The US Marines in World War II brings together a richly varied body of operational history, institutional analysis, and battlefield narrative to examine the Marine Corps' global wartime experience. Ranging from strategic questions of amphibious warfare to intimate accounts of combat, logistics, command, and sacrifice, the volume situates celebrated campaigns in the Pacific alongside the broader administrative and human structures that made them possible. Its standout studies of island warfare, air-ground coordination, and the evolution of Marine doctrine reveal World War II as both a crucible of military innovation and a contested historical memory. Prepared by historians associated with the Marine Corps Historical Center and a distinguished group of military scholars, the collection draws on authoritative traditions of official history while retaining an accessible narrative force. These contributors collectively illuminate the Corps' transformation during the conflict, placing its campaigns within the larger Allied war effort and the twentieth-century development of expeditionary, amphibious power. Their varied approaches-biographical, operational, and institutional-create a fuller account of how policy, leadership, and individual service intersected. This volume is essential for students of military history, readers of the Pacific War, and anyone seeking a multifaceted introduction to the Marine Corps in its defining modern conflict. It rewards close reading through the dialogue among its perspectives, offering both educational depth and a compelling sense of the war's immense scale.
Zusammenfassung
This edition represents a thoroughly written history of Marines' military campaigns in Europe, Africa and the Pacific during the Second World War. Marines played a central role in the Pacific War, along with the U.S. Army. The battles of Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Tarawa, Guam, Tinian, Cape Gloucester, Saipan, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa saw fierce fighting between Marines and the Imperial Japanese Army. By the end of the war, the Corps expanded from two brigades to six divisions, five air wings and supporting troops, totaling about 485,000 Marines. In addition, 20 defense battalions and a parachute battalion were raised. Nearly 87,000 Marines were casualties during World War II, and 82 were awarded the Medal of Honor. Contents: Origin of the Marine Corps The Marine Corps on the Eve of War Marines Defending American Soil Pearl Harbor Battle of Wake Island Marines Campaign in Europe and Africa Europe and North Africa Defense of Iceland Marines Campaign in the Pacific Rim Defense of the Philippines Solomon Islands Campaign Guadalcanal Campaign Marshall Islands Campaign Battle of Tarawa Battle of Cape Gloucester Battle of Saipan Battle of Guam Battle of Peleliu Battle of Tinian Liberation of the Philippines Marines Campaign in Japan Battle of Iwo Jima Battle of Okinawa Occupation of Japan