Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, June 1942-April 1944

by Morison, Samuel Eliot; Alexander, Joseph H.; Shaw, James C.

• ISBN13: 9781591145530
• ISBN10: 1591145538
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-03-15
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr

Summary

Samuel Eliot Morison, an eminent Harvard professor, was appointed by his close friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt, to write the history of U.S. naval operations during World War II after convincing the president that too many wartime histories were written after the fact or from a distance. Morison called his classic work a ôshooting historyö of World War II, because it was documented by historical observation during each specific naval operation in the Atlantic and Pacific. Hailed for its accuracy, narrative pace, and detail, this monumental work presents a complete record of the U.S. Navy's war at sea, covering the strategic planning, battle tactics, and technological advances, as well as the heroic actions of American sailors.

Author Biography

Samuel Eliot Morison taught history at Harvard from 1915 to 1955, except for active-duty service in the Navy on board eleven different ships in all theaters of the war. In addition to this series, Rear Admiral Morison wrote many other popular and award-winning books on maritime history, including Two Ocean War. Morison, who died in 1976, was the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes, two Bancroft Prizes, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Abbreviations	p. xxiii
Introduction	p. xxvii
Original introduction	p. xli
The Recovery of the Western Aleutians June 1942-August 1943
Nine Months' Arctic Warfare, 15 June 1942-18 March 1943	p. 3
Aleutians Situation	p. 3
Bombardment of Kiska, 7 August	p. 9
Adak and Amchitka	p. 12
Bombardment of Attu, 18 February	p. 19
The Battle of the Komandorski Islands, 26 March 1943	p. 22
Attu Regained, April-May 1943	p. 37
Preparations and Approach	p. 37
The Landings, 11 May	p. 41
One Week's Struggle	p. 44
The Final Assault, 19-29 May	p. 49
The Aleutians Secured, May-October 1943	p. 52
Airfields and S-boats	p. 52
Concentrating on Kiska	p. 54
A Slick Evacuation, 28 July	p. 56
Bootless Bombardment and Bloodless Occupation	p. 61
Aleutians Secured	p. 65
The Gilbert Islands Recovered (Operation ôGalvanicö)
Plans and Preparations	p. 69
The Spider's Web	p. 69
Micronesia in Pacific Strategy	p. 79
Organization and Training	p. 85
Preliminary Operations	p. 92
Fast Carrier Strikes, 1 September-6 October
Baker Island Reoccupied
Photographic Reconnaissance
Logistics Afloat in the Pacific	p. 100
Organization and Approach, November 1943	p. 114
Makin, 19-29 November 1943	p. 121
Plan and Initial Landings	p. 121
Lagoon Landings	p. 127
Makin Taken	p. 132
Japanese Reaction and Counterattack, October-November 1943	p. 136
Tarawa, 19-23 November 1943	p. 146
The Japanese Defensive System on Betio	p. 146
Plan, Leaders, Approach	p. 149
Betio Assaulted, 20 November	p. 156
ôIssue in Doubtö	p. 163
Betio Secured	p. 172
Tarawa and Abemama Secured, 24-27 November 1943	p. 175
Bairiki to Buariki	p. 175
Abemama	p. 179
Conclusions and Casualties	p. 182
Scouting Submarines and Carrier Strikes, 13 November-8 December 1943	p. 187
Loss of Corvina and Sculpin	p. 187
Strikes on Kwajalein and Nauru, 4-8 December	p. 189
The Conquest of the Marshalls
Getting Set for the Marshalls, June-December 1943	p. 201
Which Marshalls?	p. 201
Amphtracs and Logistics	p. 208
Air and Submarine Preparation	p. 211
Enemy Preparations	p. 222
Majuro, 31 January-8 February 1944	p. 225
Kwajalein (Operation ôFlintlockö), 31 January-7 February 1944	p. 230
The Atoll, the Plan and the Approach	p. 230
Initial Landings in the North, 31 January	p. 236
Roi and Namur, 31 January-2 February	p. 240
The Southern Attack Force	p. 251
Initial Landings in the South, 31 January-2 February	p. 253
The Assault on Kwajalein Island, 1-6 February	p. 257
Ebeye and Minor Islets, 2-6 February	p. 272
Conclusion and Comment	p. 278
Eniwetok (Operation ôCatchpoleö), 31 January-4 March 1944	p. 282
Preliminaries	p. 282
Engebi, 17-18 February	p. 288
Eniwetok Island, 19-23 February	p. 294
Parry, 19-23 February	p. 300
Marshalls' Mop-up, February-June 1944	p. 305
Development of Bases	p. 305
Neutralizing Enemy-held Atolls	p. 307
Occupation of Minor Atolls	p. 310
First Strike on Truk (Operation ôHailstoneö), 17-18 February 1944	p. 315
Forces Engaged in the Capture of Attu (Operation ôLandcrabö), 11-29 May 1943	p. 333
Forces Engaged in Gilbert Islands Operation (Operation ôGalvanicö), 10 November-10 December 1943	p. 336
Forces Engaged in Marshall Islands (Operations ôFlintlockö and ôCatchpoleö), 29 January-23 February 1944	p. 343
Forces Engaged in Strike on Truk, 17-18 February 1944	p. 352
Index	p. 355
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