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An award-winning US Marine Corps armor historian's account of the role of US and Japanese tanks on Iwo Jima. The battle of Iwo Jima is iconic and known for its brutality: this was the only battle in which the number of US casualties outnumbered those of the Japanese. But as is often the case with the Pacific campaigns, the tank action on the island has generally been overshadowed by that of infantry. The tank, however, played an important role as a support weapon - especially on the US side - despite the rough terrain and unconventional enemy tactics. Using unpublished official records and veterans' accounts, award-winning USMC armor specialist Romain Cansière sheds new light on Japanese and USMC armored operations on the island. This book offers new information on the battle in a complete, concise, and accessible format, and its illustrations include unpublished photographs from private collections and meticulously researched new color profiles, highlighting the tanks' modifications and their diverse camouflage and markings.

The first book to examine the battleship-led 1941 Pacific Fleet as it was intended to fight. Packed with illustrations, this study explains how the US Navy saw the approaching war unfolding.

"The true story of Japan's surrender in World War II and how it nearly didn't happen! In the final days of World War II, Japan lay in ruins and the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been obliterated. A tense drama unfolds in Tokyo as Japan teeters on the edge of Armageddon. Japan's Longest Day tells the true story of the day immediately before the surrender, as a group of fanatical army officers attempt to prevent the Emperor from surrendering--an act of high treason which will inevitably result in Japan's total annihilation. This dramatic story recounts events that most people outside Japan are completely unaware of: The fierce disagreement between the army and the Japanese government as Emperor Hirohito prepares to announce the nation's unconditional surrender to the Allies, Attempts by War Minister Korechika Anami to change the Emperor's mind. Treasonous actions by a fanatical group of officers who vow to fight on, even if it means the death of every single Japanese citizen. The shocking plot to overthrow the government as Anami faces a fateful choice between loyalty to the cause and loyalty to the Emperor. Japan's Longest Day is beautifully told by award-winning manga artist Yukinobu Hoshino, who brings to life the story of Japan's most fateful day in elegant graphic novel form."--Publisher.

Japan’s Holocaust is a comprehensive exploration of Japan’s mass murder and sexual crimes during the Pacific and Asian Wars from 1927 to 1945.Japan’s Holocaust combines research conducted in over eighteen research facilities in five nations to explore Imperial Japan’s atrocities from 1927 to 1945 during its military expansions and reckless campaigns throughout Asia and the Pacific. This book brings together the most recent scholarship and new primary research to ascertain that Japan claimed a minimum of thirty million lives, slaughtering far more than Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Japan’s Holocaust shows that Emperor Hirohito not only knew about the atrocities his legions committed, but actually ordered them. He did nothing to stop them when they exceeded even the most depraved person’s imagination, as illustrated during the Rape of Nanking as well as many other events. Japan’s Holocaust will document in painful detail that the Rape of Nanking was not an isolated event during the Asian War but rather representative of how Japan behaved for all its campaigns throughout Asia and the Pacific from 1927 to 1945.Mass murder, rape, and economic exploitation was Japan’s modus operandi during this time period, and whereas Hitler’s SS Death’s Head outfits attempted to hide their atrocities, Hirohito’s legions committed their atrocities out in the open with fanfare and enthusiasm. Moreover, whereas Germany has done much since World War II to atone for its crimes and to document them, Japan has been absolutely disgraceful with its reparations for its crimes and in its efforts to educate its population about its wartime past. Shockingly, Japan continues, in general, to glorify is criminals and its wartime past.

This second volume of Solomons Air War chronicles aerial warfare in the Solomon Islands theatre during the critical month of October 1942. It can be read alone or as part of the ongoing Solomons Air War series.

Pacific Profiles Volume 12 covers the P-51 and F-6 Mustang series which served in New Guinea, the Philippines and then the Japanese islands, serving with a total of ten USAAF Fifth Air Force fighter and reconnaissance squadrons, and also with New Guinea's Combat Replacement Training Centre.

"As are the photographs, the illustrations are a treasure trove for modelers. While the academic and technical research is the brain of this book, perhaps the most impressive part is the original color artwork that visually spotlights what the text imparts." -- AeroscaleThe ongoing Pacific Profiles series presents the most accurate WWII profiles of aircraft which served throughout Australia, New Guinea and the South Pacific. This Volume 11 covers the P-40 Warhawk series, which served with a dozen USAAF Fifth and Thirteenth Air Force fighter and reconnaissance squadrons, service units, combat replacement pools and other miscellaneous units.Most profiles are presented for the first time, alongside markings derivations, including squadron heraldry and codes. Frequent airframe reassignments between units resulted in wide-ranging and oft-changing unit markings and nose art. Until now there has been a paucity of material about several units, particularly those in the Thirteenth Air Force. This volume also rectifies past mistakes which continue to be perpetrated, especially those representing the early Australian theater.Wide ranging primary reference material is cited including official Australian assignment data, squadron records, color slides and movies, maintenance logs, diaries, wreck site inspections and factory specifications. A brief history of each unit and the rationale of its unit markings accompanies the text.The author is world-renowned for his expertise on the Pacific air war. Never before have USAAF Pacific P-40s and their colorful artwork been illustrated with such accuracy and detail.

"Random, sudden death was an ever present danger for Bernard and Frank Hollenkamp. The brothers from the aviation center town of Dayton, Ohio, were among the legions of over three million Army Air Force soldiers who served in World War II. They were exclusive members of the Air Force that saw combat, as for every man that had a combat role there were sixteen soldiers with non-combat roles around the globe. Both flew on missions in heavy bombers, Bernard as a pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress and Frank as a tail gunner on the B-24 Liberator and B-32 Dominator. This narrative defines the men's path to entering the service, the astonishingly dangerous training involved in their flying combat functions and the details of their combat missions. Bernard flew for the 8th Air Force out of England in 1943 at a time when your chances of being killed or captured were about three out of four. His diary is included revealing the gambit of experiences and emotions involved in his flying training and overseas service. Frank served on the other side of the world in the Pacific in the 5th Air Force, where going down on long missions over the open ocean and capture by the Japanese were terrifyingly real possibilities. He would be one of only a few men who would fly combat missions in the very short life of the B-32 bomber in action. Dayton Valor recounts the incredible places these men saw, the people they met and observed, their role in history and their harrowing experiences in the war. The fact that one brother did not come home, reveals the loving connection between the two men as the remaining brother dealt with the tragedy"--

Introducing: Axis Powers: Iron Fist And Rising Sun - A Captivating Book BundleDiscover the captivating story of the Axis Powers - Germany, Italy, and Japan - and their impact on World War II and the world at large. Axis Powers: Iron Fist And Rising Sun is a compelling book bundle that takes you on a captivating journey through the rise, fall, and aftermath of one of the most tumultuous periods in history.Book 1: Rise And Fall: The Axis Powers In World War IIStep into the heart of the conflict as you explore the major events, military strategies, and key figures that defined the Axis Powers' involvement in World War II. From their lightning-fast blitzkrieg tactics to the intense battles on multiple fronts, this book provides a comprehensive and engaging account of the Axis Powers' military might and the relentless determination of their opponents.Book 2: Fascism's Grip: The Axis Powers And TotalitarianismDive deep into the ideologies, policies, and practices that characterized the totalitarian regimes of Germany, Italy, and Japan. Explore the rise of fascism, the cults of personality surrounding leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini, and the impact of totalitarian rule on society, politics, and individual lives. Gain a profound understanding of the mechanisms of control and the far-reaching implications of these ideologies.Book 3: The Asian Theatre: Axis Powers In The PacificEmbark on an often-overlooked but crucial aspect of World War II - the Asian theater. Delve into the Japanese invasion of China, the island-hopping campaigns in the Pacific, and the strategic battles that shaped the course of the war in this region. Through gripping accounts of military strategies, personal stories, and the geopolitical significance of the Asian theater, this book sheds light on a critical chapter of history.Book 4: The Aftermath: Axis Powers And Post-War ReckoningWitness the profound impact of World War II on the Axis Powers and the complex aftermath that followed. From the Nuremberg Trials to the reconstruction efforts and the pursuit of justice, this book explores the post-war reckoning faced by the defeated nations. Gain insights into the challenges of rebuilding shattered societies, dismantling totalitarian systems, and pursuing a path of reconciliation in a post-war world. Why Choose Axis Powers: Iron Fist And Rising Sun?Comprehensive Coverage: This book bundle provides a comprehensive exploration of the Axis Powers, covering their rise, their military campaigns, their ideologies, and the aftermath of their defeat.Engaging Narratives: Immerse yourself in captivating storytelling as you journey through the significant events and key figures that shaped this pivotal period in history.Meticulous Research: Benefit from meticulously researched and well-documented accounts, ensuring the accuracy and depth of the historical information presented.Thought-Provoking Analysis: Gain a deeper understanding of the complexities and consequences of World War II, totalitarianism, and the lasting impact of the Axis Powers.Complete Bundle: Get all four books in one bundle, offering a comprehensive and well-rounded exploration of the Axis Powers and their historical significance.Axis Powers: Iron Fist And Rising Sun is an essential addition to any history enthusiast's collection. Whether you are a student, a history buff, or simply eager to delve into the captivating story of World War II, this book bundle offers a riveting journey through the rise, fall, and aftermath of the Axis Powers.Don't miss out on this opportunity to explore the Axis Powers' impact on history. Grab your copy of Axis Powers: Iron Fist And Rising Sun today and embark on an unforgettable historical adventure!

Using diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts, this vivid narrative brings to life the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.The battle of Guadalcanal was the first offensive operation undertaken by the US and its allies in the Pacific War. The three months of air battles between August 20, 1942, when the first Marine air unit arrived on the island, and November 15, when the last enemy attempt to retake the island was defeated, were perhaps the most important of the Pacific War. "Cactus," the code name for the island, became a sinkhole for Japanese air and naval power, as they experienced losses that could never be made good. For 40 years, the late Eric Hammel interviewed more than 150 American participants in the air campaign at Guadalcanal, none of whom are still alive. These interviews are the most comprehensive first-person accounts of the battle assembled by any historian. More importantly, they involved the junior officers and enlisted men whose stories and memories were not part of the official history, and thus provide a unique insight. In The Cactus Air Force, Pacific War expert Thomas McKelvey Cleaver worked closely with Eric to build on his collection of diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts to create a vivid narrative of the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.

Winner of the Les Carlyon Literary Prize and the Prime Minister's Literary Awards Australian History Prize.First Runner Up for Templer Medal Book Prize (UK).Shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Australian History Prize, the ACT Notable Book Awards, and the Reid Prize. A remarkable book about Operation Semut, an Australian secret military operation launched by the organization popularly known as Z Special Unit in the final months of WWII. March 1945. A handful of young Allied operatives are parachuted into the remote jungled heart of the Japanese-occupied island of Borneo, east of Singapore, there to recruit the island's indigenous Dayak peoples to fight the Japanese. Yet most have barely encountered Asian or indigenous people before, speak next to no Borneo languages, and know little about Dayaks, other than that they have been - and may still be - headhunters. They fear that on arrival the Dayaks will kill them or hand them over to the Japanese. For their part, some Dayaks have never before seen a white face. So begins the story of Operation Semut, an Australian secret operation launched by the organization codenamed Services Reconnaisance Department - popularly known as Z Special Unit - in the final months of WWII. Anthropologist Christine Helliwell has called on her years of first-hand knowledge of Borneo, interviewed more than one hundred Dayak people and all the remaining Semut operatives, and consulted thousands of military and other documents to piece together this astonishing story. Focusing on the operation's activities along two of Borneo's great rivers - the Baram and Rejang - the book provides a detailed military history of Semut II's and Semut III's brutal guerrilla campaign against the Japanese, and reveals the decisive but long-overlooked Dayak role in the operation. But this is no ordinary history. Helliwell captures vividly the sounds, smells and tastes of the jungles into which the operatives are plunged, an environment so terrifying that many are unsure whether jungle or Japanese is the greater enemy. And she takes us into the lives and cavernous longhouses of the Dayaks on whom their survival depends. The result is a truly unique account of the encounter between two very different cultures amidst the savagery of the Pacific War.

"This book is a triumph." -MJV LiteraryWhen Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, forcing the U.S. to enter WWII, MAC was 23 years old.He had graduated with honors from high school, served two years in the Merchant Marine, and had a year of college under his belt. During the summer he had graduated from DePaul University's preliminary army air course to become a pilot and graduated as their highest-ranking student. Joining the U.S. Army Air Forces, he was assigned to the newly formed 307th BG and trained to fly the brand-new B-24 Liberator. Like Lou Zamperini-of Unbroken-who was also in the 307th, Mac's plane was shot down in the ocean. It was his first combat mission from Guadalcanal. After a three-week odyssey, he and his surviving crew members were rescued, and he went on to fly 51 more combat missions from his base in the Solomon Islands. In 1943, the following year, he was brought back to the U.S. to be trained on the even newer B-29 Superfortress. This was the plane designed to carry the atomic bombs. He flew 30 missions in 1945 from Guam dropping incendiaries on Japan. The Japanese finally surrendered just as the wheels of the Superfortress touched down on Mac's 30th mission. The war was over.After the war, MAC served as director of air training for the 20th Air Force during the Korean War, as air attaché to French Indochina, at NATO prior to the Vietnam War, and as director of war plans for TAC during the Vietnam War. This is his story.

Concise account of the defeat of the Japanese in 1944 and 1945.

In the tradition of Band of Brothers, historian and former paratrooper James M. Fenelon offers a grunt’s-eye view of the 11th Airborne’s heroic campaign to liberate the Philippines in World War II. A soldier’s history at its best.

Valor is the magnificent story of a genuine American hero who survived the fall of the Philippines and brutal captivity under the Japanese, from New York Times bestselling author Dan Hampton.Lieutenant William Frederick "Bill" Harris was 25 years old when captured by Japanese forces during the Battle of Corregidor in May 1942. This son of a decorated Marine general escaped from hell on earth by swimming eight hours through a shark-infested bay; but his harrowing ordeal had just begun.Shipwrecked on the southern coast of the Philippines, he was sheltered by a Filipino aristocrat, engaged in guerilla fighting, and eventually set off through hostile waters to China. After 29 days of misadventures and violent storms, Harris and his crew limped into a friendly fishing village in the southern Philippines. Evading and fighting for months, he embarked on another agonizing voyage to Australia, but was betrayed by treacherous islanders and handed over to the Japanese. Held for two years in the notorious Ofuna prisoner-of-war camp outside Yokohama, Harris was continuously starved, tortured, and beaten, but he never surrendered. Teaching himself Japanese, he eavesdropped on the guards and created secret codes to communicate with fellow prisoners. After liberation on August 30, 1945, Bill represented American Marine POWs during the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay before joining his father and flying to a home he had not seen in four years.Valor is a riveting new look at the Pacific War. Through military documents, personal photos, and an unpublished memoir provided by his daughter, Harris' experiences are dramatically revealed through his own words in the expert hands of bestselling author and retired fighter pilot Dan Hampton. This is the stunning and captivating true story of an American hero.

Seven minutes past midnight on March 10, 1945, nearly 300 American B-29s thundered into the skies over Tokyo. Their payloads of incendiaries ignited a firestorm that reached up to 2,800 degrees, liquefying asphalt and vaporising thousands; sixteen square miles of the city were flattened and more than 100,000 men, women, and children were killed. Black Snow is the story of this devastating operation, orchestrated by Major General Curtis LeMay, who famously remarked: "If we lose the war, we'll be tried as war criminals".James M. Scott reconstructs in granular detail that horrific night, and describes the development of the B-29, the capture of the Marianas for use as airfields, and the change in strategy from high-altitude daylight "precision" bombing to low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing. Most importantly, the raid represented a significant moral shift for America, marking the first time commanders deliberately targeted civilians which helped pave the way for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki five months later.Drawing on first-person interviews with American pilots and bombardiers and Japanese survivors, air force archives and oral histories never before published in English, Scott delivers a harrowing and gripping account, and his most important and compelling work to date.

The full history of how the United States targeted and destroyed the Japanese capital from the air, in a ten-month long campaign by the US Army Air Force and the US Navy.In November 1944, the US Army Air Force launched a 111-plane B-29 strike against Tokyo, the first raid since the morale-boosting Doolittle Raid of 1942. From then until August 13, 1945, the United States would attack Tokyo 25 times, 20 from B-29s based in the Marianas and five from US Navy carrier task forces. The campaign included the single deadliest air raid in human history, when around 100,000 people were killed by the firestorm created by the Operation Meetinghouse raid of March 10, 1945. This book, the first to examine the full history of the United States' air campaign against the greatest target in Japan, looks at the USAAF's and US Navy's efforts to use air power to eliminate Tokyo's strategic value to the Empire. It considers how the campaign developed from daylight bombing to firebombing and anti-ship mining, and finally how the target was handed over to the US Navy, whose carrier-based bombers and fighter-bombers continued to strike Tokyo during July and August 1945.Using specially commissioned battlescenes, strategic maps and diagrams, this volume presents a detailed picture of how Tokyo was vanquished from the air.

Fully illustrated, this absorbing study explores the evolving sniping technology and tactics employed by both sides in Asia and the Pacific during 1941-45. During World War II, both the Japanese and their Allied opponents made widespread use of snipers armed with a variety of rifles, scopes and accessories and prepared by widely differing levels of training and tactical doctrine. The challenges of fighting in a variety of harsh environments, from the Pacific islands to the vast expanses of China, prompted improvisation and innovation on both sides in the ongoing war between snipers and their adversaries. Often operating at relatively close ranges in restrictive terrain, snipers made particularly ingenious use of camouflage and deception as the fighting spread across Asia and the Pacific in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack, while troops tasked with countering enemy marksmen had to learn the hard way how best to defeat a seemingly invisible enemy. Small arms expert John Walter considers the strengths and limitations of the rifles, scopes and accessories deployed by Japanese snipers and their Allied counterparts, as well as their different approaches to sniping tactics and training. Specially commissioned artwork and carefully chosen photographs illustrate this enthralling study of the sniping war in Asia and the Pacific during World War II.

The forgotten story of the major naval operations conducted in the Philippines by the US and Japanese navies after Leyte Gulf up to the US invasion of Luzon in January 1945. The events that took place in the aftermath of the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 are often overlooked by military historians. An impressive array of naval operations continued in the Philippines up to January 1945, which included (on the Japanese side) the largest convoys to a contested island during the war, the first kamikaze campaign, and the second largest Imperial Japanese Navy surface operation during the last nine months of the conflict. On the American side, US forces were involved in efforts to cut off Leyte from enemy reinforcement, a massive amphibious invasion off Luzon, and large-scale operations by the Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38).Expert naval historian Mark Stille throws new light on this often forgotten phase of the Pacific naval war. Among the actions covered are the battles for Ormoc Bay, the invasion of Mindoro, Japanese kamikaze attacks, and US Third Fleet's rampage through the South China Sea between January 10 and 20, 1945. Superb battlescene artworks bring the war at sea and in the air vividly to life, and maps and diagrams guide readers through a range of actions in clear, step-by-step detail.

A U.S. naval counterintelligence officer working to safeguard Pearl Harbor; A Japanese spy ordered to Hawaii to gather information on the American fleet. On December 7, 1941, their hidden stories are exposed by a morning of bloodshed that will change the world forever.

"The Pacific War remains a crucial topic for strategic discussion, especially as Japan's push for a broader conflict in 1941 still fascinates historians. That regional push grew into a wider world war with all the major maritime powers, as well as the Soviet Union, in a conflict that challenged the allied response in Asia and beyond. John T. Kuehn examines the Pacific War from the vantage point of strategy and the execution of that strategy. The allies entered an ongoing Sino-Japanese War in China which shaped the implementation of strategic decision making for the larger campaigns of the Pacific War"--

This volume draws together the ground-breaking work of researchers and archaeological practitioners, working in multiple countries, to explore and understand the material and cultural impacts of the Pacific War.

This volume draws together the ground-breaking work of researchers and archaeological practitioners, working in multiple countries, to explore and understand the material and cultural impacts of the Pacific War.

" Existing literature maintains that the U.S. Marine Corps' operational success in the Pacific War rested upon two dominant themes: committed theoretical preparation and courageous battlefield action. Put simply, the Marines wrestled with the conceptual challenges of the amphibious assault in the 1920s and 1930s and developed the tools and methods necessary to seize a hostile beach. When Japanese forces attacked at Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Corps sent its brave and spirited infantrymen to advance across the enemy-held islands of the South and Central Pacific. But the full story runs much deeper. Though this conventional narrative captures essential elements of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps' triumph, it fails to account for substantial interwar deficiencies in fire control and coordination, as well as the critical wartime development of those capabilities between 1942 and 1945. Delivering Destruction is the first detailed study of American triphibious (land, sea, and air) firepower coordination in the Pacific War. In describing the Amphibious Corps' development of fire coordination teams and tactics in the Central Pacific, Hemler underlines the importance of wartime adaptation, battlefield coordination, and the primacy of the human element in naval combat. He reveals the untold story of American fire control and coordination teams in the Central Pacific. Through "bottom-up" adaptation and innovation, American troops and officers worked out practical solutions in the field, learning to effectively apply and integrate air and naval support during a contested amphibious assault. The Americans' ability to mount tremendous, synchronized firepower at the beachhead-a capability established through three years of grueling wartime adaptation-allowed the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to seize any fortified Japanese island of its choice by 1945. ]Despite advancing technology and expanding "domains" of warfare, combat remains a deeply interactive, human endeavor. "--

The first effort to reconstruct the history of the Pacific War exclusively from internal Japanese sources, from the renowned historiansA magisterial work of political, social, and military history, Sacred War sets a new standard for understanding the events that forever transformed America, Japan, and the world. Celebrated historians Theodore F. and Haruko Taya Cook, whose oral history of the Pacific war was called "one of the essential books about World War II" (Philadelphia Inquirer), now offer a shattering new history of Japan's long war in the Pacific, told exclusively from the perspective of the Japanese. Sacred War draws on a rich trove of documents, much of it first-person and almost all of it previously inaccessible to Western scholars. Based on painstaking research, here is World War II through the eyes of the Japanese themselves: ordinary people on the home front, soldiers on the front lines, and the military and political leadership who drove Japan to near annihilation by 1945. Sacred War reveals both the internal logic of an authoritarian society bent on victory at all costs-including, in the final twelve months of the war, over one million civilian deaths-as well as heartrending accounts of the unfolding conflict, from the disease-ridden beaches on Guadalcanal to the burnt-out streets of Hiroshima, following the nuclear attacks by the United States that brought the war to its devastating end.

Of Love and War details the intimate relationships forged during wartime between women and U.S. servicemen stationed in the South Pacific, traces the fate of wartime marriages, and addresses consequences for the women and children left behind.

"Highly recommended as a sobering but enlightening account." Richard B. Frank, author of Downfall: The End of the Japanese Empire In the 44 months between December 1941 and August 1945, the Pacific Theater absorbed the attention of the American nation and military longer than any other. Despite the Allied grand strategy of "Germany first," after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. especially was committed to confronting Tokyo as a matter of urgent priority. But from Oahu to Tokyo was a long, sanguinary slog, averaging an advance of just three miles per day. The U.S. human toll paid on that road reached some 108,000 battle deaths, more than one-third the U.S. wartime total. But, by the summer of 1945, on both the American homefront and on the frontline, there was hope for surrender. Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 seemed sure to force Tokyo to capitulate to the Allies' demands made in Potsdam. What few understood, however, was the vast gap in the cultural ethos between East and West at that time. The Japanese cabinet refused to surrender and vicious dogfights were still fought in the skies above Japan. This fascinating new history tells the dramatic story of the final weeks of the war, detailing the last brutal battles on air, land and sea with evocative first-hand accounts from pilots and sailors caught up in these extraordinary events. Award-winning author and historical aviation expert Barrett Tillman expertly details the first weeks of a tenuous peace and the drawing of battle lines for the forthcoming Cold War as Soviet forces concluded their invasion of Manchuria. When the Shooting Stopped retells these dramatic events, drawing on accounts from all sides to relive the days when the war finally ended and the world was changed forever.