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Storm Over the Gilberts: War in the Central Pacific: 1943
Dust jacket missing. Clean bright cover has slight edge wear. Text is perfect. Same day shipping.
175 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
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About the author
Edwin P. Hoyt
238 books28 followersEdwin P. Hoyt was a prolific American writer who specialized in military history. He was born in Portland, Oregon to the publisher Edwin Palmer Hoyt (1897–1979) and his wife, the former Cecile DeVore (1901–1970). A younger brother, Charles Richard, was born in 1928. Hoyt attended the University of Oregon from 1940 to 1943.
In 1943, Hoyt's father, then the editor and publisher of The Oregonian, was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as the director of the Domestic Branch, Office of War Information. The younger Hoyt served with the Office of War Information during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. In 1945 and 1946, he served as a foreign correspondent for The Denver Post (of which his father became editor and publisher in 1946) and the United Press, reporting from locations in China, Thailand, Burma, India, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and Korea.
Edwin Hoyt subsequently worked as an ABC broadcaster, covering the 1948 revolution in Czechoslovakia and the Arab-Israeli conflict. From 1949 to 1951, he was the editor of the editorial page at The Denver Post. He was the editor and publisher of the Colorado Springs Free Press from 1951 to 1955, and an associate editor of Collier's Weekly in New York from 1955 to 1956. In 1957 he was a television producer and writer-director at CBS, and in 1958 he was an assistant publisher of American Heritage magazine in New York.
Starting in 1958, Hoyt became a writer full-time, and for a few years (1976 to 1980) served as a part-time lecturer at the University of Hawaii. In the 40 years since his first publication in 1960, he produced nearly 200 published works.
While Hoyt wrote about 20 novels (many published under pseudonyms Christopher Martin and Cabot L. Forbes) the vast majority of his works are biographies and other forms of non-fiction, with a heavy emphasis on World War II military history.
Hoyt died in Tokyo, Japan on July 29, 2005, after a prolonged illness. He was survived by his wife Hiroko, of Tokyo, and three children, Diana, Helga, and Christopher, all residing in the U.S.
In 1943, Hoyt's father, then the editor and publisher of The Oregonian, was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as the director of the Domestic Branch, Office of War Information. The younger Hoyt served with the Office of War Information during World War II, from 1943 to 1945. In 1945 and 1946, he served as a foreign correspondent for The Denver Post (of which his father became editor and publisher in 1946) and the United Press, reporting from locations in China, Thailand, Burma, India, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and Korea.
Edwin Hoyt subsequently worked as an ABC broadcaster, covering the 1948 revolution in Czechoslovakia and the Arab-Israeli conflict. From 1949 to 1951, he was the editor of the editorial page at The Denver Post. He was the editor and publisher of the Colorado Springs Free Press from 1951 to 1955, and an associate editor of Collier's Weekly in New York from 1955 to 1956. In 1957 he was a television producer and writer-director at CBS, and in 1958 he was an assistant publisher of American Heritage magazine in New York.
Starting in 1958, Hoyt became a writer full-time, and for a few years (1976 to 1980) served as a part-time lecturer at the University of Hawaii. In the 40 years since his first publication in 1960, he produced nearly 200 published works.
While Hoyt wrote about 20 novels (many published under pseudonyms Christopher Martin and Cabot L. Forbes) the vast majority of his works are biographies and other forms of non-fiction, with a heavy emphasis on World War II military history.
Hoyt died in Tokyo, Japan on July 29, 2005, after a prolonged illness. He was survived by his wife Hiroko, of Tokyo, and three children, Diana, Helga, and Christopher, all residing in the U.S.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 30, 2019
A very short book (153 pages) which, at first, I thought was just an overview of the war in the Gilbert Islands of the Pacific but it gave a bit more information that I expected in such limited page count.
The world's largest ocean is dotted with hundred of small islands and the Japanese used them in an "island hopping" strategy to control the Pacific.....Guam, Truk, Wake, et al. These were the nerve centers of Japan's defense system and although some American strategists felt that these island should be by-passed in favor of a direct attack on Japan, cooler heads prevailed. In order to put enough men, ships, and aircraft into this effort, the joint forces of the Army, Navy, and the Marines were gathered under the purview of Admiral of the Pacific Fleet, Chester Nimitz. He appointed Admiral Raymond Spruance to lead and coordinate the effort.
The Japanese expected that the Marshal Islands would be the target but Spruance determined that the Gilbert Islands would be attacked first. It soon became apparent that the coordination of the competitive services was going to be a problem as the leadership in each service had differing ideas about how the attack should be approached. The preparations for the Gilbert's campaign began as much a battle among Allied commanders as between enemies. And the mistakes made in the battle were directly the fault of the leadership and several men were relieved of their duties.
The author covers the four day battle in some detail and it clearly illustrates that, although outnumbered, the Japanese did not and would not surrender and only three prisoners were taken. One of the most controversial aspects of the battle of the Gilbert Islands, was the fact that in the "postmortem" of the battle the leadership decided that the battle was a waste of time and that it was little more than a "training" exercise for the skills of amphibious warfare. It makes one wonder what the 3,000 Allied troop deaths/casualties would have to say about that.
The world's largest ocean is dotted with hundred of small islands and the Japanese used them in an "island hopping" strategy to control the Pacific.....Guam, Truk, Wake, et al. These were the nerve centers of Japan's defense system and although some American strategists felt that these island should be by-passed in favor of a direct attack on Japan, cooler heads prevailed. In order to put enough men, ships, and aircraft into this effort, the joint forces of the Army, Navy, and the Marines were gathered under the purview of Admiral of the Pacific Fleet, Chester Nimitz. He appointed Admiral Raymond Spruance to lead and coordinate the effort.
The Japanese expected that the Marshal Islands would be the target but Spruance determined that the Gilbert Islands would be attacked first. It soon became apparent that the coordination of the competitive services was going to be a problem as the leadership in each service had differing ideas about how the attack should be approached. The preparations for the Gilbert's campaign began as much a battle among Allied commanders as between enemies. And the mistakes made in the battle were directly the fault of the leadership and several men were relieved of their duties.
The author covers the four day battle in some detail and it clearly illustrates that, although outnumbered, the Japanese did not and would not surrender and only three prisoners were taken. One of the most controversial aspects of the battle of the Gilbert Islands, was the fact that in the "postmortem" of the battle the leadership decided that the battle was a waste of time and that it was little more than a "training" exercise for the skills of amphibious warfare. It makes one wonder what the 3,000 Allied troop deaths/casualties would have to say about that.
July 12, 2016
I’ve already read a number of Edwin P. Hoyt’s short histories of various military operations of the Second World War. This particular book – “STORM OVER THE GILBERTS: War in the Central Pacific, 1943” – offers a concise and comprehensive account of a campaign aimed at further eroding the capacity of Imperial Japan for offensive warfare against the Allies in the Pacific. The reader becomes a witness to the planning, development, and execution --- from various angles (e.g.the U.S. Army, Navy & Marine senior commanders, the political and military chiefs in Washington, and the various levels of the Japanese naval and air command structures) --- of the invasion of the Gilbert Islands in November 1943. Hoyt has an unerring skill for providing as complete a picture of the unfolding and playing out of a battle or campaign as possible. This is a book that will appeal to the general reader, as well as the student of the Pacific War.
One of the findings from the outcome of the Gilberts campaign that I found especially eye-opening was the feeling by many of the Navy and Marine combatants that the campaign was a waste. (The Battle of Tarawa was one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history, costing the Corps nearly 1,000 dead in 3 days of fighting.) It was their contention that the Marshall Islands to the northwest (where the great Japanese naval base at Truk was situated) should have been invaded first. Hoyt, reflecting the views of senior commanders like Nimitz, Spruance, Marshall, and King, states that “[t]he reality was that the Gilberts operation was ‘training,’ and little more than that. Nonetheless it was essential, for until the Americans had been trained, until the Fifth Fleet had been welded into a fighting force, it might have been suicidal to send it against a stronger bastion.”
A heavy cost was exacted in the Gilberts. But the sacrifice “paved the way for the whole drive across the Central Pacific” in 1944. Hoyt has crafted yet another terrific book.
One of the findings from the outcome of the Gilberts campaign that I found especially eye-opening was the feeling by many of the Navy and Marine combatants that the campaign was a waste. (The Battle of Tarawa was one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history, costing the Corps nearly 1,000 dead in 3 days of fighting.) It was their contention that the Marshall Islands to the northwest (where the great Japanese naval base at Truk was situated) should have been invaded first. Hoyt, reflecting the views of senior commanders like Nimitz, Spruance, Marshall, and King, states that “[t]he reality was that the Gilberts operation was ‘training,’ and little more than that. Nonetheless it was essential, for until the Americans had been trained, until the Fifth Fleet had been welded into a fighting force, it might have been suicidal to send it against a stronger bastion.”
A heavy cost was exacted in the Gilberts. But the sacrifice “paved the way for the whole drive across the Central Pacific” in 1944. Hoyt has crafted yet another terrific book.
October 15, 2016
Not much more than a summary accounting of the U.S. Marines assault on Tarawa. The Marines would lose almost as much men here in 96 hrs as they did in the six months long Guadalcanal campaign. Unbelievably, the exploits of Medal of Honor winner Lt. William Hawkins and his sniper platoon are mentioned in a single paragraph. It has been said of Hawkins, who was awarded the MOH posthumously, that if ever a battle was won by a Lieutenant, it was here. If you've read nothing about this battle skip this book and read Robert Sherrod's Tarawa, the Story of a Battle.
November 19, 2023
This slender volume has its positives: good overview of the battles over naval doctrine; good overview of how the decision to attack Tarawa was made; good overview of the preparations for and the actual unfolding of the battle; and surprisingly, a good overview from the IJN side.
The negatives include unnecessary repetition and a narrative that becomes too jumpy as the battle unfolds.
Still, it’s worth a read for a quick overview of this infamous battle.
The negatives include unnecessary repetition and a narrative that becomes too jumpy as the battle unfolds.
Still, it’s worth a read for a quick overview of this infamous battle.
July 11, 2023
A very effective overview that pulls the reader right into the heat and confusion of the battle as well as the various political and strategy battles between the various American forces while providing similar for the Japanese forces.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews