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The Devil's Anvil: The Assault on Peleliu

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The time? Fall 1944. The place? The island of Peleliu, an obscure speck of coral 500 miles east of the Philippines. General William Rupertus's US 1st Marine Division found themselves pitted against the vaunted, often overly hailed, but numerically superior deeply entrenched Japanese soldiers who had spent six months preparing for the battle. Most envisioned a quick two-day battle, however, as James H. Hallas's The Devils Anvil: The Assault on Peleliu reveals, before the "Americans could claim a victory, the fight had become one of the war's most costly successes." Even more tragic, as Hallas admits, was that Peleliu, in the end, was ultimately deemed "an unnecessary seizure." Pulled off of Cape Gloucester in April 1944, the 1st Marine Division had expected to return to Australia. Much to their dismay, they ended up on Pavuvu, the largest of the Russell Islands some 60 miles northwest of their old battlefields on Guadalcanal. While Pavuvu was clearly an inhabitable place, the island the division was slated to take was nothing more than a tiny atoll where the continual rain turning the whole island into what a Marine later described as a "deep stinking mush." The name of this island was Peleliu. The logic behind seizing Peleliu was that General MacArthur felt that the island posed serious threat to the Allied approach on the Philippines. They also predicted that it could be seized in less than two days. They were mistaken on both counts. Hallas's book clearly shows that the 1,500 Americans who lost their lives in the 68 day struggle for the 6,400 acre island, did so for naught. The island was, in the end, of "dubious value." The Allies were moving quickly in the South Pacific and by the time the island of Peleliu was seized, to "became a backwater almost before it was invaded." For those who survived the battle, Peleliu "remains a bitter, emotionally exhausting chapter of their lives. The Devil's Anvil brings the reader to the forefront of the human struggle that is indicative of not only war, but of a battle that was forgotten even before it was printed in the annals of history. From the eyes of famous men like Colonel Lewis Puller down to the lowest private, Hallas has offered military buffs and serious academicians alike an opportunity to experience what it was like to be a US Marine in the South Pacific. This book is an essential part to any World War II library.

I've tried to find the author's mailing or e-mail address, but haven't found it yet.I was in the 1st MarDiv and was on Peleliu so I can think of a few things that would add a lot to the book. However it was a GREAT job for someone who wasn't there!!For non-Marines I would have put an organizational chart at the beginning of the book, just to show the makeup of a Marine Div. The abbreviations were very confusing with no chart.All of the maps could have been full page with more details, and I'msure it would be much better to show a group of maps with the progress of the front lines for every few days.Otherwise it is too unclear!It would be fabulous if Mr. Hallas would use his expert research talents to locate the addresses and E-mails of all the surviving Peleliu marines, and contact them to inquire if they would approve of their name being printed in a neat Book.Most of them who say YES would surely purchase the book.Somewhat more tedious would be to make such a book about every Marine in the 1st Mar. Div. who is still "available."(Or it could be done one Regiment at a time.) What a great service this would be.Thank you.

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This battle that was supposed to last two days, instead lasted two months, killing 1500 Americans and some 10,000 Japanese, all of it probably unnecessary. Admiral Nimitz, against Halsey's advice and with poor intelligence about Japanese defenses, refused to scrub the attack even though it was apparent that the Palaus could be safely bypassed and left to starve.

Hallas bases his excellent history of the struggle for that miserable piece of real estate on interviews of survivors as well as the usual written sources, and includes the expected photos, maps, bibliography, and index. Highly recommended, as are Hallas' other books, on Okinawa and St. Mihiel.

James Hallas has written an insightful and informative book on one of the Second World War's most costly battles. The U.S. invasion of Peleliu, 500 km south of the Phillipines, in 1994, was a conflict that chewed through an immense ammount of ordinance and men. It is mostly a one sided account, told from the invading Marine perspective. Indeed it would be hard to gather much from the Japanese viewpoint as most on that side were killed in their courageous but ultimately suicidal defense of the island. I was often left astounded by the tales of indivdual heroism on both sides and the magnitude of the Japanese defenses. The Americans took on a tough nut and cracked it. Hallas gives their story in an entirely readable and well researched book. If you like military history then you'll like this

Historians are the captives of history. Sometimes history creates a story far more interesting than fiction. Other times they must stick to a story that begins well but ends badly. So is it with this book. Roughly the first half concerns the planning and the first twenty-four hours of the battle. The vast majority of the rest of the book concerns the first week of the battle. The last six weeks or month of the battle is handled in a very few pages.

The reason is obvious. The initial assault with the Marines hitting the beach from their LVTs in the face of unexpectedly tough resistance is pure drama. The last weeks of digging out dug in Japanese simply lacks the drama of fire and movement associated with the initial assault. The eventual victory, such as it is, lacks the climax and emotional release a fiction writer would have included. The result is that the book is something like the battle itself. It starts with a roar, develops into a hard slog, and ends with a whimper.

The maps could be both more numerous and better, too.

Overall, a good, gritty, war story.

There are few major battles of World War II less well known than the Marine invasion of Peleliu. Even the later meat-grinders the Marines struggled through on Iwo Jima and Okinawa might, at the very least, be considered worthwhile to a degree. Peleliu has none of the satisfaction of victory. It was ultimately worthless and an absolute waste of one of the finest divisions in the US military at the time, the First Marines.

James H. Hallas gives a vivid account of the assault which was the brainchild of General William Rupertus. Conceived as an opportunity to protect the flank of General MacArthur's invasion of the Philippines, the attack on Peleliu was adamantly opposed by, of all people, Admiral Halsey, whose tactics of battle were "Kill Japs, kill Japs, keep killing Japs!" Halsey saw it for what it was, a horrible sacrifice over a virtually worthless rock.

The Marines went ashore with little useful intelligence about what they faced. They were told that Peleliu would be just like Tarawa: three days of tough fighting, and then it would be over. They were off by about seventy days!

I would recommend this volume highly to anyone interested, as I am, in military history or to those who enjoy true stories of men in combat. Hallas tells his story in compelling fashion taking the points of view not only of the commanders, but of the line Marines, the men doing the fighting. It is a fitting tribute to the over 5,000 members of the First Marines, the "Old Breed," who were casualties of the fighting.

The reason that I purchased this book is because I have a family member mentioned in it. My Great Uncle, James Ojida was a machine gunner in his unit. My grandfather was also a Marine durring this time. He fought in the Pacific as well. My Dad and I were also Marines. This book means alot to us.

Yes, a very interesting, well researched, and fairly written account of terrible battle for Peleliu.