Rolling Thunder Against the Rising Sun: The Combat History of U.S. Army Tank Battalions in the Pacific in World War II

by Gene Eric Salecker

Overview

Although the history of armor in World War II has captured the attention of countless authors, no one has yet chronicled the extensive use of tanks in the Pacific—until now. In comprehensive detail Gene Eric Salecker describes the exploits of American tanks on the jungle islands where troops engaged in savage combat and encountered unforgiving weather and terrain. Stationed in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked the islands in 1941, the U.S. Army's independent tank battalions fought from the very start of the war. From New Guinea and the Solomons to the Ryukyus, American armor proved instrumental in winning World War II in the Pacific.First work dedicated solely to the use of Army tanks in the Pacific Theater Covers armor battles in the Philippines, Makin, the Solomons, Rabaul, New Guinea, Saipan, Guam, and Okinawa

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811703147
Publisher:	Stackpole Books
Publication date:	04/16/2008
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Gene Eric Salecker lives near Chicago, Illinois.

Table of Contents

Baptism of Fire     1
War     15
War Plan Orange-3     27
Into Bataan     38
Bataan     48
The Points and Pockets     57
Siege and Suffering     65
Surrender     71
Reinforcements and Turnabout     82
Taking Makin     91
Closing the Solomons     108
Another Crack in the Outer Barrier     116
Isolating Rabaul     129
Leapfrogging the New Guinea Coast     136
Bloody Biak     144
Southern Saipan     154
The Valley of Death     164
Hard Days on Saipan     175
The End on Saipan     183
Guam     194
Stepping Stones     208
The Helmet's Wings     220
The Return     232
The Drive to Ormoc     248
Luzon     257
Manila     272
Corregidor and Southern Luzon     291
Northern Luzon     303
Clearing the Southern Philippines     317
Eastern Mindanao     326
Iceberg     333
Hard Days     345
The Last Battle     355
The End     369
Notes     377
Bibliography     422
Index     442