The Battle for Tinian: Vital Stepping Stone in America's War Against Japan

The US Navy and Marine Corps, Army and Air Corps, obliterated the opposition on Saipan, but the Japanese resisted with their usual stubbornness, resulting in hundreds of casualties. The US used napalm for the first time, paving the way for Marines to root out strongpoints. 8,000 Japanese were killed, with only 300 surrenders, and some who hid out for years after the war. The US then built the biggest airport in the world on the island, home to the Enola Gay and Boxcar, which would quickly bring the Japanese homeland to its knees.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 11 May 2022
Publisher: Casemate Publishers

The 9,000-man Japanese garrison on the island of Tinian in July 1944 listened warily as the thunder of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, Army and Air Corps, descended on their neighboring island, Saipan, just three miles away. There were 20,000 Japanese troops on Saipan, but the US obliterated the opposition after a horrific all-arms campaign. The sudden silence only indicated it was now Tinian's turn. When the battle for Tinian finally took place, the US acted with great skill. Nevertheless, the Japanese resisted with their usual stubbornness, and the already decimated US Marines suffered hundreds of casualties. During the battle, Japanese shore batteries were able to riddle the battleship Colorado, killing scores, plus make multiple hits on a destroyer, killing its captain. On the island itself, the US used napalm for the first time, paving the way for Marines painstakingly rooting out strongpoints. One last Banzai attack signaled the end to enemy resistance, as Marines fought toe-to-toe with their antagonists in the dark. In the end, some 8,000 Japanese were killed, with only 300 surrenders, plus some others who hid out for years after the war. But those Japanese who resisted perhaps performed a greater service than they knew. After Tinian was secured, the US proceeded to build the biggest airport in the world on that island, home to hundreds of B-29 Superfortresses. Among these, just over a year later, were the Enola Gay and Boxcar, which with their atomic bombs would quickly bring the Japanese homeland itself to its knees.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781636241319