Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians (Classic Reprint Series) [Paperback]

Brian Garfield (Author)

Book Description

Series: Classic Reprint Series | Publication Date: February 1, 1995

The Thousand-Mile War, a powerful story of the battles of the United States and Japan on the bitter rim of the North Pacific, has been acclaimed as one of the great accounts of World War II. Brian Garfield, a novelist and screenwriter whose works have sold some 20 million copies, was searching for a new subject when he came upon the story of this "forgotten war" in Alaska. He found the history of the brave men who had served in the Aleutians so compelling and so little known that he wrote the first full-length history of the Aleutian campaign, and the book remains a favorite among Alaskans.
The war in the Aleutians was fought in some of the worst climatic conditions on earth for men, ships, and airplanes. The sea was rough, the islands craggy and unwelcoming, and enemy number one was always the weather--the savage wind, fog, and rain of the Aleutian chain. The fog seemed to reach even into the minds of the military commanders on both sides, as they directed men into situations that so often had tragic results. Frustrating, befuddling, and still the subject of debate, the Aleutian campaign nevertheless marked an important turn of the war in favor of the United States.
Now, half a century after the war ended, more of the fog has been lifted. In the updated University of Alaska Press edition, Garfield supplements his original account, which was drawn from statistics, personal interviews, letters, and diaries, with more recently declassified photographs and many more illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Students of World War II history will delight to find an exclusive focus on how the battles were fought in Alaska and the Aleutians: something commonly overlooked in favor of the more graphic and active European and Pacific arenas. This first appeared in 1969: it remains one of the best accounts of the war, reading like fiction and including fine documentary records in this reprint. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: University of Alaska Press; 1 edition (February 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0912006838
• ISBN-13: 978-0912006833
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,250 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Northern Fights -- When WWII Came Home to America, August 13, 2000

By 

Charles F. Hawkins - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians (Classic Reprint Series) (Paperback)

"The Thousand Mile War" is an old and cherished friend, and tells the story of the Aleutian Island Campaign against the Japanese in 1942-43. I settled in comfortably with the first edition in 1969 on my way to another war, and became thoroughly captivated by it. I'm delighted to see it reprinted in softcover.

There are so many strong points to the book, and too many exciting tales to capture easily in a short review. It seems to me, though, that one of Brian Garfield's greatest strengths is his ability to unravel and relate accurately the joint and combined nature of allied operations in the Aleutians. The air, sea and ground operations, which the book richly details, sometimes occured in isolation, but more often were part of a concerted effort to oust the Japanese from the islands of Attu and Kiska. Although the fighting was borne primarily by U.S. forces, there were significant contributions by Canadian allies.

Then there is the weather. The Aleutians, a chain of rugged islands stretching from Dutch Harbor to Attu in the west, cover about 1,000 miles, and are subject to some of the worst, most inhospitable weather conditions on the planet. As much of Garfield's story is about fighting the elements as it is about fighting the enemy. Having grown up in Alaska, I can easily identify with the harshness of wind and storm, of cold and snow and freezing ocean spray.

To sum up, in Garfield's words: "The campaign in the grey and windy Aleutians was the United States' first offensive campaign of World War II -- the first to begin, the first to be won. Its major events had included the first extensive aerial bombing campaign in American history; the first mass military airlift ever executed; the longest and last classic daylight surface battle in naval history; the first land-based American bomber attacks on the Japanese homeland; and, in the Battle of Attu, the U.S. Infantry's first amphibious island assault landings and the second most costly infantry battle of the Pacific war (in ratio to the size of the forces engaged)."

Garfield is as quantitative as he is qualitative, something that helps give perspective to his gut-level reporting of events. His footnotes are well organized by chapter and are in themselves worth reading.

The only criticism I've ever heard was from a fellow who served in the Aleutians as an engineer sergeant. He was on Engineer Hill on Attu when Col. Yasuyo Yamasaki led his surviving soldiers in a banzai charge against the American position. Yamasaki attacked up the fog-covered Chichagof Valley with 600 men, all that was left of his force of 2,600. The surprise attack almost succeeded, but "Within minutes the Engineers and service troops had sprung to arms. Cooks, litter bearers, roadbuilders, and staff officers took shoulder-to-shoulder positions at the crest. General Arnold borrowed an M-1 rifle and crawled to a high point from which he could see the Japanese charging up the hill toward him. With calm, precise hand signals he directed the hand-grenade throws of his hidden troops as if he were calling artillery targets. The grenades blew gaps in the Japanese line but the charge did not falter." The attacking Japanese were within rock throwing distance when they were finally thrown back by a "withering point-blank concentration of bullets and grenades from the hasty, improvised American line."

In this battle the former engineer sergeant does not recall General Arnold's actions the same way that Garfield relates them. Whichever is the case, it would not be the first time an American GI disparaged in retrospect the behavior of a senior officer.

"The Thousand Mile War" is excellent history and a terrific read. I've enjoyed it more than once and have used it as a source for lecture notes and other research. You won't be disappointed.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, accurate portrayal of the Aleutian Campaign, November 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians (Classic Reprint Series) (Paperback)

Having spent three years in peace-time on various Aleutian Islands I was keenly aware of the many relics of war (old quonset huts, hangars, runways, etc.) scattered throughout the chain. What I was not aware of at the time was that actual battles had been fought there. Brian Garfield's "The Thousand Mile War" brought to life the tremendous effort required to remove the enemy from American soil. Having experienced this unique area, it was not hard to match Garfield's descriptions with what I knew of the area. The book is clearly based on considerable research and benefits from interviews with military personnel from both sides of the war. I have collected quite a few books on the Aleutians; this one is by far the best written, most comprehensive and accurate portrayal of events related to the Aleutian Campaign.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent account, June 17, 2000

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thousand-Mile War: World War II in Alaska and the Aleutians (Classic Reprint Series) (Paperback)

Though little remembered in the public consciousness today, the Aleutian islands campaign was an epic struggle that featured some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific theater of World War II. Garfield's account shows how the American efforts there were hampered because military strategests were slow to recognize the strategic importance of Alaska. The Japanese invasion was belatedly countered by an intense American effort to save Alaska from becoming a Japanese base for operations against the mainland. The ensuing struggle was fought in perhaps the worst weather conditions of any campaign in the entire war. Garfield is an excellent writer and this book has the page turning quality of a suspense novel. This is yet another moving tribute to the "Greatest Generation" in action.