- Table View
- List View
Marine Tank Battles In The Pacific
by Oscar E. GilbertNo previous book has been devoted to Marine Corps armor in World War II. Gilbert's gripping narrative combines exhaustive detail on Marine armor and combat with moving eyewitness accounts, never before published, of what it was actually like to be a Marine tanker in action in the Pacific.
Marine!: The Life of Chesty Puller
by Burke DavisThe gripping story of an extraordinary American hero, the most decorated man in US Marine Corps history, from a New York Times–bestselling author.&“We are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can&’t get away from us now!&” —Lewis B. &“Chesty&” Puller, USMC In the glorious chronicles of the US Marine Corps, no name is more revered than that of Lt. Gen. Lewis B. &“Chesty&” Puller. The only fighting man to receive the Navy Cross five separate times—a military honor second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor—he was the epitome of a professional warrior. A son of the South, descendant of Robert E. Lee, and cousin to George S. Patton, Puller began his enlisted career during World War I and moved up through the ranks as he proved his battlefield mettle in Haiti and Nicaragua, with the Horse Marines in Peking, in the Pacific Theater of World War II, and in the nightmarish winter engagements of the Korean War. Fearless and seemingly indestructible, adored by the troops he championed yet forced into early retirement by a high command that resented his &“lowly&” beginnings and unwillingness to play politics, Puller remains one of most towering figures in American military history. Bestselling military biographer Burke Davis paints the definitive portrait of this extraordinary marine hero.
Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit
by Tom ClancyAn in-depth look at the United States Marine Corps-in the New York Times bestselling tradition of Submarine, Armored Cav, and Fighter WingOnly the best of the best can be Marines. <P><P>And only Tom Clancy can tell their story--thefascinating real-life facts more compelling than any fiction. Clancy presents a unique insider's look at the most hallowed branch of the Armed Forces, and the men and women who serve on America's front lines.Marine includes:An interview with the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Charles "Chuck" Krulak The tools and technology of the Marine Expeditionary Unit
Marineland
by Cheryl Messinger Terran McginnisMarine Studios made history on June 23, 1938, when over 30,000 people crowded a quiet stretch of Florida coastline near St. Augustine to witness sea life, as it had never been seen before--through 200 underwater portholes. Developed by three innovative entrepreneurs with ties to Hollywood, the newly coined term "oceanarium" described their novel concept as a place where marine life existed together. As the world's first oceanarium, Marine Studios sparked the country's imagination, displaying rare and unusual creatures in daily performances that included brave divers hand feeding sharks and handsome sailors presenting friendly dolphins in amazing aerial feats. Behind the scenes, Marine Studios perfected scientific innovations, breeding and raising the first dolphin calf, discovering dolphin echolocation, and featuring Flippy, the first trained dolphin in the world's first dolphin show!
Mariner: A Theological Voyage with Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Studies in Theology and the Arts)
by Malcolm GuiteInstead of the cross, the Albatross About my neck was hung.
Mariners Are Warned!
by Marsden HordernJohn Lort Stokes was commissioned by the British Hydrographic Office in 1837 to survey and chart unknown parts of the Australian coastline. He was the last Royal Navy surveyor to hold such a roving commission-as had Matthew Flinders and Phillip Parker King before him. The voyage lasted six years and his ship was H.M.S. Beagle, of Charles Darwin fame. Stokes circumnavigated Australia twice. In the north he discovered the Fitzroy, Albert and Flinders rivers and Port Darwin, and in the south charted that graveyard of sailing ships, Bass Strait. A century later, twelve of his charts were still in use. The occasional breathtaking foolhardiness of this earnest and conscientious man startles the reader, as it must have done his men. On a whim, Stokes twice risked drowning himself and others with him, and he made several daredevil escapes from crocodiles. The stories are gripping, and Marsden Hordern is a gifted and vigorous storyteller. He is ably assisted by the ship's mate, Helpman-a chatty, witty chronicler. Mariners are Warned! is an engrossing biography, written with empathy by a fellow mariner. Winner of the Age Book of the Year; Victorian Premier's Literary Award (A. A. Phillips Award for Australian Studies); Braille Book of the Year; Australian Maritime History Prize. Companion volume to King of the Australian Coast, another prize-winning maritime biography by the same author.
Marines (Special Forces: Protecting, Building, Te)
by Jack MontanaIn September 2001, in response to terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C., the American forces, including the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), were put on the highest level of military alert since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. These soldiers are among the toughest in the world; the prestige of the unit is second to none. The entry system for new recruits is a supreme test--only about 25 percent make the grade. Over the course of an intensive 40-week "basic" training program, trainers shout at new recruits, force them to run for miles, deprive them of sleep for days at a time, and require them to make decisions almost every waking minute. This book teaches you what it takes to become a U.S. Marine. It is a grueling challenge that only the strongest survive. You need: * intelligence * self-control * courage * knowledge * resistance to pain and discomfort * team spirit
Marines In World War II - Bougainville And The Northern Solomons [Illustrated Edition]
by General C. B. Cates USMC Major John N. Rentz USMCRContains 51 photos and 28 maps and charts.The fight to remove the barriers protecting the main base of the Japanese in New Guinea at Rabaul, was characterized by brutal jungle fighting attritional warfare of the worst sort and required every bit of toughness from the Marines that landed there."BOUGAINVILLE AND THE NORTHERN SOLOMONS is a narrative not only of Marines against the Japanese, but of Marines against the jungle. In all the past history of the Corps, whether it be Nicaragua, Haiti, or Guadalcanal, it is improbable that Marine units ever faced and defeated such an implacable combination of terrain and hostile opposition.In this struggle, as always, superior training, discipline, determination and unquestioning will to win on the part of individual Marines were the crucial factors. Indeed, those same factors may be said to constitute common denominators of victory under any circumstances, whether jungle or atoll, on the ground or in the air. -C. B. CATES, GENERAL, U. S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS"
Marines In World War II - Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic [Illustrated Edition]
by General Lemuel C. Shepherd USMC Lt. Col. Whitman S. Bartley USMCOn the 19th Feb. 1945, the first Marines landed on Iwo Jima, the first enemy troops to invade Japanese home territory; many of those brave soldiers would never leave the black volcanic sands again as they fought and died in the U.S. Marine Corps toughest ever battle.Contains 100 photos and 26 maps and charts."The assault on Iwo Jima came as a smashing climax to the 16-month drive that carried the amphibious forces of the U.S. across the Central Pacific to within 660 miles of Tokyo. Striking first at Tarawa in November 1943, American forces had swept rapidly westward, seizing only those islands essential for support of future operations. Many powerful enemy strongholds were bypassed and neutralized. By the fall of 1944 the small but heavily fortified island of Iwo Jima, lying midway between the Marianas and the heart of the Japanese Empire, had assumed such strategic importance that its rapid seizure became imperative. Neutralization would not suffice; Iwo must become an operational U.S. base."At Iwo Jima the amphibious doctrines, techniques, weapons, and equipment which had proven so effective during the three previous years of World War II received the supreme test. On that island more than 20,000 well-disposed and deeply entrenched Japanese troops conducted an intelligent and dogged defense. There, more than anywhere else in the Central Pacific, terrain and enemy defense preparations combined to limit the effectiveness of American supporting arms, placing a premium on the skill and aggressive fighting spirit of the individual Marine.There can be no more fitting tribute than the well-known words of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, "Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island uncommon valor was a common virtue."-Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., General, U.S.M.C.
Marines In World War II - Marine Aviation In The Philippines [Illustrated Edition]
by General C. B. Cates USMC Major Charles W. Boggs Jr. USMCContains 58 photos and 10 maps and charts."The return of Allied forces to the Philippines in the fall of 1944 further throttled Japan's already tenuous pipe line to the rich resources of Malaya and the Netherlands Indies, and with it the last vestige of her ability to meet the logistical requirements of a continuing war. The Battle for Leyte Gulf marked the end of Japan as a naval power, forcing her to adopt the desperation kamikaze tactic against the United States Fleets.The Philippine victories were primarily Army and Navy operations. Marines, comprising only a fraction of the total forces engaged, played a secondary but significant role in the overall victory. The campaign was important to the Corps in that the Marine aviators, who had battled two years for air control over the Solomons, moved into a new role, their first opportunity to test on a large scale the fundamental Marine doctrine of close air support for ground troops in conventional land operations. This test they passed with credit, and Marine flyers contributed materially to the Philippine victory. Lessons learned and techniques perfected in those campaigns form an important chapter in our present-day close air support doctrines."-C. B. CATES, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS
Marines In World War II - Marines At Midway [Illustrated Edition]
by Lieutenant Colonel R.D. Heinl Jr. USMC General C. B. Cates USMCThe story of the Marines during the pivotal campaign of the Pacific that culminated at the Battle of Midway.Contains 25 photos and 3 maps and charts."The name Midway means much to Marines. At the very outset of war, when Midway's sole garrison consisted of a Fleet Marine Force defense battalion stationed there in advance of hostilities, the Japanese found that here, as at Wake, Marines were ready. Subsequently, in the battle of Midway, the heroism of Marine fighter and dive-bomber pilots, who attacked effectively and unhesitatingly against tremendous odds, demonstrated once again that courage and discipline are among the high traditions of our Corps.There is another lesson to be derived from the Marine story of Midway, however, and that is the unity of the Fleet Marine Force as a completely integrated air-ground team. This, too, is traditional, but it has never been better demonstrated than by the integration of Marine artillery and infantry (who secured the base) with Marine air which struck the first blow at the Japanese carriers from that base. While Marine fighters were slashing at enemy air, Marine artillerymen were shooting the Japanese planes down, and Marine dive bombers were harrying the enemy fleet.This coordinated interaction by land and sea and air embodied the time-tried and proven doctrines of the Marine Corps in one of its primary fields: that of the defense of advanced bases. To all students of this subject, I commend the story of Marines at Midway." C.B. Cates, Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Marines In World War II - Marines In The Central Solomons [Illustrated Edition]
by Major John N. Rentz USMCR General Lemuel C. Shepherd USMCContains 90 photos and 18 maps and charts."In the grand strategy of the Pacific War, the Central Solomons operation constituted only a short step in the overall advance on Japan. But in the neutralization of Rabaul, Japan's key holding in her "Southeastern Area," this campaign played a vital role.By early 1943 the Central Solomons area might be described as an amphibious no man's land lying between Rabaul and the new Allied citadel of Guadalcanal, across which the two antagonists exchanged air and naval blows. The Japanese, by increasing the strength of their garrisons in New Georgia, had already begun their effort to control this strategic area. The Allied campaign that followed was designed to drive them out and establish a forward base from which Rabaul could be brought under constant assault.It is a source of extreme pride to me that those Marines who participated in the Central Solomons operations acquitted themselves with such distinction. Despite the most adverse weather, terrain and climate, the enemy was driven out and the mission finally accomplished. Growing out of this campaign was an extremely significant sense of mutual admiration between the Army, Navy and Marine troops involved.-LEMUEL C. SHEPHERD, JR. GENERAL, U. S. MARINE CORPS COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS"
Marines In World War II - Okinawa: Victory In The Pacific [Illustrated Edition]
by Henry I. Shaw Jr. Major Chas. S. Nichols Jr. USMCContains 86 photos and 42 maps and charts.The story of part played by the United States Marines in the largest amphibious assault of the entire Pacific War during World War II. The battle lasted an exhausting and bloody 82 days from early April until mid-June 1945. The legendarily tough defence of the Japanese soldiers and citizens was matched by the American troops in the last major campaign that had led all the way from Pearl Harbor to the Home Islands of Japan.“After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 mi (550 km) away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland (coded Operation Downfall). Four divisions of the U.S. 10th Army (the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th) and two Marine Divisions (the 1st and 6th) fought on the island while the 2nd Marine Division remained as an amphibious reserve and was never brought ashore. The invasion was supported by naval, amphibious, and tactical air forces.The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or tetsu no bōfū ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and to the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Japan lost over 100,000 soldiers, who were either killed, captured or committed suicide, and the Allies suffered more than 65,000 casualties of all kinds. Simultaneously, tens of thousands of local civilians were killed, wounded, or committed suicide. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused Japan to surrender less than two months after the end of the fighting at Okinawa.”-Wiki
Marines In World War II - Saipan: The Beginning Of The End [Illustrated Edition]
by General C. B. Cates USMC Major Carl W. Hoffman USMCOn the outcome of the Battle of Saipain hung the fate of the Pacific War, if the Japanese were to lost this island then the Home Islands would finally be in range of serious American bombing. As the fanatical resistance of the Japanese was raised to fever pitch by the exhortations of the high command, whilst the Marines who had learnt hard lessons on assault landings knew that the capture of Saipan could shorten the war immeasurably; so was set one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Pacific Campaign. The Japanese fought with insane courage, leading to massed banzai charges and civilian suicides; matches by the gritty determination of the experienced Marines to conquer.Contains 103 photos and 24 maps and charts."SAIPAN was one of the key operations in the Pacific War; key because it unlocked vast potentialities to the United States in projecting its might against the Japanese homeland; key because it opened the door of distance which had meant security to the Empire. Invasion of Saipan provided the supreme challenge in which the enemy was forced to select one of two alternatives: conserve his naval resources for a later decision, leaving uncontested this penetration of his inner defense; or lash out in a vicious, showdown fight. The fact that he chose the latter course, and suffered a resounding defeat, is now history.The conquest of Saipan was, among Pacific operations up to that time, the most clear-cut decisive triumph of combined arms of the United States over the Japanese. By June 1944, U. S. forces, long superior in quality of personnel and organization, were finally greatly superior in materiel with which to fight. Victory at Saipan made this apparent to all."-C. B. CATES, GENERAL, U. S. MARINE CORPS., COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS.
Marines In World War II - The Assault On Peleliu [Illustrated Edition]
by General Lemuel C. Shepherd USMC Major F. O. Hough USMCAs the Marines ran into the shore of the coral reefed island of Peleliu in their landing craft the Japanese artillery that wreathed the landing beach of Peleliu gave them little confidence in the words of their commander General Rupertus that the operation would be hard but short with minimal casualties; what lay ahead would be what was known as "the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines".Contains 70 photos and 23 maps and charts."Many factors combined to make the assault on Peleliu one of the least understood operations of World War II. Yet it was one of the most vicious and stubbornly contested, and nowhere was the fighting efficiency of the U.S. Marine more convincingly demonstrated.At Peleliu the enemy proved that he had profited from his bitter experiences of earlier operations. He applied intelligently the lessons we had taught him in the Solomons, Gilberts, Marshalls, and Marianas. At Peleliu the enemy made no suicidal banzai charges to hasten the decision; he carefully concealed his plans and dispositions. He nursed from his inferior strength the last ounce of resistance and delay, to extract the maximum cost from his conquerers. In these respects Peleliu differed significantly from previous campaigns and set the pattern for things to come: Iwo Jima and Okinawa.Because the operation protracted itself over a period of nearly two and a half months, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the strategic objective was accomplished within the first week: neutralization of the entire Palaus group, and with this, securing of the Philippines approaches."-C. B. CATES, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS.
Marines In World War II - The Battle For Tarawa [Illustrated Edition]
by General A. A. Vandegrift USMC Capt. James R. StockmanThe Story of the bloody brutal Battle of Tarawa, also known by its codename Operation Galvanic, was the first time that the Americans and principally the Marine Corps faced serious opposition to a seaborne landing.Contains 30 photos and 12 maps and charts."Tarawa was the first in a series of amphibious operations which carried United States forces across the Central Pacific to the homeland of Japan. When the 2d Marine Division landed on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll on 20 November 1943, twenty years of Marine Corps study and work, already tested at Guadalcanal and at Bougainville, was put to an acid test.Tarawa was the first example in history of a sea-borne assault against a heavily defended coral atoll. Marine preparations for this operation were thorough; its plans were executed in a noteworthy manner. In the final analysis, however, success at Tarawa depended upon the discipline, courage, and fighting ability of the individual Marine. Seldom has anyone been called upon to fight a battle under more difficult circumstances.In capturing Tarawa, the 2d Marine Division accomplished a difficult mission in an expeditious manner. Seventy-six hours after the assault troops landed in the face of heavy resistance, the battle was over and an important base secured with the annihilation of its defending garrison.Of even greater importance, however, was the fact that this successful operation underlined the soundness of our doctrines of amphibious assault. The lessons learned and confirmed at Tarawa paid great dividends in every subsequent operation from the Marshalls to the shores of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.-A.A. VANDEGRIFT, General, U.S. Marine Corps, Commandant of the Marine Corps"
Marines In World War II - The Campaign On New Britain [Illustrated Edition]
by General Lemuel C. Shepherd USMC Major John A. Crown Lt. Col. Frank O. Hough USMCRAs the might of the U.S. forces drove the Japanese back toward the Home Islands the Marines embarked on another tough campaign in the jungles of New Britain and the centre for Japanese forces at Rabaul.Contains 114 photos and 20 maps and charts."Aside from my own participation, I have always felt a keen interest in the New Britain operation. Here, apparently, military teamwork came near to perfection. Here it would seem that all arms co-operated so smoothly as to make the result easy.The truth is that nothing was easy on New Britain. Jungle, swamp and mountain combined with atrocious weather to multiply problems of time and space. Then, too, the Japanese held an inestimable advantage in their familiarity with the terrain-an advantage which they exploited with no little skill. It took maneuver on our part to cope with this phalanx of difficulties, and before the fighting ended it had sprawled over more territory than any other Marine campaign of the war.There is no such thing as a "light" casualty list, and more than 300 Marines paid with their lives in New Britain's fetid jungle. But viewed in the light of numbers engaged, ground gained, and enemy losses, it was not a costly victory. On the contrary, the fighting that ranged from Cape Gloucester to Talasea ranks as one of the most economical operations in the entire Pacific."-LEMUEL C. SHEPHERD, JR., GENERAL, U. S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS
Marines In World War II - The Defense Of Wake [Illustrated Edition]
by Lieutenant Colonel R.D. Heinl Jr. USMC General A. A. Vandegrift USMCContains 23 photos and 8 maps and charts.The story of the immortal heroic defence of the American outpost on Wake Island by a handful of marines and civilians against an overwhelming forces of the Japanese."During December 1941, the stubborn defense of Wake by less than 450 Marines galvanized not only the American public but their comrades in arms. In days of disaster then, as of uncertainty later, the thought of Wake and its defenders encouraged Marines to hang on longer, and to fight more resolutely. Small in time and numbers though the action was by comparison with Guadalcanal or the other great battles to come, Wake will never be forgotten."To my mind, in addition to the obvious military lessons which may be drawn from any battle, be it victory or defeat, the defense of Wake points up two soldierly characteristics which may well be remembered by Marines. These are military adaptability, and the realization that, first and always one must be prepared to face ultimate close ground combat with the enemy."The officers and men of the 1st Defense Battalion on Wake were artillerymen of a highly specialized type; those of VMF-211 were aviation technicians. neither group let its specialized training or background prevent it from fighting courageously and well as basic infantry when the chips were down. Despite its specialization, each group did the best it could with what it had."These capabilities and attributes, I submit, should characterize Marines now as they characterized those Marines on Wake, who, though they were outnumbers and eventually overwhelmed, were never outfought.-A.A. VANDEGRIFT, General, U.S. Marine Corps"
Marines In World War II - The Guadalcanal Campaign [Illustrated Edition]
by General A. A. Vandegrift USMC Major John L. Zimmerman USMCRContains 88 photos illustrations and maps."We struck at Guadalcanal to halt the advance of the Japanese. We did not know how strong he was, nor did we know his plans. We knew only that he was moving down the island chain and that he had to be stopped.We were as well trained and as well armed as time and our peacetime experience allowed us to be. We needed combat to tell us how effective our training, our doctrines, and our weapons had been.We tested them against the enemy, and we found that they worked. From that moment in 1942, the tide turned, and the Japanese never again advanced.-A.A. Vandergrift, General U.S. Marine Corps"Major John L. Zimmerman, USMCR
Marines In World War II - The Marshalls: Increasing The Tempo [Illustrated Edition]
by Lieutenant Colonel R.D. Heinl Jr. USMC General Lemuel C. Shepherd USMC Lieutenant Colonel John A. CrownThis book tells the story of the Marines spearheading the thrust through the Japanese outer ring of defences and recounts the brutal and important island-hopping Pacific campaign at its most gripping following the bloodbath at Tarawa.Contains 97 photos and 16 maps and charts.“As 1943 drew to a close, Marines had retaken Tarawa and portions of the Solomons from the Japanese invader, but the formidable enemy bases studding the vast Pacific, bases which had been built during the preceding 25 years, were as yet untouched by our amphibious forces.In early 1944 the first penetration of this prewar enemy territory was accomplished with the assault and occupation of Kwajalein and Majuro Atolls in the Marshall Islands. These were quickly followed by the seizure of Eniwetok Atoll. The major role in these over-all operations was undertaken by Marine units working in close coordination with elements of the Army, Navy, and Coast Guard. That they acquitted themselves with distinction is reflected in the rapidity with which they accomplished their missions. Operations in the Marshall Islands clearly indicated that Japanese bases in the Central Pacific could be by-passed. The way was now open for the neutralization of Truk and the assault on the Marianas, the next great step in the drive toward Japan.”-LEMUEL C. SHEPHERD, JR., GENERAL, U. S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS
Marines In World War II - The Recapture Of Guam [Illustrated Edition]
by USMC General Lemuel C. Shepherd USMC Major O.R. LodgeSet in the Marianas group of islands is the American possession of Guam, U.S. territory since 1898; it was the captured by the Japanese soon after the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor and served as a symbol of the Japanese expansion. The American Forces sailed into view of Guam in 1944 determined to recapture the island for strategic and political purposes, but knew that the Japanese defenders take a heavy toll of them from their prepared positions. The story of the capture of the island is an epic of courage, bloodshed, fierce resistance by the Japanese and the indomitable will to conquer of the U.S. Marines.Contains 99 photos and 32 maps and charts."I have always had a feeling of deep satisfaction in having been the commander of one of the assault elements that returned the American flag to Guam. The island once more stands ready to fulfill its destiny as an American fortress in the Pacific.The conquest of Guam was a decisive triumph of combined arms over a formidable Japanese defensive force which took full advantage of the island's rugged terrain.The heroic action of the veteran Marines who seized Orote Peninsula and Apra Harbor gave the Navy a much-needed advance base for further operations in the Pacific. Once marine and Army units captured northern Guam, engineers moved in and out from the jungle the airfields from which the Twentieth Air Force launched B-29 raids, bringing the full realization of war to the Japanese homeland."-LEMUEL C. SHEPHERD, JR., GENERAL, U. S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS
Marines In World War II - The Seizure Of Tinian [Illustrated Edition]
by General C. B. Cates USMC Major Carl W. Hoffman USMCDuring the Second World War the American forces in the Pacific engaged in the greatest series of amphibious assaults ever known against tenacious Japanese foe. Many of the assaults turned into brutal bloody encounters, marred often by a lack of experience in these difficult operations against extensive prepared positions; Tinian proved to be the most successful of all of the seaborne operations of the Pacific War.Contains 66 photos and 13 maps and charts.“TINIAN is a small island. In 1944 it was held by only 9,000 Japanese. Yet it was so well defended by nature against an amphibious operation that it might have proved a formidable and costly barrier to the final conquest of the Marianas. It had only one beach area suitable-by previous standards-for a major amphibious landing and that beach was heavily mined and skillfully defended.“The enemy, although long alerted to our intentions to attack Tinian, was tactically surprised when we avoided his prepared defenses and landed on two small beaches totalling in width only about 220 yards. Before he could recover from the shock, he was out-numbered and out-equipped on his own island. His subsequent effort to throw us into the water resulted in complete failure. We then pushed the length of the island in nine days, while suffering casualties light in comparison with those of most other island conquests.“As a participant in the operation, I naturally take pride in this achievement, as well as in Admiral Raymond A. Spruance’s evaluation: "In my opinion, the Tinian operation was probably the most brilliantly conceived and executed amphibious operation in World War II."”-C. B. CATES, GENERAL, U. S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS
Marines Under Armor
by Kenneth EstesIn this story of men, machines and missions, Kenneth Estes tells how the U.S. Marine Corps came to acquire the armored fighting vehicle and what it tried to do with it. The longtime Marine tank officer and noted military historian offers an insider's view of the Corps's acquisition and use of armored fighting vehicles over the course of several generations, a view that illustrates the characteristics of the Corps as a military institution and of the men who have guided its development. His book examines the planning, acquisition, and employment of tanks, amphibian tractors, and armored cars and explores the ideas that led to the fielding of these weapons systems along with the doctrines and tactics intended for them, and their actual use in combat.Drawing on archival resources previously untouched by researchers and interviews of both past and serving crewmen, Estes presents a unique and unheralded story that is filled with new information and analysis of the armored vehicles, their leaders, and the men who drove these steel chariots into battle. Such authoritative detail and documentation of the decisions to acquire, develop, and organize armored units in the U.S. Marine Corps assures the book's acknowledgement as a definitive reference.
Marines and Renegades
by Gene RackovitchIn December 1945, two Japanese soldiers on Guam attempted to surrender to a patrol of US Marines. The marines, assuming them to be armed, shot and killed them. Another Japanese soldier witnessed the incident from the jungle. He fled, and his previous assessment of the treacherous Americans was enhanced. His zeal for retribution became ingrained in his psyche. In September 1946, four marines on a routine patrol on Guam seek renegade Japanese who had been stealing from the outlying villages. They're ambushed, and among the fighters is the zealous Japanese soldier. The incident brings about a chain of events that leaves the reader wondering . . . who are the true renegades? The marines or the Japanese?
Marines in Vietnam: The Illustrated History of the American Soldier, His Uniform and His Equipment (G.I. #Vol. 28)
by Christopher J. AndersonThis illustrated series presents the uniforms and equipment of the United States Army from the nineteenth century to the present day. Each volume combines detailed and informative captions with over 100 rare and unusual images. These books are a must for anyone interested in American military uniforms and the history of the United States Army.On the morning of March 8th, 1965, the men of the United States Marine Corps prepared to land on Red Beach II in the Republic of Vietnam. The resulting conflict became the most protracted war of the Corps' history. The Marines evolved through early, nervous attempts to fend off the North Vietnamese enemy, to 'hearts and minds' programmes with the local population, and the larger operations Hastings and Dewey Canyon, where fighting resembled some of the worst in the Pacific arena of World War II. This illustrated guide brings together more than 100 rare and unusual photographs to demonstrate the uniforms, insignia and equipment of the U.S.M.C., including the M14 rifle (later replaced by the M16); grenades, mines and flamethrowers; body armor flak jackets, helmets, camouflage and jungle boots; and transports such as the LVTP-5, Sea Knight and Chinook.