Bitter Peleliu Hardback

Description

The hardhittinghistory of the Pacific War's 'forgotten battle' of Peleliu – a story ofintelligence failings and impossible bravery.In late 1944, as a precursor to the invasion of the Philippines, U.S. military analystsdecided to seize the small island of Peleliu to ensure that the Japanese airfield therecould not threaten the invasion forces. This important new book explores the dramaticstory of this ‘forgotten’ battle and the campaign’s strategic failings. Bitter Peleliu revealshow U.S. intelligence officers failed to detect the complex network of caves, tunnels, andpillboxes hidden inside the island’s coral ridges. More importantly, they did not discern –nor could they before it happened – that the defense of Peleliu would represent atectonic shift in Japanese strategy. No more contested enemy landings at the water’sedge, no more wild banzai attacks. Now, invaders would be raked on the beaches bymortar and artillery fire. Then, as the enemy penetrated deeper into the Japanesedefensive systems, he would find himself on ground carefully prepared for the purposeof killing as many Americans as possible.For the battlehardened1st Marine Division Peleliu was a hornets’ nest like no other. Yetthanks to pre-invasion over-confidence on the part of commanders, 30 of the 36 newscorrespondents accredited for the campaign had left prior to D-Day. Bitter Peleliureveals the full horror of this 74-day battle, a battle that thanks to the reduced mediapresence has never garnered the type of attention it deserves.Pacific War historian Joseph Wheelan dissects the American intelligence and strategicfailings, analyses the shift in Japanese tactics, and recreates the Marines’ horrificexperiences on the worst of the Pacific battlegrounds. This book is a brilliant,compelling read on a forgotten battle.Sales and Marketing HighlightsThe dramatic story of a US campaign in the Pacific, a subject with popularappeal dramatised in the HBO miniseries The Pacific.From Joshua Wheelan, the author of the acclaimed Midnight in the Pacific,about the Battle of Guadalcanal.The book addresses controversial questions about failures of leadership thatled to an entire US Marine division being bled white.