Tarawa 1943: The turning of the tide

by Derrick Wright, Howard Gerrard (Illustrator)

Overview

The island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll was defended by the elite troops of the Special Naval Landing Force, whose commander, Admiral Shibasaki, boasted that "the Americans could not take Tarawa with a million men in a hundred years". In a pioneering amphibious invasion, the Marines of the 2nd Division set out to prove him wrong, overcoming serious planning errors to fight a 76-hour battle of unprecedented savagery. The cost would be more than 3000 Marine casualties at the hands of a garrison of some 3700. The lessons learned would dispel forever any illusions that Americans had about the fighting quality of the Japanese.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782002390
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	08/20/2012
Series:	Campaign , #77
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	34 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

DERRICK WRIGHT was born in 1928 and spent his early years living in the Teeside area, where frequent air raids sparked off a lasting interest in World War II. He attended West Hartlepool School of Art, did two years National Service stationed in Portsmouth, and after demobilization took up a career in engineering, specialising in ultrasonics. Derrick's research over the years has brought him in touch with many Pacific War veterans who have provided invaluable information.

Howard Gerrard has been a freelance designer and illustrator for over 20 years. He has worked for a number of publishers, and is an associate member of the Guild of Aviation Artists.
Derrick Wright's interest in WWII was sparked by his childhood in the Teeside area of the UK which was subjected to many bombing raids. After national Service with the Army, he became an engineer specialising in Ultrasonics. Retired, he lives with his wife on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors.
Howard Gerrard studied at the Wallasey School of Art and has been a freelance designer and illustrator for over 20 years. He has won both the Society of British Aerospace Companies Award and the Wilkinson Sword Trophy and has illustrated a number of books for Osprey including Campaign 69: Nagashino 1575 and Campaign 72: Jutland 1916. Howard lives and works in Kent.

Table of Contents

Overview: the Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to November 1944/Opposing Commanders/Opposing Armies/The Battle for Tarawa/Aftermath/Chronology/Bibliography/The Battlefield Today/Index