Rolling Thunder Against the Rising Sun The Combat History of U.S. Army Tank Battalions in the Pacific in World War II

by Salecker, Gene Eric

• ISBN13: 9780811703147
• ISBN10: 0811703142
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-04-16
• Publisher: Stackpole Books

Summary

First work dedicated solely to the use of Army tanks in the Pacific Theater Covers armor battles in the Philippines, Makin, the Solomons, Rabaul, New Guinea, Saipan, Guam, and Okinawa Although the history of armor in World War II has captured the attention of countless authors, no one has yet chronicled the extensive use of tanks in the Pacific--until now. In compre­hensive detail Gene Eric Salecker describes the exploits of American tanks on the jungle islands where troops engaged in savage combat and encountered unforgiving weather and terrain. Stationed in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked the islands in 1941, the U.S. Army's independent tank battalions fought from the very start of the war. From New Guinea and the Solomons to the Ryukyus, American armor proved instrumental in winning World War II in the Pacific.

Author Biography

Gene Eric Salecker lives near Chicago, Illinois.

Table of Contents

Baptism of Fire	p. 1
War	p. 15
War Plan Orange-3	p. 27
Into Bataan	p. 38
Bataan	p. 48
The Points and Pockets	p. 57
Siege and Suffering	p. 65
Surrender	p. 71
Reinforcements and Turnabout	p. 82
Taking Makin	p. 91
Closing the Solomons	p. 108
Another Crack in the Outer Barrier	p. 116
Isolating Rabaul	p. 129
Leapfrogging the New Guinea Coast	p. 136
Bloody Biak	p. 144
Southern Saipan	p. 154
The Valley of Death	p. 164
Hard Days on Saipan	p. 175
The End on Saipan	p. 183
Guam	p. 194
Stepping Stones	p. 208
The Helmet's Wings	p. 220
The Return	p. 232
The Drive to Ormoc	p. 248
Luzon	p. 257
Manila	p. 272
Corregidor and Southern Luzon	p. 291
Northern Luzon	p. 303
Clearing the Southern Philippines	p. 317
Eastern Mindanao	p. 326
Iceberg	p. 333
Hard Days	p. 345
The Last Battle	p. 355
The End	p. 369
Notes	p. 377
Bibliography	p. 422
Index	p. 442
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