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WW2 Pacific Military History #6
Recapture of Guam: 1944 Battle and Liberation of Guam
Guam’s Japanese garrison fought practically to the last man.
By invading Guam, US forces were not only getting access to a fine harbor and a number of airfields to use in future operations but were also liberating a US territory captured by the Japanese in 1941.
The attack on Guam was intended to begin only days after the landings on Saipan but was postponed for a month. US forces used the delay to make the preliminary bombardment and air attacks extremely thorough and to ensure that offshore obstacles to landing craft were cleared efficiently.
The landing force included both Marine and Army units from General Geiger’s III Amphibious Corps, in all 55,000 strong. General Takashina commanded 18,000 defenders, who had built a typically elaborate network of bunkers, artillery emplacements, and other fortifications.
This narrative recounts the story of the liberation of Guam in vivid, gritty detail. Explore the fascinating feats of strategy, planning, and bravery, handing the Allies what would eventually become a victory over the Pacific Theater and an end to Imperialist Japanese expansion.
By invading Guam, US forces were not only getting access to a fine harbor and a number of airfields to use in future operations but were also liberating a US territory captured by the Japanese in 1941.
The attack on Guam was intended to begin only days after the landings on Saipan but was postponed for a month. US forces used the delay to make the preliminary bombardment and air attacks extremely thorough and to ensure that offshore obstacles to landing craft were cleared efficiently.
The landing force included both Marine and Army units from General Geiger’s III Amphibious Corps, in all 55,000 strong. General Takashina commanded 18,000 defenders, who had built a typically elaborate network of bunkers, artillery emplacements, and other fortifications.
This narrative recounts the story of the liberation of Guam in vivid, gritty detail. Explore the fascinating feats of strategy, planning, and bravery, handing the Allies what would eventually become a victory over the Pacific Theater and an end to Imperialist Japanese expansion.
- GenresHistory
100 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 22, 2021
140 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Wrinn
88 books12 followersI write books and narrate audiobooks about WWII Pacific Theater history.
My focus covers three areas: the island-hopping campaigns that defeated Japan, the cultural forces that made Japanese soldiers fight to the death, and the extraordinary stories of Pacific War survivors who defied the odds.
What matters are the real experiences—the Marines on the beaches, the sailors under kamikaze attack, the soldiers who refused to surrender, and the commanders making impossible decisions.
US Navy veteran. Military history author.
My focus covers three areas: the island-hopping campaigns that defeated Japan, the cultural forces that made Japanese soldiers fight to the death, and the extraordinary stories of Pacific War survivors who defied the odds.
What matters are the real experiences—the Marines on the beaches, the sailors under kamikaze attack, the soldiers who refused to surrender, and the commanders making impossible decisions.
US Navy veteran. Military history author.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 20, 2021
This is one in a series of books on the Pacific Theater in World War II and if the others are done as well as this one then it's a series definitely worth reading. It does for me raise a question which I'll get to in a moment.
The book ccvers the bombardment aspect of the attack which was a standard procedure where you blasted the enemy with shells from ships and bombs from planes. The idea, of course, was to soften up the enemy so the invasion could take place with less opposition.
Here's where the question comes in. The bombardment did not kill as many Japanese soldiers as had been hoped, making the invasion more difficult than planned. There were lots of cave defenses and lots of enemy pillboxes. The cave defenses proved to be a deadly weapon in the enemy's arsenal, something which seemed to not change and was especially violent during the invasion of Iwo Jima.
I have yet to find one single book that addresses this issue and explain why no one ever seemed to realize that this would be a continuing problem and that something definitve needed to be done.
Anyhow, back to this book. The book goes into details of the Japanese forces and their deployment, Japanese counterattacks, banzai charges, numbers of dead in specific battles, the suicide of Japanese soldiers (which I've never figured out. I thought the purpose of their forces was to kill as many Americans as possible. You can't kill any Americans if you jump off a cliff. Wasn't to die fighting, facing the enemy the ultimate proof of Bushido?)
The book points out how many of the Japanese officers were killed and how the Japanese forces were eventually dealt with. It also points out just why the Allies invaded the island in the first place: to make places where B-29s could launch their attack on the Japanese home islands, a procedure which made it's major contributions on Iwo Jima (so damaged B-29s could land) and on Tinian (where the B-29s that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan were based.)
A well done book and I look forward to reading others in the series.
The book ccvers the bombardment aspect of the attack which was a standard procedure where you blasted the enemy with shells from ships and bombs from planes. The idea, of course, was to soften up the enemy so the invasion could take place with less opposition.
Here's where the question comes in. The bombardment did not kill as many Japanese soldiers as had been hoped, making the invasion more difficult than planned. There were lots of cave defenses and lots of enemy pillboxes. The cave defenses proved to be a deadly weapon in the enemy's arsenal, something which seemed to not change and was especially violent during the invasion of Iwo Jima.
I have yet to find one single book that addresses this issue and explain why no one ever seemed to realize that this would be a continuing problem and that something definitve needed to be done.
Anyhow, back to this book. The book goes into details of the Japanese forces and their deployment, Japanese counterattacks, banzai charges, numbers of dead in specific battles, the suicide of Japanese soldiers (which I've never figured out. I thought the purpose of their forces was to kill as many Americans as possible. You can't kill any Americans if you jump off a cliff. Wasn't to die fighting, facing the enemy the ultimate proof of Bushido?)
The book points out how many of the Japanese officers were killed and how the Japanese forces were eventually dealt with. It also points out just why the Allies invaded the island in the first place: to make places where B-29s could launch their attack on the Japanese home islands, a procedure which made it's major contributions on Iwo Jima (so damaged B-29s could land) and on Tinian (where the B-29s that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan were based.)
A well done book and I look forward to reading others in the series.
August 11, 2023
Excellent history of a battle
One thing I particularly liked about this history is the author's relating the action to the simultaneous and closely related other campaigns. Often these accounts give the impression we were doing one battle at a time, which was not the case. Here we have mention of contemporaneous actions and resulting moves. The recognition and stories of individual marines also adds to the value of the account.
One thing I particularly liked about this history is the author's relating the action to the simultaneous and closely related other campaigns. Often these accounts give the impression we were doing one battle at a time, which was not the case. Here we have mention of contemporaneous actions and resulting moves. The recognition and stories of individual marines also adds to the value of the account.
February 5, 2023
Fits well in this series of primers. Flowed more chronologically than some of the earlier books, but did jump some once the mop-up started. A few grammatical errors but nothing that makes it unreadable.
May 24, 2023
Great book
I was stationed on Guam in the Air Force in 79-80 and didn't know much about the battle. Nice reading about the places I'm familiar with. And the details of heroes and leaders.
I was stationed on Guam in the Air Force in 79-80 and didn't know much about the battle. Nice reading about the places I'm familiar with. And the details of heroes and leaders.
March 4, 2024
very good history of the retaking of Guam
I was surprised at how much information was available is such a small book. If you read WWII history this would be a nice addition to your library.
I read this on kindle Unlimited
I was surprised at how much information was available is such a small book. If you read WWII history this would be a nice addition to your library.
I read this on kindle Unlimited
February 5, 2022
good read
Enjoyed this book it was succinct and not overly detailed enjoyed the heroes section served under Louis wilson as a marine
Enjoyed this book it was succinct and not overly detailed enjoyed the heroes section served under Louis wilson as a marine
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews