Pacific Victory: Tarawa to Okinawa 1943-1945 [Hardcover]

Derrick Wright (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0750937467 | ISBN-13: 978-0750937467 | Publication Date: April 21, 2005 | Edition: First

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 seemingly unimportant islands meant US bombers and their fighter escorts could now reach mainland Japan, eventually crippling Japan's war economy. In November 1943, Tarawa tested the doctrine of seaborne assault to the limit in a 76-hour battle in which Marines waded ashore from the surrounding reefs in the face of murderous enemy fire. Peleliu in September 1944 was the 'unknown battle', where a combination of poor planning, dubious leadership and a major change in Japanese defensive strategy turned what was expected to be a three-day battle into one of the most savage battles of the war. Iwo Jima in February 1945 was a titanic struggle that eclipsed all these battles, as three Marine divisions struggled in appalling conditions against an enemy for whom surrender was not an option. That April a massive Marine/Army operation against Okinawa was a foretaste of what could be expected in the proposed assault on the Japanese mainland. These battles were all characterized by savage fighting and heavy casualties on both sides. Employing archive color and black & white photographs, maps and first-hand accounts, the author relates these pivotal battles to the wider struggle against the Japanese in the Pacific.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Derrick Wright's books on the war in the Pacific include: Tarawa 1943: A Hell of a Way to Die (1996); Tarawa: The Turning of the Tide (2000); Iwo Jima: The Marines Raise the Flag on Mount Suribachi (2001); To The Far Side of Hell: The Battle for Peleliu, 1944 (2002) and The Battle for Iwo Jima 1945 (Sutton, 2003)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Sutton Publishing; First edition (April 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750937467
• ISBN-13: 978-0750937467
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,939,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a great read, January 13, 2008

By 

David Taylor (melbourne, australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pacific Victory: Tarawa to Okinawa 1943-1945 (Hardcover)

I live on the edge of the pacific and have always found this campaign fascinating. This book gave a great overview of the whole island hopping campaign, well supported by maps and photos of the battlefields from back then and also the present day. For the first time I got a really good understanding of the time and space and progression of the hard fought battles. As the quote on the back states from one survivor "How do remember that far back? That is not the problem, the problem is, how do I forget."