One Square Mile of Hell: The Battle for Tarawa
by John Wukovits
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Book Summary Information
Author: John WukovitsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-08-07
ISBN: 0451221389
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: NAL Trade
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780451221384
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of One Square Mile of Hell: The Battle for Tarawa
Book Review: STUNNING WORK. WELL WRITTEN.
Summary: 5 Stars
Before the actual battle for Tarawa, few Americans had ever heard of the place. Now, approximately 67 years later, very few Americans have ever heard of the place, specifically the small atoll of Betio. For three horrific days in November 1943 over 1,027 American Marines and Navy men were killed. 2,290 were wounded and an additional 80 plus simply disappeared, i.e. MIA. During those same three days over 4,500 Japanese soldiers were killed. Out of all the Japanese who defended this small "island" only 17 survived!
This was the second offensive movement of the United States, Guadalcanal being the first, and it was the first major amphibious landing of the war. This is important in order to understand the how and why of this particular battle. The island of Betio was only one square mile and was probably the most fortified piece of land on earth at the time (taking into account the amount of space being considered here). The Japanese forces were highly trained, elite Maries as were the American forces opposing them. Bottom line: Of the 12,000 men who participated in this invasion, 3,166 became causalities.
John Wukovits has done a masterful job in his approach in writing this chronicle. He does not use a straight forward narrative style, i.e. facts and events set in strict chronological order, but rather sets his focus on a number of individual who participated in the battle. While the author gives us a great over view eventually, he personalizes the battle by giving us a look into the lives of these men, both before the war and during the battle. Some of the individual he profiled survived; some did not.
The author makes it quite plane that this was an absolute no hold barred fight. No quarter was given on either side, no prisoners taken; it was an absolute battle to the death. Retreat was not an option for either side as there simply was nowhere to go. Surrender was not an option by any stretch of the imagination. Both sides were highly skilled. The Japanese were absolutely fanatical, and as the battle unfolds, we find that their American counterparts were really no different.
There are several aspects the reader should note. First, this work does not read like an after action report. While it covers the battle well, the author effective draws in family members and friends of the soldiers who participated in the engagement giving, in my opinion, a very real face to the young men who fought here. Secondly, the author has been extremely graphic and detailed in describing the action. This is not a comfortable read. For those who have experienced combat, it could quite well be very uncomfortable. But that being said, other than celebrating and noting the extreme heroism of these young soldiers, the author has never once glorified war in anyway...actually, quite the opposite. I liked and appreciated this. It should also be noted that this particular battle brought about quite a lot of controversy at the time. Many felt that that the cost in lives simple was not wroth it. Even Marine General Holland Smith (Commander of the ground forces there) stated of the invasion:
"Was Tarawa worth it?" "My answer," he said, "is unqualified: No. From the very beginning the decision of the Joint Chiefs to seize Tarawa was a mistake and from their initial mistake grew the terrible drama of errors, errors of omission rather than commission, resulting in these needless casualties." Thought Smith, "[We] should have let Tarawa 'wither on the vine.' We could have kept it neutralized from our bases on Baker Island, to the east, and the Ellice and Phoenix Islands, a short distance to the southeast."
This is a debate that has been going since the last shot of this battle was fired and it continues today. It is certainly not my place to judge one way or the other. I do speculate though, that as this was the first landing of this type that many new aspects of fighting were "tried out." In lieu to the fact that the Normandy Invasion was being planned, using many of the techniques developed in this landing and subsequent landings, had they been a failure, I wonder if different plans would have been made for the invasion of Europe and what the result would have been. This is purely speculation though.
Anyway, this is one of the better works of this genre I have read. Anyone interested in the War in the Pacific in general and the Marine involvement in particular, will appreciate this work.
The men who took part in this endeavor were a breed apart. Our country owes them a lot. I stand in absolute awe of their accomplishments. They were true heroes.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
Summary of One Square Mile of Hell: The Battle for Tarawa
In the Tarawa atoll lies the tiny islet of Betio. In November of 1943, the men of the 2nd Marine Division watched as bombardments destroyed the island's Japanese defenses. But when the Marines landed, the Japanese poured out of their protective bunkers and began one of the most brutal encounters of the war.
Drawn from sources such as participants' letters and diaries and interviews with survivors, One Square Mile of Hell is the riveting true account of a battle between two determined foes, neither of whom would ever look at each other in the same way again.
Drawn from sources such as participants' letters and diaries and interviews with survivors, One Square Mile of Hell is the riveting true account of a battle between two determined foes, neither of whom would ever look at each other in the same way again.
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