The Marshall Islands 1944: "Operation Flintlock, the capture of Kwajalein and Eniwetok" (Campaign) [Paperback]

Gordon Rottman (Author), Howard Gerrard (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Campaign | Publication Date: October 22, 2004

Following the capture of Tarawa in November 1943 during World War II (1939-1945), American eyes turned to the Marshall Islands. These were the next vital stepping-stone across the Pacific towards Japan, and would bring the islands of Guam and Saipan within the reach of US forces. In their first amphibious attack, the new 4th Marine Division landed on Roi and Namur islands on 1 February 1944, while US 7th Division landed on Kwajalein. At the time this was the longest shore-to-shore amphibious assault in history. The lessons of the bloody fighting on Tarawa had been well learned and the successful attack on the Marshalls set the pattern for future amphibious operations in the Pacific War.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide to the battlefields today.

About the Author

Gordon L Rottman entered the US Army in 1967, volunteered for Special Forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. He served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969–70 and subsequently in airborne infantry, long-range patrol and intelligence assignments until retiring after 26 years. He was a special operations forces scenario writer at the Joint Readiness Training Centre for 12 years and is now a freelance writer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (October 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841768510
• ISBN-13: 978-1841768519
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > History > Australia & Oceania > Marshall Islands

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fills in the Details on Forgotten Operations, January 23, 2005

By 

R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Marshall Islands 1944: "Operation Flintlock, the capture of Kwajalein and Eniwetok" (Campaign) (Paperback)

In Osprey's Campaign series #146, The Marshall Islands 1944, Gordon L. Rottman continues his painstaking effort to detail US Marine operations in the Pacific in the Second World War. As usual, Rottman provides ample information on unit movements, casualties and orders of battle, while avoiding any effort to put the campaign in a human perspective by including first-person accounts or mentioning Medal of Honor recipients. Nevertheless, the Marshall Island campaign of 1944 has faded from sight due to all the attention on D-Day and bigger Pacific actions like Okinawa, so Rottman's effort is not without its merit. By including this operation and all the others that Rottman has written about, Osprey has established a common framework for looking at these largely forgotten campaigns of 1943-1944.

Rottman provides more strategic background to this campaign than he has in other volumes. In his section on opposing plans, Rottman notes that the Japanese misjudged American intentions in the central Pacific and deployed only "odds and ends" forces into the Marshall Islands and the leadership in Tokyo viewed the islands as beyond their main defensive sphere. Given the Japanese refusal to commit additional air or naval forces to the defense of the Marshalls, the Japanese effort in the islands was doomed from the start and the 28,000 troops deployed on the numerous islands in the chain were merely intended to delay the inevitable American victory. Thus, studying the campaign in the Marshalls has its limitations, since one side never intended to win and the question of superior generalship is a moot point under such circumstances. The author also details the opposing commanders and opposing forces in some detail, including a very detailed order of battle. There are more 2-D maps in this volume than a usual Osprey; there are 9 2-D maps, including ones on the strategic situation, and each of the main islands. The three 3-D maps are: Roi-Namur, Kwajalein and Engebi islands. The three battle scenes are: tank support on Roi island; clearing spider holes on Kwajalein and Japanese defense of a bomb crater on Engebi island.

As usual, Rottman gives the details of military operations without much analysis and he tends to favor the US Marines. For example, he provides details on the 4th Marine Division's effort to clear all the minor islands around Roi-Namur on D-1 (31 January 1944). However, Rottman fails to connect the dots in these preliminary operations, since it is clear that the Marines used over 3,000 men to eliminate fewer than 100 Japanese defenders. While these preliminary operations were useful - they gave the Marines positions to land their artillery to support the main landings on the next day - they also disrupted the landing craft availability on D-Day (almost half the amphibious tractors were not back in time to land the main force). By the laws of war, the 4th Marine Division violated economy of force by using an entire regiment to take out essentially a dispersed company and this impacted the performance of the division for the main operation. Once the Marines did land on Roi-Namur, Rottman notes that there was an unusual breakdown in controlling the troops given the lighter-than-expected resistance. A large amount of the casualties on Roi-Namur were inflicted by a careless detonation of a Japanese torpedo bunker (this happens to just about everybody in war, e.g. the Germans in 1916 lost hundreds of troops to carelessness in an explosion in Fort Douamont at Verdun) and readers should note the very high number of MIAs in this operation (more than KIAs).

Another factor that makes these campaigns somewhat unusual is that the Japanese defenders had not had much time to construct strong bunkers and they had very little in the way of indirect fire support. Consequently, the American preliminary bombardments of these islands was more effective than usual and the Japanese had much less ability to contest the beachheads. Readers should note that US Army units tended to suffer less casualties than US Marine units, a discrepancy left unexamined by Rottman. In the end, these operations were foregone conclusions, although at the price of 3,200 US American casualties (including over 600 dead) and that cost should not soon be forgotten.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise and well-written, December 8, 2009

By 

Charles E. Corway "ccorway" (DFW, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Marshall Islands 1944: "Operation Flintlock, the capture of Kwajalein and Eniwetok" (Campaign) (Paperback)

As with most Osprey campaign books, it is well-researched, concise and easy to follow. I currently live and work on Kwajalein Atoll (which looks a lot different today than what it was in WW II), so I have had the rare opportunity of following the course of the battle comparing actual sites on both Kwajalein and Roi-Namur with the narrative in the book. The island has expanded considerably in the 65 years since the battle, so many sites that were once at the edge of the original island are now farther inland. I highly recommend this book to the WW II enthsiast and for anyone planning on taking a job at Kwajalein and wanting to know more about the battle.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Competent Factual Summary of a Multi Faceted Operation, July 23, 2009

By 

Dave Schranck "Dave" (Anaheim Ca) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Marshall Islands 1944: "Operation Flintlock, the capture of Kwajalein and Eniwetok" (Campaign) (Paperback)

This is one operation that I haven't read much about prior to this book so I learned quite a bit. According to the author there were nine phases to the operation, though two were the most important.

In the introduction, the author, probably using his encylopedia of Pacific Islands, describes all the pertinent Atolls and islands in the chain. The shapes, size, landmarks and distances from other islands are discussed. Some of the islands mentioned are Kwajalein, Roi / Namur, Ebeye, Majuro, Engebi, Eniwetok, Parry and a half dozen more. These will be the islands mentioned most in the Operation chapter.

The Chronology comes next; my initial impression was its too brief and in bad need of enhancement but with the 3-D maps, Mr Rottman gives hourly coverage of three of the major landings, making up for the brief Chronology.

The Opposing Plans for the US describes the schedule and which units willl take part in the capturing of the islands. I would have preferred more details but in this short brief, Mr Rottman does a good job. The author then describes the Japenese plan called Operation Z. This is an overall plan for defending the homelands and the remaining controlled islands, not just the Marshalls. A major portion of Operation Z relies heavily on the air force but the US is too strong and will disassemble their air force.

The Opposing Commanders is adequate while Opposing Forces, I found, very good. There are so many islands and so many units involved in taking the islands it could get confusing but Mr Rottman does a good job in explaining things.
The author spends the next 50 pages describing the actual assaults of the islands; some were more heavily defended than others. The author spends a lot of time on the Roi / Namur and Kwajalein invasions; it was quite good. The other landings, being less critical were given less space. This is operational coverage and anecdotal experiences will be absent.

To assist in your understanding of this operation, the author has given you nine 2-D maps and three 3-D maps and all are very useful. The 3-D maps of Roi-Namur and Kwajalein were especially good. There are three 2-page illustrations and many fine photos to help you with the narrative. The aerial photos of many of the islands were great. An Order of Battle for the US side is included.

The author has done an admirable job in fitting Operation Flintlock in 96 pages. If you have any interest in this operation, this book will be helpful. If you already have another book on the subject, this book with its many fine maps and photos will be a nice supplement to your collection.