Doomed without naval or air support, Kuribayashi nevertheless proved to be a resolute and resourceful field commander. His only tactical error was to authorize the sector commander to engage the U.S. task force covering underwater demolitions team operations on D-2. This became a gift to the attackers, for it revealed to American gunners the previously masked batteries which otherwise would have slaughtered the assault waves on D-day. Japanese accounts indicate Kuribayashi committed _hara-kari_, the Japanese ritual suicide, in his cave near Kitano Point on 23 March 1945, the 33d day of the battle. “Of all our adversaries in the Pacific,” said General Holland M. Smith, USMC, “Kuribayashi was the most redoubtable.” Said another Marine, “Let’s hope the Japs don’t have any more like him.” ] _D-Day_ Weather conditions around Iwo Jima on D-day morning, 19 February 1945, were almost ideal. At 0645 Admiral Turner signalled “Land the landing force!” [Illustration: _From the Japanese position overlooking the landing beaches and Airfield No. 1, the enemy observers had an unobstructed view of the entire beachhead. From a field sketch by Cpl Daniel L. Winsor, Jr., USMCR, S-2, 25th Marines._ Marine Corps Historical Collection ] Shore bombardment ships did not hesitate to engage the enemy island at near point-blank range. Battleships and cruisers steamed as close as 2,000 yards to level their guns against island targets. Many of the “Old Battleships” had performed this dangerous mission in all theaters of the war. Marines came to recognize and appreciate their contributions. It seemed fitting that the old _Nevada_, raised from the muck and ruin of Pearl Harbor, should lead the bombardment force close ashore. Marines also admired the battleship _Arkansas_, built in 1912, and recently returned from the Atlantic where she had battered German positions at Point du Hoc at Normandy during the epic Allied landing on 6 June 1944. [Illustration: Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 14284 _Members of the 4th Marine Division receive a last-minute briefing before D-day._] Lieutenant Colonels Weller and William W. “Bucky” Buchanan, both artillery officers, had devised a modified form of the “rolling barrage” for use by the bombarding gunships against beachfront targets just before H-Hour. This concentration of naval gunfire would advance progressively as the troops landed, always remaining 400 yards to their front. Air spotters would help regulate the pace. Such an innovation appealed to the three division commanders, each having served in France during World War I. In those days, a good rolling barrage was often the only way to break a stalemate.