Description
On 20 November 1943 the Second Marine Division launched the first amphibious assault of the Pacific War, directly into the teeth of powerful Japanese defenses on Tarawa. In that blood-soaked invasion, a single company of Sherman tanks, of which only two survived, played a pivotal role in turning the tide from looming disaster to legendary victory. In this unique study Oscar Gilbert and Romain Cansiere use official documents, memoirs, interviews with veterans, as well as personal and aerial photographs to follow Charlie Company from its formation, and trace the movement, action-and loss-of individual tanks in this horrific four-day struggle.
The authors have used official documents and interviews with veterans to follow the company from training through the brutal 76-hour struggle for Tarawa. Survivor accounts and air photo analysis document the movements -and destruction - of the company's individual tanks. It is a story of escapes from drowning tanks, and even more harrowing escapes from tanks knocked out behind Japanese lines. It is a story of men doing whatever needed to be done, from burying the dead to hand-carrying heavy cannon ammunition forward under fire. It is the story of how the two surviving tanks and their crews expanded a perilously thin beachhead, and cleared the way for critical reinforcements to come ashore. But most of all it is a story of how a few unsung Marines helped turn near disaster into epic victory.
About the Author
Oscar E. Gilbert was a U.S. Marine Corps artilleryman and instructor, and retired after a thirty-eight year career in government service, university teaching, and international petroleum exploration. He is the author of numerous books on military history. Romain V. Cansiere is a native of southern France, interested in the U. S. Marine Corps since his teenage years. His current historical research is on the Marine Corps in World War I.
Reviews
It is a very enjoyable read, the style is plain but energetic, and the battle scenes are very clear. As a battle study, the work is a great success, providing a detailed account of the company's successes and failures on Tarawa. As a unit history, the work provides an excellent mix of personal anecdote and organizational data. * Marine Corp History *
Book Information
ISBN 9781612003030
Author Oscar E. Gilbert
Format Hardback
Page Count 416
Imprint Casemate Publishers
Publisher Casemate Publishers