Reconnaissance photos had revealed that many Japanese obstacles and guns were directed toward an expected southerly attack. Bombarding Betio proved to be no easy task. The Japanese defenders were well-concealed, offering few targets. To the Marines aboard the amtracs, it seemed as if everything had gone wrong. The tide failed to rise, forcing many soldiers to wade hundreds of yards to shore under a galling fire. Alligators and Water Buffaloes that did hit the beach came up against a half-constructed sea wall menaced by enemy artillery fire.
Communications broke down, and scores of assault teams died in the water. Although fighting continued, the Japanese did not counterattack—a tactical error, considering the precarious position of the invaders. The author submits that such an attack may not have been carried out because Admiral Shibasaki had been killed and Japanese communications had been destroyed.
On the beach, Marine Colonel David M. Shoup faced many tasks—regaining attack momentum, restoring communications, bringing in badly needed reinforcements and supplies, and evacuating the incredible number of casualties. Blockhouses were demolished one by one, and the surviving rikusentai retreated to the narrow tail of southeast Betio, where they fought to the death. As Colonel Alexander notes, the battle for Betio was a Pyrrhic victory of sorts. More than 3, Marines and Navy personnel were killed or wounded in the violent contest, most casualties occurring at close range from small-arms and machine-gun fire.
Mistakes were made, including an inadequate pre-attack bombardment and a shortage of men and materiel in the early stages of the campaign. Communications needed to be improved, and future landings would include more medium tanks and flamethrowers, both of which were sorely lacking at Tarawa. Initially there was anger over the heavy casualties suffered for what seemed such a trivial piece of coral.
But as the true picture of the battle was unveiled, the public began to realize the Japanese would fight to the end, and the war in the Pacific would be one of virtual extermination. Talk of invading Cuba ceased. Theodore And Franklin D. Roosevelt Prize In Naval History To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
To ask other readers questions about Utmost Savagery , please sign up. Lists with This Book. This is an excellent book of the fighting at Tarawa in WW2. The author has done a great job in presenting the story, it was so well told that I found it hard to put the book down. The author also presents the Japanese defenders as humans, rarely done in many books about combat in the Pacific during the war. The author has researched his story well and has used numerous maps and a n This is an excellent book of the fighting at Tarawa in WW2.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a great story, well done to the author! Feb 23, Wachlin Hotmail rated it really liked it Shelves: This book tells the story of the battle of Tarawa.
It was a very bloody battle. Many historians argue that this battle did not need to be fought, or that it should have been fought at a later time. This book shows the pros and cons of all sides on this issue, as well as telling of the heroics of the Marines who landed there. I liked this book.
Mar 02, Maria rated it really liked it Shelves: Tarawa was one of the Marines first amphibian assualts on a Japanese defended island. In three days of fierce fighting, the Marines crossed the coral reef, assualted the island and fought, and fought. I think that the best description of the battle was "We were losing until we weren't. It never fails that multiple library books arrive within hours of each other Why I finished it: This is how history Tarawa was one of the Marines first amphibian assualts on a Japanese defended island. This is how history should be written. Multiple first hand accounts, both sides of the battle, and answering the questions of what if I'd heard that the low tide and the long walk across the coral reef was what killed so many.
But I had never considered that if it was high tide, there would have been no sea wall cover to hide behind, to recuperate and rally.
This battle was a learning and testing ground. If the Marines had skipped this island the lesson would have been learned elsewhere, but they would have been learned and earned in blood there too. Aug 01, Al rated it liked it. This must be the definitive book on the battle for Tarawa. Extensive research, first-hand accounts, detailed technical military facts, information from Japanese military records, and more, combine to almost overwhelm the reader. Out of the detail emerges a clear picture of what actually took place over the three days of fighting, and it's a fair, clear-eyed view of both the good and the bad.
One thing for sure, this was a brutal bloodbath. Probably we always would have won, eventually, but ther This must be the definitive book on the battle for Tarawa. Probably we always would have won, eventually, but there was a time where that was far from assured. Alexander lays it all out. Personally, I could have done with a little less of the military dispositions detail, but Alexander is telling the story and he makes it complete.
One doesn't have to master all the detail to get the big picture, and be glad not to have been there. Nov 07, George rated it liked it Shelves: Alexander is a rigorous and detailed account of one of the most important battles in WWII. Using fresh American and Japanese sources never before explored, the horror that was Betio island in the Tarawa atoll is definitive.
Although the early part of the book is full of details that may be too technical to those not exposed to military jargon and WWII weapons type, it lays the foundation for a real and honest appreciation of sacrifice given. The cost on both sides is shocking; that cost is not only measured in the number of dead, but the awful carnage that is experienced by those who survived and by those on their way to death during those three days. D-Day for Tarawa was 20 November Back home in my area the weather may have been in the low 40 degrees F, no precipitation, probably a bright day as late November of reported fairly ordinary weather in the Chicago area, no records set.
How many families were thinking about the days chores, the coming holidays, sending their husbands and sons a special loving letter not knowing that many lay dead already -bodies floating in water so full of blood it was purple, the beach so full of the dead that it was impossible to advance without stepping on them. It would last for three more days and nights its consequences to the survivors would last a lifetime. We all have heard of Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, but most of us have heard little about Tarawa and the taking of the brutal isle called Betio.
It was thought by some at the time to be a 'Pyrrhic Victory', this was due to the sensationalist reporting that went on to fill the void that intentional censorship left. It was thought the news would be too hard to handle on the home front. When film taken by Marine combat photographers and civilian reporters was shown uncensored- in a conflicted, troubled decision by President Roosevelt- the public was shocked but also strengthened in their determination to win in the Pacific the film eventually won an Academy Award for documentary footage.
This book is as honest an account as is possible for those who did not live it. Oct 12, Aaron Krebs rated it it was amazing. I had my attention drawn to this book, and first read it, in the late 90s, after a dedicated historical game was released for the Advanced Squad Leader game system, and it was mentioned as a reference used by the designers, and encouraged reading to the players. It is an incredible read. This book manages to convey the sheer scope of the loss in this fight, over an unknown and arguably not-important-enough island, without inuring me completely.
That felt to me like quite a feat, since literally t I had my attention drawn to this book, and first read it, in the late 90s, after a dedicated historical game was released for the Advanced Squad Leader game system, and it was mentioned as a reference used by the designers, and encouraged reading to the players. That felt to me like quite a feat, since literally thousands of men died in an area smaller than the Pentagon over 3 days. The "good" things that came from the battle: A number of the photos are included in the volume. I came away with a sense of understanding of why the invasion went forward, even though the defenders were literally stranded and could offer no real threat to forces that moved beyond the Gilberts.
And the improvements to invasion doctrine that resulted surely saved lives later in the war. There is also some effort put into the humanization and behind-the-scenes workings of the Japanese defenders. Now, their doctrine was brutal prior to the invasion they had summarily beheaded many of the New Zealander captives after an Allied air raid , but it's reasonable to say the tenacity and tactical cunning on display were awe-inspiring -- not in the "cool" sense of the word awe, obviously.
There is a lot of appeal to the argument that bypassing the island and letting them starve themselves into surrender was the better course, but future invasions on more important islands might not have met with as much success. The book is vivid, thorough, and heart-breaking to re- read.
Sep 18, P.
Before the first day ended, one third of the Marines who had crossed Tarawa's deadly reef under murderous fire were killed, wounded, or missing. One of the best accounts of the battle to take the island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll. The 2nd Marine Division had undergone a variety of training exercises in preparation for the assault. Betio boasted an airfield that the Japanese could use to attack nearby sea lanes and threaten the vital Marshall Islands. Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
The story is not well known but for the Marines history and for those who fought there. This was not considered a victory at first because of the pictures that got sent back to the U. For this island was different than most in the Pacific. During the landing very few landing craft made it to shore they got stopped by a reef and could not make it over it, so they wrer sitting ducks. Those Marines thou left the crat and then had to go about yards through the surf to get to land.
Comunications broke down and they had no supplies the first night and into part of the second day. Any way some good did come out of this battle. They were able to have water proof radios, a better lvt troop carrier came about to name just a few. The 2 Marine Division would require the equivalent of four replacement battalions to restore to pre Tarawa numbers.