An extraordinary slice of untold WWII history: how unproven Marines driving untested Sherman tanks turned the tide against Japan in the Battle of Tarawa.In May 1943, a self-described "really young, green, ignorant lieutenant" assumed command of a new US Marine Corps company. His even younger Marines were learning to operate an untested weapon, the M4A2 "Sherman" medium tank. Just six months later, the company would be thrown into one of the ghastliest battles of Wo...

"Together these books provide the definitive history of the USMC's tank forces . . . Very highly recommended" ( Military Modelcraft International).Marine Corps Tank Battles in Korea: A detailed and gripping account of the little-known Marine tank engagements during the Korean War, from the valiant defense at Pusan and the bitter battles of the Chosin Reservoir to the bloody stalemate along the Jamestown Line. Oscar E. Gilbert unfolds the unique ro...

"For all the history buffs on warfare of the last century, Tanks is a perfect choice . . . packed with fascinating information" ( San Francisco Book Review ).This Casemate Short History—by the authors of Tanks in Hell: A Marine Corps Tank Company on Tarawa—provides an informative and entertaining introduction to this iconic weapon of the last hundred years.Tanks first ventured in...

The author of Tanks in Hell tracks ten years of tank warfare in Vietnam, combining firsthand accounts from veterans with analysis of tactics and strategy.In 1965 the large, loud, and highly visible tanks of 3rd Platoon, B Company, 3rd Tank Battalion landed across a beach near Da Nang, drawing unwelcome attention to America's first, almost covert, commitment of ground troops in South Vietnam. As the Marine Corps presence grew inexorably, the 1st and 3rd Tank...

"Persuasively tells the savage partisan war in the Carolina backcountry . . . [during] the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution" ( Military Review ).Following their defeat at Saratoga in New York in 1777, the British decided to implement a southern strategy against the American insurgents, a plan to "roll up" the rebellious colonies from Georgia through the Carolinas to Virginia. Untrained Patriot militiamen—occasi...

"An easily accessible short history" of offensive military operations on hostile shores from the authors of First to Fight: The U.S. Marines in World War I ( Midwest Book Review).One of the most difficult types of warfare to master, landing on a hostile beach requires scrupulous planning and intense coordination between the air, sea, and land forces.With a history reaching back to the Persians landing on the Greek shores at the Battle of M...

In this "compelling read," the former Marine artilleryman examines modern tank strategies through true stories of battle in Iraq and Afghanistan ( Military Modelcraft International).In the aftermath of Vietnam a new generation of Marines was determined to wage a smarter kind of war. The tank, the very symbol of power and violence, would play a key role in a new concept of mobile warfare, not seen since the dashes of World War II. The emphasis would be not o...

"An amazingly detailed account of the American Expeditionary Force at Belleau Wood in 1918" from the authors of Tanks in Hell ( Books Monthly)."Retreat, hell! We just got here!" The words of Capt. Lloyd Williams at Belleau Wood in June 1918 entered United States Marine Corps legend, and the Marine brigade's actions there—along with the censor's failure to take out the name of the brigade in the battle reports—made the Corps famous.The Mari...

An award-winning military historian delivers "an excellent read" on tank combat in the Forgotten War based on interviews with veterans who were there (MAFVA.org).The outbreak of the Korean conflict caught America (and the Marine Corps) unprepared. The Corps' salvation was the existence of its Organized Reserve (an organization rich in veterans of the fighting in World War II), the availability of modern equipment in storage and, as always, the bravery, initiative, a...

No previous book has been devoted to Marine Corps armor in World War II. Gilbert's gripping narrative combines exhaustive detail on Marine armor and combat with moving eyewitness accounts, never before published, of what it was actually like to be a Marine tanker in action in the Pacific.

In May 1943, a self-described "really young, green, ignorant lieutenant" assumed command of a new U.S. Marine Corps company. His even younger enlisted Marines were learning to use an untested weapon, the M4A2 "Sherman" medium tank. His sole combat veteran was the company bugler, who had salvaged his dress cap and battered horn from a sinking aircraft carrier. Just six months later, the company would be thrown into one of the ghastliest battles of World War II.On November 20, 1943, ...

The rapid evolution of radio and radar systems for military use during WWII, and devices to counter them, led to a technological battle that neither the Axis nor the Allied powers could afford to lose. The result was a continual series of thrusts, parries, and counter-thrusts, as first one side then the other sought to wrest the initiative in the struggle to control the ether. This was a battle fought with strange-sounding weapons: 'Freya', 'Mandrel', 'Boozer', and 'Window'; and was charac...