US Marine vs Japanese Soldier: Saipan, Tinian, Guam, and Peleliu, 1944: 77 (Combat)

Yet more on the US in the pacific. Good photos and art work. Another book on US marines will follow I’m sure!

This new book by Dr. Gregg Adams continues his study of US Marine Corps versus Japanese Army combat effectiveness begun in previous volumes of Osprey's excellent "Combat" series. The book examines three World War II Pacific battles to show the evolution of US amphibious doctrine and Japanese defensive doctrine. The approach is thorough, and Adams makes it easy to understand and see how the actions of one side influenced the other. I was very pleased to see that primary sources were consulted which is not always the case with many Osprey authors. Johnny Shumate's illustrations are excellent. He is one of the better illustrators now contributing to Osprey. I highly recommend this book and look forward to future works from the Adams/Shumate team.

Perfecto

By 1944, U.S, forces had driven deep into the formerly Japanese-held islands in the western Pacific. The Japanese garrisons tended to be collections of surviving troops from a variety sources, pushed together and told to fight the invading U.S. forces to the death. And so they did. The U.S. Marine Corps had attained a high degree of proficiency in amphibious operations by 1944. The hard part always seemed to be digging the Japanese out of their holes on the islands. Several of these fights were extremely bloody and closer to call than expected. The text includes lots of period photographs and modern maps and illustrations. Well recommended.