The American 'island-hopping' campaign in the Pacific during the Second World War was a crucial factor in the eventual defeat of Japan in 1945. The assault and capture of these islands meant US bombers and their fighter escorts could now reach mainland Japan, disrupting and eventually crippling its war economy. The battles on Tarawa, the Marshall Islands, the Marianas group, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa were all characterised by savage fighting and heavy casulaties on both sides. Japanese garrisons often fought to the death and kamikaze air attacks posed a grave threat to the opposing US forces. Employing archive colour and black and white photographs, maps and first-hand accounts, the author relates these pivotal battles to the wider struggle against the Japanese in the Pacific.

U.S. amphibious warfare began its development in the early 1900's, became a real capability in World War II, and today provides the nation with a means to achieve its policy objectives with an ability to project military power from the sea. During World War II, the first real test of this amphibious assault capability came at the beginning of the Central Pacific drive on Tarawa in 1943 and culminated with the final amphibious operation in the Pacific at Okinawa, some 350 miles south of mainland Japan. Ultimately, the U.S. military's tactics, techniques, and procedures for conducting amphibious operations in the Pacific theater during World War II became more efficient as the war progressed, largely due to an increased understanding of the requirements for success in the combat environment, and an emphasis on meeting and exceeding those needs.

U.S. amphibious warfare began its development in the early 1900's, became a real capability in World War II, and today provides the nation with a means to achieve its policy objectives with an ability to project military power from the sea. During World War II, the first real test of this amphibious assault capability came at the beginning of the Central Pacific drive on Tarawa in 1943 and culminated with the final amphibious operation in the Pacific at Okinawa, some 350 miles south of mainland Japan. Ultimately, the U.S. military's tactics, techniques, and procedures for conducting amphibious operations in the Pacific theater during World War II became more efficient as the war progressed, largely due to an increased understanding of the requirements for success in the combat environment, and an emphasis on meeting and exceeding those needs.

For Dutton Caliber's American War Heroes series, the riveting true account of the Battle of Tarawa, an epic World War II clash in which the U.S. Marines fought the Japanese nearly to the last man. In November 1943, the men of the 2d Marine Division were instructed to clear out Japanese resistance on the Pacific island of Betio, a speck at the end of the Tarawa Atoll. When the Marines landed, the Japanese poured out of their underground bunkers—and launched one of the most brutal and bloody battles of World War II. For three straight days, attackers and defenders fought over every square inch of sand in a battle with no defined frontlines, and where there was no possibility of retreat—because there was nowhere to retreat to. It was a struggle that would leave both sides stunned and exhausted, and prove both the fighting mettle of the Americans and the fanatical devotion of the Japanese. Drawn from new sources, including participants’ letters and diaries and exclusive firsthand interviews with survivors, One Square Mile of Hell is the true story of a battle between two determined foes, neither of whom would ever look at the other in the same way again.

Marine combat veteran and award-winning military historian Joseph Alexander takes a fresh look at one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific War. His gripping narrative, first published in 1995, has won him many prizes, with critics lauding his use of Japanese documents and his interpretation of the significance of what happened. The first trial by fire of America's fledgling amphibious assault doctrine, the violent three-day attack on Tarawa, a seemingly invincible Japanese island fortress of barely three hundred acres, left six thousand men dead. This book offers an authoritative account of the tactics, innovations, leadership, and weapons employed by both antagonists. Alexander convincingly argues that without the vital lessons of Tarawa the larger amphibious victories to come at Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa might not have been possible.

"Okinawa: the last battle: Here the Imperial Army braced for its last stand. From the bloody victories that brought U.S. forces to Okinawa, to the desperate, suicidal resistance of the Japanese, this is the complete story of the final beachhead battle of the Pacific campaign.

This is the personal story of Dennis Olson, a combat marine who served in the Pacific Theater during World War Two. The story follows him through the landing and battle at Tarawa, followed by three months Garrison Duty. When relieved by the Army, he and his Battalion were sent to Kauai, Hawaii to replace the missing troops and equipment, and battle train for the next campaign, which was Guam. After Guam came the worst of the worst for him, that of the invasion and battle for Okinawa, known as The Last Battle. Dennis experienced combat scenes that were horrific; truly the worse any war has to offer. To have lived through them and come out on the other side alive, with limbs and body parts intact, was a constant source of amazement to him the rest of his life. Though combat is the main thrust of his story, there is more, much more. The lulls between battles constitute the majority of Dennis experiences in the Pacific. What would you do if you were stuck on an equatorial Pacific island, rationed two canteens of water per day, unable to beg, borrow, or purchase soft drinks, beer, or booze? Dennis and his compatriots found ways. Is it against the law to steal? Of course it is; it might even be one of the Thou Shall Nots. Is it possible to have beer up the gazoo, to produce wine without grapes and a winery, to manufacture White Lightning without a distillery?