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The Battle for Tinian: Vital Stepping Stone in America's War Against Japan
In July 1944, the 9,000-man Japanese garrison on the island of Tinian listened warily as the thunder of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, Army and Air Corps, descended on their neighboring island, Saipan, just three miles away. There were 20,000 Japanese troops on Saipan, but the US obliterated the opposition after a horrific all-arms campaign. The sudden silence only indicated it was now Tinian’s turn.
By the time the US 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions switched their sights to Tinian, the island had already been bombarded for a month; meantime both sides had learned their lessons from the previous island-hopping invasions. The Americans had learned the arts of recon, deception, plus preliminary firepower so as not to suffer the huge casualties they’d suffered at Saipan, Guadalcanal, and Tarawa; the Japanese, for their part, had learned not to contest US strength on beaches but to draw it further inland where terrain and bomb-proof fortifications could assist.
When the battle for Tinian finally took place the US acted with great skill. Historian Samuel Elliot Morrison called it “the most perfectly executed amphibious operation of the entire war.” Nevertheless, the Japanese resisted with their usual stubbornness, and the already decimated US Marines suffered hundreds of more casualties.
During the battle Japanese shore batteries were able to riddle the battleship Colorado, killing scores, plus make multiple hits on a destroyer, killing its captain. On the island itself the US used napalm for the first time, paving the way for Marines painstakingly rooting out strongpoints. One last Banzai attack signaled the end to enemy resistance, as Marines fought toe-to-toe with their antagonists in the dark.
In the end some 8,000 Japanese were killed, with only 300 surrenders, plus some others who hid out for years after the war. But those Japanese who resisted perhaps performed a greater service than they knew. After Tinian was secured the US proceeded to build the biggest airport in the world on that island—home to hundreds of B-29 Superfortresses. Among these, just over a year later, were the Enola Gay and Boxcar, which with their atomic bombs would quickly bring the Japanese homeland itself to its knees.
By the time the US 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions switched their sights to Tinian, the island had already been bombarded for a month; meantime both sides had learned their lessons from the previous island-hopping invasions. The Americans had learned the arts of recon, deception, plus preliminary firepower so as not to suffer the huge casualties they’d suffered at Saipan, Guadalcanal, and Tarawa; the Japanese, for their part, had learned not to contest US strength on beaches but to draw it further inland where terrain and bomb-proof fortifications could assist.
When the battle for Tinian finally took place the US acted with great skill. Historian Samuel Elliot Morrison called it “the most perfectly executed amphibious operation of the entire war.” Nevertheless, the Japanese resisted with their usual stubbornness, and the already decimated US Marines suffered hundreds of more casualties.
During the battle Japanese shore batteries were able to riddle the battleship Colorado, killing scores, plus make multiple hits on a destroyer, killing its captain. On the island itself the US used napalm for the first time, paving the way for Marines painstakingly rooting out strongpoints. One last Banzai attack signaled the end to enemy resistance, as Marines fought toe-to-toe with their antagonists in the dark.
In the end some 8,000 Japanese were killed, with only 300 surrenders, plus some others who hid out for years after the war. But those Japanese who resisted perhaps performed a greater service than they knew. After Tinian was secured the US proceeded to build the biggest airport in the world on that island—home to hundreds of B-29 Superfortresses. Among these, just over a year later, were the Enola Gay and Boxcar, which with their atomic bombs would quickly bring the Japanese homeland itself to its knees.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 19, 2012
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About the author
Nathan N. Prefer
9 books2 followersNathan N. Prefer’s lifelong study of the Second World War has resulted in three prior military studies including MacArthur’s New Guinea Campaign; Patton’s Ghost Corps; and Vinegar Joe’s War. His interest in the Tinian Campaign began when he served in the US Marine Corps Reserve as part of the 4th Marine Division. Now retired with graduate degrees in Military History, Prefer’s next work will concern the US Army’s campaign on Leyte in the Philippines. He currently resides in Fort Myers, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 20, 2013
"The Battle for Tinian" gives a good account of a Pacific War landing that is not often written about. Nathan Prefer provides a crisp, nicely paced account. He puts the landing in the context of the Marianas campaign and tells the story of the provenance of the diversion that made the island's conquest easier. Prefer tells why Tinian's capture was important and concludes the narrative by telling about the Army Air Force's bombing campaign from the island. The book includes Japanese and American orders of battle as well as good maps and biographies of American commanders. "The Battle for Tinian" is primarily from the American perspective, although the Japanese perspective is given at intervals.
The book has one shortcoming. It has a number of nasty typos and obvious grammatical errors. As a former editor, I am sensitive about these. Problems such as these can reduce the book's credibility for some. I hope that corrections are made in future editions.
The book has one shortcoming. It has a number of nasty typos and obvious grammatical errors. As a former editor, I am sensitive about these. Problems such as these can reduce the book's credibility for some. I hope that corrections are made in future editions.
December 12, 2017
A bit of a dry read, but good detail. It gives great context and perspective on this often overlooked battle. It helps that my grandpa fought in this campaign, and was also there to watch the Enola Gay take off for Hiroshima (though he didn't know it until after the fact). This book helps fill in some of the blanks for those of us already familiar with the larger campaigns of the Pacific Theater.
February 10, 2018
I would have given this book four stars but for the fact tha the first two-thirds of the book were a blow by blow account of troop movements, catalog of units, commanders, deployment, etc.; this of interest to professional military types, but not very captivating reading for the rest of us. At the end of the actual battle, the book gets more interesting as you learn more about the internal politics and problems of the generals and further details of what took place on TInian Island after the battle when it became a central focus of the air war on the main islands of Japan. As is mentioned in the book, Tinian is often overlooked because it was a successful textbook amphibious landing and assault. Because of this, it was less dramatic than some of the other landings of the Pacific war. For those of you interested in a well rounded knowledge of the war, this is good reading.
November 25, 2017
World War II Story
This book is really good at describing the Battle of Tinian. The author gives the reasons for the battle, the planning, and its execution. After clearly describing this, he finishes with appendixes which give the order of battle and everything else the reader would want to know. He also states that the mopping up did not end until the last soldier surrendered in 1953.
This book is really good at describing the Battle of Tinian. The author gives the reasons for the battle, the planning, and its execution. After clearly describing this, he finishes with appendixes which give the order of battle and everything else the reader would want to know. He also states that the mopping up did not end until the last soldier surrendered in 1953.
March 15, 2018
Battle for the Pacific
Although historical in content, this was a must interesting book and I learned a great deal from it. For such a vital strategic capture, you would think there would be more about this battle.
Although historical in content, this was a must interesting book and I learned a great deal from it. For such a vital strategic capture, you would think there would be more about this battle.
November 23, 2017
Very detailed history, melds the details well with the overall picture
December 12, 2017
History was accurate
Information was, is very accurate. Very informative,learned some new information about the logistics of the battle. Would recommend reading this work.
Information was, is very accurate. Very informative,learned some new information about the logistics of the battle. Would recommend reading this work.
November 4, 2012
Mr. Prefer has written an outstanding book on the battle for Tinian. While only 240 pages, it is an excellence examination of the battle and planning. Persons interested in World War Two in the Pacific will enjoy its direct and easily understood style. The author is a master communicator. I highly recommend the book. Not only is it the tale of how to plan and execute a battle, it is a model on how to write the history of a battle.
The author starts the book with an historical overview of the Mariana Islands giving the background by placing in context why we are the based on the whereabouts, topography, and military significance. We learn why this location is so important to both the Japanese and the United States.
We look at the Battle for Tinian through the scope of the Battle for Saipan. The planning of the battle, the lessons learned, and the future implications of the education received are enduring.
The author does an excellent job of describing the Japanese stronghold on Tinian down to both their defenses and leadership issues. The unfolding of the decision-making process of the US in selecting the landing sites is a lesson in leadership by itself.
The photographs and simple maps added to the book. Sometimes simple is better. I found myself repeatedly referring back to the maps to locate landing sites and follow the action. The way Mr. Prefer narrated the daily actions and events on landings, attacks, counterattacks had me feeling as if I were there. It was able to touch my emotion through his writing.
He does an extraordinary job pulling it all together and summarizing the campaign. The inclusion of the appendixes with key leadership, causality information, information of the ships, citations, battle orders add significant value to the work. The bibliography will help the serious student or scholar in their further study as will the excellent indexing of the book.
Nathan N. Prefer and Casemate Publishers have hit a home run with the book. Like the order of battler for Tinian, they both have set the example of how book on a battle should be written.
The author starts the book with an historical overview of the Mariana Islands giving the background by placing in context why we are the based on the whereabouts, topography, and military significance. We learn why this location is so important to both the Japanese and the United States.
We look at the Battle for Tinian through the scope of the Battle for Saipan. The planning of the battle, the lessons learned, and the future implications of the education received are enduring.
The author does an excellent job of describing the Japanese stronghold on Tinian down to both their defenses and leadership issues. The unfolding of the decision-making process of the US in selecting the landing sites is a lesson in leadership by itself.
The photographs and simple maps added to the book. Sometimes simple is better. I found myself repeatedly referring back to the maps to locate landing sites and follow the action. The way Mr. Prefer narrated the daily actions and events on landings, attacks, counterattacks had me feeling as if I were there. It was able to touch my emotion through his writing.
He does an extraordinary job pulling it all together and summarizing the campaign. The inclusion of the appendixes with key leadership, causality information, information of the ships, citations, battle orders add significant value to the work. The bibliography will help the serious student or scholar in their further study as will the excellent indexing of the book.
Nathan N. Prefer and Casemate Publishers have hit a home run with the book. Like the order of battler for Tinian, they both have set the example of how book on a battle should be written.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews