075 JAPANESE INFANTRYMAN vs US MARINE RIFLEMAN: Tarawa, Roi-Namur, and Eniwetok, 1943-44

1-972075

Combat Men series. Covers US Marine Corps and Imperial Japanese Army troops, explaining tactics, organization, and equipment for a trio of battles: Tarawa, Roi-Namur, and Eniwetok. On November 20, 1943, amphibious vehicles carrying Marines of the 2d Marine Division reached the shores of Betio Island in the Tarawa Atoll, defended by a determined Japanese garrison that would fight to the last man. This began a test by combat of over two decades of US studies, analyses, and planning for capturing and defending naval bases in Micronesia. The Tarawa assault was followed in February 1944 by the rapid capture of the Kwajalein and Eniwetok atolls in the Marshall Islands.