Description

Bloomsbury presents Bitter Peleliu by Joseph Wheelan read by Mack Gordon

The hardhitting history of the Pacific Wars forgotten battle of Peleliu a story of intelligence failings and impossible bravery

In late 1944 as a precursor to the invasion of the Philippines US military analysts decided to seize the small island of Peleliu to ensure that the Japanese airfield there could not threaten the invasion forces This important new book explores the dramatic story of this forgotten battle and the campaigns strategic failings Bitter Peleliu reveals how US intelligence officers failed to detect the complex network of caves tunnels and pillboxes hidden inside the islands coral ridges More importantly they did not discern nor could they before it happened that the defense of Peleliu would represent a tectonic shift in Japanese strategy No more contested enemy landings at the waters edge no more wild banzai attacks Now invaders would be raked on the beaches by mortar and artillery fire Then as the enemy penetrated deeper into the Japanese defensive systems he would find himself on ground carefully prepared for the purpose of killing as many Americans as possible

For the battlehardened 1st Marine Division Peleliu was a hornets nest like no other Yet thanks to preinvasion overconfidence on the part of commanders 30 of the 36 news correspondents accredited for the campaign had left prior to DDay Bitter Peleliu reveals the full horror of this 74day battle a battle that thanks to the reduced media presence has never garnered the type of attention it deserves

Pacific War historian Joseph Wheelan dissects the American intelligence and strategic failings analyses the shift in Japanese tactics and recreates the Marines horrific experiences on the worst of the Pacific battlegrounds This book is a brilliant compelling read on a forgotten battle