Featuring evocative artwork plates and carefully selected photographs,
this book assesses the US Marines and Japanese troops who contested the
islands of Tarawa, Roi-Namur, and Eniwetok during 1943-44.
On November 20, 1943, amphibious vehicles carrying Marines of the 2d
Marine Division reached the shores of Betio Island in the Tarawa Atoll,
defended by a determined Japanese garrison that would fight to the last
man. This began a test by combat of over two decades of US studies,
analyses, and planning for capturing and defending naval bases in
Micronesia. The Tarawa assault was followed in February 1944 by the
rapid capture of the Kwajalein and Eniwetok atolls in the Marshall
Islands.
In these battles US Marines fought a mix of Imperial Japanese Navy and
Imperial Japanese Army ground units. All but a handful of the defenders,
whether they were organized ground combat troops or infantry improvised
from aviators and service troops, were determined to die for the Emperor
while killing as many of the enemy as possible. In this study, Gregg
Adams shows how the US Marine Corps and US Navy drew upon these pivotal
actions to improve their tactics, organization, and equipment for the
next round of amphibious operations. He also explains how their Japanese
opponents - realizing that isolated island garrisons were doomed to
destruction or isolation if the Imperial Japanese Navy could not defeat
the US Navy at sea - moved from seeking to repel an invasion to one
inflicting maximum American casualties through prolonged defensive
fighting.
