Saipan: The Beginning of the End

by Carl W. Hoffman

“The conquest of Saipan was, among Pacific operations up to that time, the most clear-cut decisive triumph of combined arms of the United States over the Japanese.” C. B. Cates, General, U. S. Marine CorpsVictory at Saipan was the key which opened the door to the soft underbelly of the Japanese Empire.Carl Hoffman’s brilliant account of this ferocious battle takes the reader through the course of its duration, from the initial discussion of plans and preparations right through to the eventual victory.This book is essential for anyone interested in the Pacific theater of war during World War Two and for the huge impact that the marine corps made in some of the bloodiest battles ever to have taken place.

Genres: World War II, War, History

359 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 27, 2019

Reviews

[Phillip Manson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book for a casual reader. The enemy on this island were clever tacticians who made the invaders pay a high price for every bit of real estate as they advanced from the beach to the plains and to the hills ambushed by the caves surrounding what appeared to be easy territory to overrun. General Holland Smith kept warning the high command that the lessons learned here must be taught to the troops who would be invading Iwo Jima and Okinawa and especially Peleliu. The rush to capture the chain that would eventually lead to Japan made the high command think that the might of America would overcome any obstacles the enemy could prepare to fight invaders. The high brass guys thought the enemy was not clever enough to come up with devilish tactics that they constructed from what they learned from the lessons on Saipan. The casualty counts for the Americans went up as they continued to belittle the cleverness of the defenders who were concerned about their homeland's security. It wasn't just a battle to the death. Honor was at stake just like in the Crusades.

[Doncourtright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tactical Description of the Battle for Siapan

This book could be a military text book. It is written as though the author was standing before a map and plotting the course of the war. Only the names of the commanding officers of the participating units were used.

[Jeff Lotspiech · Rating 3 out of 5]

I detailed military after-action report, and as such, it was interesting. It is a little annoying that it is written without any sense of drama... equal attention is given to a battalion temporarily changing regiments as to a unit receiving 50 causalities in a friendly fire incident. The Kindle edition was also annoying because there was no typographic notation for quotations. You can usually tell when the quotations start, but it is difficult to determine where they end and normal text resumes.

[william h bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chilling

Not being a member of the military, I had some difficulty understanding some of information given and I wished that I would have had a detailed map of Saipan and symbols of rash unit to better follow the military movements. Overall the book was very informational. I especially like the information o f the enemy's thoughts and movements.

[Autumn Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

It anyone doubts the effectiveness of the general staff they must read this book!!.

As a Marine and a 23 year dependant i had known the feeling of the lower troops in regard to the upper levels of leadership. They are sadly mistaken when stacked against the massive planning that went into the Dday action on the ground and in the air.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illuminating saga

Definitely for the avid military analyst. The thoroughness of military analysis becomes a bit tedious for a lay reader. While comprehensive and detailed the attention to minutiae required for the professional military reader is wasted on a casual reader.

[Erik L Grupp · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a great military summery

Great book, bottle progress would be understood better if more map outlines were added.
Overhaul a great read and an excellent narrative of the battle.

[Oneil Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

9 I'mIt is a historic account of the conquest of shipman that should be studied by all.

It is a historic account that in my opinion should be read and studied my all in their quest for knowledge of war Japan .

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book following the entire battle for Saipan. Tends to get over involved in the units in the battle. Would prefer if the author had not written it like a unit battle report. Good reading for those interested in detailed battle reports and how it affected the WWII experience.

[grady i thurlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Battle for Saipan

I'm a history guy and I enjoy reading about the grunt on the ground. They paid a price that we can never imagine.

[Glenn W Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samoan the beginning of the end

Good book but only covers the operation around Samoan and surrounding seas. It does not cover the operation to take Tinian and Guam actions.

[Anna Lopez pugsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Student of war

This is a good book for anyone who is into the tactics of island warfare during WW2. The reading is a bit dry , but well done.

[diane cooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books like this that are not based on fiction give you an honest account of what happened in these actions during the second world war.

[Charles McClure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decisive

This was the place that the Japanese could NOT lose without all hope of overall victory disappearing from their horizon.

[Jim Hart]

I'm

[George Polansky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for those interested in how the military functions.

[Trevor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't something written for a popular audience so much as a daily log of which units did what where and to whom.

[Charles m smith jr]

Hard won battle!

Having live on Guam in the 1950 and again in the 1960 I have seen the battle ground that many of the marine s and army soldiers die for. This book is the real story of the brave men who put they live on the line. Good men from both sides gave have their live for what the believe in.The book is must read for anyone who wants to know just how it was fighting in the Pacific.