Description

Book Synopsis
The island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll was defended by the elite troops of the Special Naval Landing Force, whose commander, Admiral Shibasaki, boasted that "the Americans could not take Tarawa with a million men in a hundred years". In a pioneering amphibious invasion, the Marines of the 2nd Division set out to prove him wrong, overcoming serious planning errors to fight a 76-hour battle of unprecedented savagery. The cost would be more than 3000 Marine casualties at the hands of a garrison of some 3700. The lessons learned would dispel forever any illusions that Americans had about the fighting quality of the Japanese.

Table of Contents
Overview - the Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to November 1944; opposing commanders; opposing armies; the battle for Tarawa; aftermath; the battlefield today; wargaming Tarawa.

Tarawa 1943: The turning of the tide

    Product form

    £16.14

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £16.99 – you save £0.85 (5%)

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Tue 16 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Derrick Wright, Howard Gerrard

    1 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Tarawa 1943: The turning of the tide by Derrick Wright

      Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
      Publication Date: 25/10/2000
      ISBN13: 9781841761022, 978-1841761022
      ISBN10: 1841761028
      Also in:
      European history General and world history Battles / military campaigns

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      The island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll was defended by the elite troops of the Special Naval Landing Force, whose commander, Admiral Shibasaki, boasted that "the Americans could not take Tarawa with a million men in a hundred years". In a pioneering amphibious invasion, the Marines of the 2nd Division set out to prove him wrong, overcoming serious planning errors to fight a 76-hour battle of unprecedented savagery. The cost would be more than 3000 Marine casualties at the hands of a garrison of some 3700. The lessons learned would dispel forever any illusions that Americans had about the fighting quality of the Japanese.

      Table of Contents
      Overview - the Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to November 1944; opposing commanders; opposing armies; the battle for Tarawa; aftermath; the battlefield today; wargaming Tarawa.

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account