Aleutians, Gilberts, Marshalls: June 1942 - April 1944 - Volume 7

by Samuel Eliot Morison

Overview

This volume is the fifth in Admiral Morison's history to deal with naval actions in the Pacific, and the seventh in his History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. It picks up operations in the Aleutians where they were broken off after the Battle of Midway and carries them through the capture of Attu and Kiska, including the Battle of the Komandorskis.

The two great amphibious operations covered in this volume are the recovery of the Gilbert Islands and the conquest of the Marshalls. Captain Morison, who took part in Operation "Galvanic," describes in great detail the planning, preparation and execution of the assaults on Makin and Tarawa, with a frank discussion of the mistakes.

The narrative then swings into the Marshalls campaign of early 1944, the most brilliant, massive and successful amphibious operation of the war up to that year.

There are several amusing interludes to these grim operations -- how the Japanese fooled us in the evacuation of Kiska, the occupation of Abemama with its R. L. Stevenson associations, and the taking of minor Marshall islands by small squads of Marines under junior officers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316583077
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	01/30/1951
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	369
Sales rank:	448,039
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.13(d)
Age Range:	13 Years

Table of Contents

	Preface	vii
	Abbreviations	xxiii
	Introduction: Fast Carrier Operations, 1943-1945	xxvii
Part I	The Recovery of the Western Aleutians, June 1942-August 1943
I	Nine Months' Arctic Warfare, 15 June 1942-18 March 1943	3
1.	Aleutians Situation	3
2.	Bombardment of Kiska, 7 August	9
3.	Adak and Amchitka	12
4.	Bombardment of Attu, 18 February	19
II	The Battle of the Komandorski Islands, 26 March 1943	22
III	Attu Regained, April-May 1943	37
1.	Preparations and Approach	37
2.	The Landings, 11 May	41
3.	One Week's Struggle	44
4.	The Final Assault, 19-29 May	49
IV	The Aleutians Secured, May-October 1943	52
1.	Airfields and S-boats	52
2.	Concentrating on Kiska	54
3.	A Slick Evacuation, 28 July	56
4.	Bootless Bombardment and Bloodless Occupation	61
5.	Aleutians Secured	65
Part II	The Gilbert Islands Recovered (Operation "Galvanic")
V	Plans and Preparations	69
1.	The Spider's Web	69
2.	Micronesia in Pacific Strategy	79
3.	Organization and Training	85
4.	Preliminary Operations	92
a.	Fast Carrier Strikes, 1 September-6 October
b.	Baker Island Reoccupied
c.	Photographic Reconnaissance
VI	Logistics Afloat in the Pacific	100
VII	Organization and Approach, November 1943	114
VIII	Makin, 19-29 November 1943	121
1.	Plan and Initial Landings	121
2.	Lagoon Landings	127
3.	Makin Taken	132
IX	Japanese Reaction and Counterattack, October-November 1943	136
X	Tarawa, 19-23 November 1943	146
1.	The Japanese Defensive System on Betio	146
2.	Plan, Leaders, Approach	149
3.	Betio Assaulted, 20 November	156
4.	"Issue in Doubt"	163
5.	Betio Secured	172
XI	Tarawa and Abemama Secured, 24-27 November 1943	175
1.	Bairiki to Buariki	175
2.	Abemama	179
3.	Conclusions and Casualties	182
XII	Scouting Submarines and Carrier Strikes, 13 November-8 December 1943	187
1.	Loss of Corvina and Sculpin	187
2.	Strikes on Kwajalein and Nauru, 4-8 December	189
Part III	The Conquest of the Marshalls
XIII	Getting Set for the Marshalls, June-December 1943	201
1.	Which Marshalls?	201
2.	Amphtracs and Logistics	208
3.	Air and Submarine Preparation	211
4.	Enemy Preparations	222
XIV	Majuro, 31 January-8 February 1944	225
XV	Kwajalein (Operation "Flintlock"), 31 January-7 February 1944	230
1.	The Atoll, the Plan and the Approach	230
2.	Initial Landings in the North, 31 January	236
3.	Roi and Namur, 31 January-2 February	240
4.	The Southern Attack Force	251
5.	Initial Landings in the South, 31 January-2 February	253
6.	The Assault on Kwajalein Island, 1-6 February	257
7.	Ebeye and Minor Islets, 2-6 February	272
8.	Conclusion and Comment	278
XVI	Eniwetok (Operation "Catchpole"), 31 January-4 March 1944	282
1.	Preliminaries	282
2.	Engebi, 17-18 February	288
3.	Eniwetok Island, 19-23 February	294
4.	Parry, 19-23 February	300
XVII	Marshalls' Mop-up, February-June 1944	305
1.	Development of Bases	305
2.	Neutralizing Enemy-held Atolls	307
3.	Occupation of Minor Atolls	310
XVIII	First Strike on Truk (Operation "Hailstone"), 17-18 February 1944	315
Appendix I	Forces Engaged in the Capture of Attu (Operation "Landcrab"), 11-29 May 1943	333
Appendix II	Forces Engaged in Gilbert Islands Operation (Operation "Galvanic"), 10 November-10 December 1943	336
Appendix III	Forces Engaged in Marshall Islands (Operations "Flintlock" and "Catchpole"), 29 January-23 February 1944	343
Appendix IV	Forces Engaged in Strike on Truk, 17-18 February 1944	352
	Index	355