Marines In World War II - Marines At Midway [Illustrated Edition]

Marines In World War II - Marines At Midway [Illustrated Edition]
Author: Lieutenant Colonel R.D. Heinl Jr. USMC
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2014-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782892761

The 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 - The Defense Of Wake [Illustrated Edition]

Marines In World War II - The Defense Of Wake [Illustrated Edition]
Author: Lieutenant Colonel R.D. Heinl Jr. USMC
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 172
Release: 2014-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782892753

Contains 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 - Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic [Illustrated Edition]

Marines In World War II - Iwo Jima: Amphibious Epic [Illustrated Edition]
Author: Lt. Col. Whitman S. Bartley USMC
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 725
Release: 2014-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782892842

On 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.

The US Marines in World War II

The US Marines in World War II
Author: J. Michael Wenger
Publisher: e-artnow
Total Pages: 1302
Release: 2020-01-09
Genre: History
ISBN:

This edition represents a thoroughly written history of Marines' military campaigns in Europe, Africa and the Pacific during the Second World War. Marines played a central role in the Pacific War, along with the U.S. Army. The battles of Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Tarawa, Guam, Tinian, Cape Gloucester, Saipan, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa saw fierce fighting between Marines and the Imperial Japanese Army. By the end of the war, the Corps expanded from two brigades to six divisions, five air wings and supporting troops, totaling about 485,000 Marines. In addition, 20 defense battalions and a parachute battalion were raised. Nearly 87,000 Marines were casualties during World War II, and 82 were awarded the Medal of Honor. Contents: Origin of the Marine Corps The Marine Corps on the Eve of War Marines Defending American Soil Pearl Harbor Battle of Wake Island Marines Campaign in Europe and Africa Europe and North Africa Defense of Iceland Marines Campaign in the Pacific Rim Defense of the Philippines Solomon Islands Campaign Guadalcanal Campaign Marshall Islands Campaign Battle of Tarawa Battle of Cape Gloucester Battle of Saipan Battle of Guam Battle of Peleliu Battle of Tinian Liberation of the Philippines Marines Campaign in Japan Battle of Iwo Jima Battle of Okinawa Occupation of Japan

Marines In World War II - Saipan: The Beginning Of The End [Illustrated Edition]

Marines In World War II - Saipan: The Beginning Of The End [Illustrated Edition]
Author: Major Carl W. Hoffman USMC
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 868
Release: 2014-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782892834

On 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 Recapture Of Guam [Illustrated Edition]

Marines In World War II - The Recapture Of Guam [Illustrated Edition]
Author: Major O.R. Lodge, USMC
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 628
Release: 2014-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782892869

Set 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 Guadalcanal Campaign [Illustrated Edition]

Marines In World War II - The Guadalcanal Campaign [Illustrated Edition]
Author: Major John L. Zimmerman USMCR
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 605
Release: 2014-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 178289280X

Contains 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 Commemorative Series Illustrated (1937 - Tarawa)

Marines in World War II Commemorative Series Illustrated (1937 - Tarawa)
Author: Jay F. Hooper
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2014-08-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781500668884

This is a book about my father Jared J. Hooper during some of his WWII years (enlistment through Tarawa). I used three of the pamphlets in the Marines in World War II Commemorative Series to highlight these years (all of the title page information is in appendix -b- in the back of the book).If something in the text affected him directly it is highlighted in bold. Timeline markers and other events that impacted him are set off with a different font.Even though I have his complete USMC personnel record the information about his enlisted years is practically nonexistent in it, while his time as a warrant officer is quite extensive at times.I have relied on the stories that he told me as a child and a teenager (he talked about WWII only if I asked him about something). I have also found some US Marine Corps muster rolls to fill in some of the storyline of who, what, where, and when. The one confusing battle timeline is the Guadalcanal and Tulagi operation as he was originally discharged from the service on July 31, 1942 on board ship just about a week before the operation started (his enlistment was up). He re-upped of course but he was temporarily attached and detached several times in the confusion of the landings, the Navy leaving Guadalcanal after an intense naval engagement, the ensuing battles, and his utilization by various outfits due to his scout sniper training.In this book I have started with his time as a ranch hand in Wyoming in 1937. He did heed Horace Greeley who said, "Go west, young man." My father then told me tongue in cheek that "I walked down the wrong side of a street in Denver one day in 1938 and I ended up joining the Marine Corps." His enlistment date is Aug. 1, 1938.Then there was time spent at both the recruitment center near San Diego and at Mare Island in the San Francisco area. He was assigned pretty good duty starting June 1939 in Pearl Harbor but he was sent back to the states to be with the 2nd Division in September of 1941 before the December 7th attack. His scout sniper training was used at Tulagi, Guadalcanal, and at Tarawa for which he received a silver star.

Marines In World War II - The Marshalls: Increasing The Tempo [Illustrated Edition]

Marines In World War II - The Marshalls: Increasing The Tempo [Illustrated Edition]
Author: Lieutenant Colonel R.D. Heinl Jr. USMC
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 530
Release: 2014-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782892818

This 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 Battle For Tarawa [Illustrated Edition]

Marines In World War II - The Battle For Tarawa [Illustrated Edition]
Author: Capt. James R. Stockman
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2014-08-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 178289277X

The 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”