audiobook The Marshall Islands 1944: Operation Flintlock; the capture of Kwajalein and Eniwetok (Campaign) by Gordon L. Rottman in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. To the Marshalls....By HMS WarspiteIn early 1944; the United States Army and Navy were fighting their way back across the Central Pacific; en route to Japan's home islands and the center of its Imperial ambition. In the way were the Marshall Islands; a long string of islands and atolls barring the way west; including Kwajalein; with its airfields and a potential fleet anchorage in the world's largest lagoon. The Marshalls were part of Japan's outer defensive perimeter. The 4th Marine Division and the Army's 7th Division were assigned to capture them. This is their story...Author Gordon Rottman and illustrator Howard Gerrard do the honors for "The Marshall Islands 1944"; an Osprey Campaign series entry detailing Operation Flintlock; the capture of Kwajalein and Eniwetok. After describing the opposing commanders; armies; and their plans; Rottman walks the reader through the complicated sequence of events by which U.S. Navy; Marine Corps and Army elements methodically rooted the Japanese out of the principal islands; while bypassing some others. The text is enhanced by maps; period photographs; diagrams and illustrations. In a remarkably orderly if sometimes bloody operation; the U.S. neutralized the Marshalls and prepared for onward operations.Rottman's heavy use of military jargon can be confusing to those unfamiliar with the terminology; but it is worth the effort to keep up with the narrative; highly recommended as an introduction to a less well known operation in the Pacific campaign.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Excellent Synopsis of Multiple BattlesBy Mike DillemuthAll in all; this book provides a good overview of the multiple battles that occurred in Operation Flintlock. The author; Gordon Rottman; organizes the battles in chronological order. In particular; he provides detailed coverage of the island battles of Roi-Namur; Kwajalein; Eniwetok; Burton; Engebi; and Parry.One drawback is that too much time is spent on describing the geography and history of the various islands. Information on distances and elevations would be useful if it pertained to a battle. In this case; however; much of the information is superfluous.The book contains several informative battle maps. They provide the names of the landing beaches and the specific units involved in each assault. The geographic maps are also helpful in indentifying the numerous islands in each atoll. Different islands are constantly identified in the text. Instead of losing orientation; the reader can keep going back to these maps for geographic reference. One downside is that readers will occasionally need a magnifying glass to see the names on the maps. The book has three 3D birds' eye view maps of the major battles on Roi-Namur; Kwajalein; and Engebi islands. Each of these is very good.The book has a large number of black and white photos. These photos convey a clear image of events. Some photos are amazingly dramatic. For example; the author included a picture of the explosion at the Torpedo Warhead Warehouse on Namur Island. This explosion caused half the casualties suffered by the 24th Marines.Bottom line: this book is well organized and easy to read. The author did a good job of consolidating several battles into one coherent narrative. Despite the difficulty of reading some of the maps; they are nevertheless helpful in allowing the reader to follow the campaign.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A Competent Factual Summary of a Multi Faceted OperationBy Dave SchranckThis is one operation that I haven't read much about prior to this book so I learned quite a bit. According to the author there were nine phases to the operation; though two were the most important.In the introduction; the author; probably using his encylopedia of Pacific Islands; describes all the pertinent Atolls and islands in the chain. The shapes; size; landmarks and distances from other islands are discussed. Some of the islands mentioned are Kwajalein; Roi / Namur; Ebeye; Majuro; Engebi; Eniwetok; Parry and a half dozen more. These will be the islands mentioned most in the Operation chapter.The Chronology comes next; my initial impression was its too brief and in bad need of enhancement but with the 3-D maps; Mr Rottman gives hourly coverage of three of the major landings; making up for the brief Chronology.The Opposing Plans for the US describes the schedule and which units willl take part in the capturing of the islands. I would have preferred more details but in this short brief; Mr Rottman does a good job. The author then describes the Japenese plan called Operation Z. This is an overall plan for defending the homelands and the remaining controlled islands; not just the Marshalls. A major portion of Operation Z relies heavily on the air force but the US is too strong and will disassemble their air force.The Opposing Commanders is adequate while Opposing Forces; I found; very good. There are so many islands and so many units involved in taking the islands it could get confusing but Mr Rottman does a good job in explaining things.The author spends the next 50 pages describing the actual assaults of the islands; some were more heavily defended than others. The author spends a lot of time on the Roi / Namur and Kwajalein invasions; it was quite good. The other landings; being less critical were given less space. This is operational coverage and anecdotal experiences will be absent.To assist in your understanding of this operation; the author has given you nine 2-D maps and three 3-D maps and all are very useful. The 3-D maps of Roi-Namur and Kwajalein were especially good. There are three 2-page illustrations and many fine photos to help you with the narrative. The aerial photos of many of the islands were great. An Order of Battle for the US side is included.The author has done an admirable job in fitting Operation Flintlock in 96 pages. If you have any interest in this operation; this book will be helpful. If you already have another book on the subject; this book with its many fine maps and photos will be a nice supplement to your collection.