Marines in World War II Commemorative Series: The Final Campaign: Marines in the Victory on Okinawa, Ryukyuan Islands, Death of Ernie Pyle, Shuri Islands

Nonfiction, History, Military, World War II
Cover of the book Marines in World War II Commemorative Series: The Final Campaign: Marines in the Victory on Okinawa, Ryukyuan Islands, Death of Ernie Pyle, Shuri Islands by Progressive Management, Progressive Management
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Progressive Management ISBN: 9781301395743
Publisher: Progressive Management Publication: January 16, 2013
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Progressive Management
ISBN: 9781301395743
Publisher: Progressive Management
Publication: January 16, 2013
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

The historic battle of the Marines in Okinawa is recounted in this U.S. Marines history book. Some of the subjects covered include: Ryukyuan Islands,Japanese 32nd Army, the death of Ernie Pyle, the Shuri Highlands, Major General Roy Geiger, Pedro del Valle, Lemuel C. Shepherd, Francis Mulcahy, and more.

Here is an excerpt:

Daybreak on 29 May 1945 found the 1st Marine Division beginning its fifth consecutive week of frontal assault as part of the U.S. Tenth Army's grinding offensive against the Japanese defenses centered on Shuri Castle in southern Okinawa. Operation Iceberg, the campaign to seize Okinawa, was now two months old —and badly bogged down. The exhilarating, fast-paced opening of the campaign had been replaced by week after week of costly, exhausting, attrition warfare against the Shuri complex.

The 1st Marine Division, hemmed in between two other divisions with precious little maneuver room, had advanced barely a thousand yards in the past 18 days —an average of 55 yards each bloody day. Their sector featured one bristling, honeycombed ridge line after another—sequentially Kakazu, Dakeshi, and Wana (with its murderous, reverse slope canyon). Just beyond lay the long shoulder of Shuri Ridge, the nerve center of the Japanese Thirty-second Army and the outpost of dozens of the enemy's forward artillery observers who had made life so miserable for American assault forces all month long.

But on this rainy morning, this 29th of May, things seemed somehow different, quieter. After days of bitter fighting, American forces had finally overrun both outposts of the Shuri Line: Conical Hill on the east, captured by the 96th Infantry Division, and the Sugar Loaf complex in the west, seized by the 6th Marine Division. Shuri no longer seemed invincible.

Company A of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines moved out warily, expecting the usual firestorm of Japanese artillery at any moment. There was none. The Marines reached the crest of Shuri Ridge with hardly a firefight. Astonished, the company commander looked westward along the ridge several hundred yards to the ruins of Shuri Castle, the medieval fortress of the ancient Ryu-kyuan kings. Everyone in the Tenth Army expected the Japanese to defend Shuri to the death —but the place seemed lightly held. Spiteful small arms fire appeared to come from nothing more than a rear guard. Field radios buzzed with this astounding news. Shuri Castle itself lay beyond division and corps boundaries, but it was there for the taking. The assault Marines asked permission to seize the prize.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The historic battle of the Marines in Okinawa is recounted in this U.S. Marines history book. Some of the subjects covered include: Ryukyuan Islands,Japanese 32nd Army, the death of Ernie Pyle, the Shuri Highlands, Major General Roy Geiger, Pedro del Valle, Lemuel C. Shepherd, Francis Mulcahy, and more.

Here is an excerpt:

Daybreak on 29 May 1945 found the 1st Marine Division beginning its fifth consecutive week of frontal assault as part of the U.S. Tenth Army's grinding offensive against the Japanese defenses centered on Shuri Castle in southern Okinawa. Operation Iceberg, the campaign to seize Okinawa, was now two months old —and badly bogged down. The exhilarating, fast-paced opening of the campaign had been replaced by week after week of costly, exhausting, attrition warfare against the Shuri complex.

The 1st Marine Division, hemmed in between two other divisions with precious little maneuver room, had advanced barely a thousand yards in the past 18 days —an average of 55 yards each bloody day. Their sector featured one bristling, honeycombed ridge line after another—sequentially Kakazu, Dakeshi, and Wana (with its murderous, reverse slope canyon). Just beyond lay the long shoulder of Shuri Ridge, the nerve center of the Japanese Thirty-second Army and the outpost of dozens of the enemy's forward artillery observers who had made life so miserable for American assault forces all month long.

But on this rainy morning, this 29th of May, things seemed somehow different, quieter. After days of bitter fighting, American forces had finally overrun both outposts of the Shuri Line: Conical Hill on the east, captured by the 96th Infantry Division, and the Sugar Loaf complex in the west, seized by the 6th Marine Division. Shuri no longer seemed invincible.

Company A of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines moved out warily, expecting the usual firestorm of Japanese artillery at any moment. There was none. The Marines reached the crest of Shuri Ridge with hardly a firefight. Astonished, the company commander looked westward along the ridge several hundred yards to the ruins of Shuri Castle, the medieval fortress of the ancient Ryu-kyuan kings. Everyone in the Tenth Army expected the Japanese to defend Shuri to the death —but the place seemed lightly held. Spiteful small arms fire appeared to come from nothing more than a rear guard. Field radios buzzed with this astounding news. Shuri Castle itself lay beyond division and corps boundaries, but it was there for the taking. The assault Marines asked permission to seize the prize.

More books from Progressive Management

Cover of the book The Missile Plains: Frontline of America's Cold War - Historic Study, Minuteman Missile Site, South Dakota, plus the History of Ellsworth AFB and 28th Bomb Wing - Missiles and the Missileers by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Winged Shield, Winged Sword: A History of the United States Air Force, Volume II, 1950-1997 - Korea, Strategic Air Command, Containing Communism, Vietnam War, Post-Cold War, Modernization by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Russia and NATO Ballistic Missile Defense: The European Phased Adaptive Approach Experience, 2009-2017, Obama Plan and BMD History, Response of Poland, Czech Republic, and Russia by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Changes, Challenges, Champions: A History of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District 2000 - 2011 - Iraq War, War on Terror, Post-Katrina Civil Works, Fort Bliss MILCON, Post-9/11 by Progressive Management
Cover of the book United States Government Manual: America's Official Government Handbook - Agencies of the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Branches by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Regime Change and the Role of Airpower: South Vietnamese Regime Change in the Vietnam War, President Diem Coup, President Kennedy and Johnson, American Regime Change Causal Theory and Mechanism by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Documents: Air Force C-5 Galaxy Military Transport Aircraft - Operations Procedures, Aircrew Evaluation Criteria, Aircrew Training Flying Operations by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Effect of Branding on the Success or Failure of Nonviolent Mass Movements: Case Studies of the Civil Rights Movement, Montgomery Bus Boycott and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Occupy Wall Street by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Air Force Doctrine Document 3-72: Nuclear Operations - Command and Control (C2), Deterrence, Strategic Effects, Nuclear Safety, Surety, Training by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century VA Independent Study Course: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Implications for Primary Care, Combat, Military Sexual Assault, Diagnosis, Treatment, Medicine, Compensation by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Health Service Support: Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Publication 4-02 - Surgeon's Office, Casualty Management, Medical Logistics, Force Health Protection, Combat Operations, Special Operations Forces by Progressive Management
Cover of the book United States Federal Guidance on Witness Protection in Human Trafficking: Case Management Model and System Comparison, The Importance of Physical Protection for Witness Cooperation by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Documents: Air Force C-17 Globemaster III Military Transport Aircraft - Operations Procedures, Aircrew Evaluation Criteria, Aircrew Training Flying Operations by Progressive Management
Cover of the book A History of Innovation: U.S. Army Adaptation in War and Peace - M1 Garand Rifle, Radar, Benning Revolution, Air Observation Posts, Bazooka, Amphibian Tank, Airmobility, Artillery Speed Shifter by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) for Shale Oil and Natural Gas: Latest Developments on Government Safety Rules to Protect Underground Sources of Drinking Water and Underground Injection Control (UIC) by Progressive Management
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy