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 The exhilarating, fast-paced opening of the campaign had been replaced by week after week of costly, exhausting, attrition warfare against the Shuri complex.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 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS): U.S. Air Force Role in Future Air Warfare - Manned or Unmanned? (UAVs, Remotely Piloted Aircraft) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book World War II Japanese American Internment Reports: Personal Justice Denied, The Complete Official Report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, Aleuts, Recommendations by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Deterrence Theory in the Contemporary Operating Environment: Case Studies of U.S. and North Korea, India and Pakistan Standoff and Kargil War, Libyan Bombing, Iraq, and Bin Laden Embassy Bombings by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Air Force (USAF) Judge Advocate General (JAG): Overview and History, Judge Advocate General's Corps Year in Review, Legal Services for the 21st Century by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The End of the Beginning: On the Application of Aerospace Power in an Age of Fractured Sovereignty, Trends 2020, Demography, Technology, Military, Social, Operations with Blurred Boundaries by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Complete Guide to the Federal Reserve System: Monetary Policy and the American Economy, Central Bank Role, Interest Rates, Panics, Recessions, Depression, Stimulus and Tapering by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The U.S. Air Service in World War I: The Final Report and A Tactical History - Sopwith Camel, Haviland, Eddie Rickenbacker, Observation Balloons, Pursuit Tactics, Handley-Page, Spad Planes by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Challenging Nuclear Abolition: Analysis Contrasting Nuclear Modernization with the Goal of President Obama to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons, Complete List of All U.S. Nuclear Warheads by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The American Civil War Encyclopedia: Sweeping Account of All Aspects of the War Between the States - Army and Navy History and Timelines, Campaigns and Battles, Intelligence, Militias, Unique Stories by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Optimizing Cognitive Performance: The Relationship of Self-Theory to the Army Human Dimension Concept - Lifelong Learning, Programs of Instruction for the USMA, ROTC, and Officer Candidate School by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Manuals: Combined Arms for Air Defense - FM 44-8 (Value-Added Professional Format Series) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Manuals: River-Crossing Operations - FM 90-13 (Value-Added Professional Format Series) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 2011 Nuclear Power Plant Sourcebook: Plutonium Radioisotope, Radiation Health Effects and Toxicological Profile, Medical Impact, Fukushima Accident Radioactive Release by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Media-Enabled Insurgency as a Revolution in Military Affairs: Iraq Enemy Using Attacks to Erode American Will to Fight, Cultural and Legal Factors Preventing Military from Influencing Populations by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Fifth Air Force Light and Medium Bomber Operations During 1942 and 1943: Building Doctrine and Forces that Triumphed in the World War II Battle of the Bismarck Sea and the Wewak Raid, Skip-Bombing 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