and amphibious tractors was a major factor in his later success during World War II.
After World War II broke out, Smith, by then a major general, focused his energies on training Marines in amphibious warfare. In June 1943, he took command of the V Amphibious Force, which consisted of the 2nd and 4th Marine divisions.
In November 1943, Smith led the assault on a Japanese-held atoll in the Gilbert Islands. The island was named Betio, but it is commonly referred to by the name of the atoll to which it belonged — Tarawa.
On the island, 4,700 well-trained Japanese soldiers were solidly dug in, some under 8-foot concrete fortifications, to defend against about 10,000 Marines.
Initially, the battle’s outcome seemed in doubt. Smith’s decision to provide additional amphibious tractors and gun support eventually wrested a difficult victory, but seizing Tarawa took four days and cost 1,009 lives. Lessons learned at “bloody Tarawa” made future amphibious landings easier.
In June 1944, Smith attacked Japanese forces on the Mariana atolls of Saipan and Tinian, and the island of Guam. At Saipan, he caused a major rupture in relations with the Army. Convinced that Army Maj. Gen. Ralph Smith of the 27th Infantry Division was not aggressive enough in attacking the enemy, “Howlin Mad” Smith relieved his Army comrade of command.
Bitterness threatened future cooperation between the Marine Corps and Army. However, Smith’s success in the Marianas earned him a promotion to lieutenant general in 1944 and command of the newly created Fleet Marine Force.
In February 1945, Smith again demonstrated his ferocious nature when he personally led Marines ashore at Iwo Jima. Despite fanatical resistance and heavy losses, he and his men ultimately captured the island.
Smith retired as a general in June 1946 as only the third Marine to earn four stars.
He died in San Diego on Jan. 12, 1967.
By Robert F. Dorr and Fred L. Borch
Special to the Times
Holland M. Smith was an aggressive officer whose unusual first name and middle initial — and hard-charging approach to both training and fighting — earned him the nickname “Howlin’ Mad.”
His success in amphibious warfare, demonstrated at Tarawa in 1943 and Iwo Jima in 1945, made him a major figure in the Pacific during World War II and a legend in Marine history.
When the U.S. entered World War I, Smith, who was a captain at the time, served in a machine-gun company with 5th Marines and fought with great bravery in France at Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, Oise and Meuse-Argonne. He remained in Germany with occupation forces after the armistice before returning to the U.S. in 1919.
Over the next 20 years, Smith held a number of staff, training and school assignments. In the 1920s, he became the first Marine officer to serve on the Joint Army-Navy Planning Committee. In the 1930s, he was exposed to amphibious warfare when he participated in studies of amphibious tactics and equipment. Smith’s early work on specialized landing craft and amphibious tractors was a major factor in his later success during World War II.
After World War II broke out, Smith, by then a major general, focused his energies on training Marines in amphibious warfare. In June 1943, he took command of the V Amphibious Force, which consisted of the 2nd and 4th Marine divisions.
In November 1943, Smith led the assault on a Japanese-held atoll in the Gilbert Islands. The island was named Betio, but it is commonly referred to by the name of the atoll to which it belonged — Tarawa.
On the island, 4,700 well-trained Japanese soldiers were solidly dug in, some under 8-foot concrete fortifications, to defend against about 10,000 Marines.
Initially, the battle’s outcome seemed in doubt. Smith’s decision to provide additional amphibious tractors and gun support eventually wrested a difficult victory, but seizing Tarawa took four days and cost 1,009 lives. Lessons learned at “bloody Tarawa” made future amphibious landings easier.
In June 1944, Smith attacked Japanese forces on the Mariana atolls of Saipan and Tinian, and the island of Guam. At Saipan, he caused a major rupture in relations with the Army. Convinced that Army Maj. Gen. Ralph Smith of the 27th Infantry Division was not aggressive enough in attacking the enemy, “Howlin Mad” Smith relieved his Army comrade of command.
Bitterness threatened future cooperation between the Marine Corps and Army. However, Smith’s success in the Marianas earned him a promotion to lieutenant general in 1944 and command of the newly created Fleet Marine Force.
In February 1945, Smith again demonstrated his ferocious nature when he personally led Marines ashore at Iwo Jima. Despite fanatical resistance and heavy losses, he and his men ultimately captured the island.
Smith retired as a general in June 1946 as only the third Marine to earn four stars.
He died in San Diego on Jan. 12, 1967.