Blossoming Silk Against the Rising Sun: U.S. and Japanese Paratroopers at War in the Pacific in World War II (Stackpole Military History Series)

Complete account of airborne operations in the Pacific theaterFirsthand descriptions from American and Japanese paratroopersDetailed maps illustrate battles From the attack on Pearl Harbor through Japan's surrender, the Americans and Japanese conducted a total of twelve combat parachute drops in the Pacific theater of World War II. Filling a glaring gap in the historical record of the war, Gene Eric Salecker recounts all twelve drops, highlighting the courage of paratroopers on both sides. Military History - World War 2 Contents 6 Introduction: The Development of the Parachute and Paratrooper Doctrine 7 1 The Yokosuka 1st Special Naval Landing Force 16 2 Dash Forward 25 3 Japan Needs Oil 37 4 P1 Airfield 44 5 The Capture of Palembang 57 6 Dutch West Timor 65 7 The U.S. Paratrooper 87 8 Equipping the American Paratrooper 102 9 Operation Cartwheel 117 10 Nadzab 127 11 Baptism of Fire 142 12 Birth of a Division, Death of a Program 153 13 New Guinea Interlude 164 14 Noemfoor 172 15 Leyte Firefight 187 16 The Calm before the Storm 201 17 Caught Napping 224 18 Buri Airfield 236 19 By Air and by Sea 243 20 Tagaytay Ridge 249 21 The Rock 265 22 Rock Force Assault 277 23 Seizing the Rock 287 24 Los Baños 296 25 The Raid 309 26 The Last Jump 322 Epilogue: The Pacific Combat Parachute Drops 333 Notes 336 Bibliography 376 Index 384 ISBN-10:,0811706575,ISBN-13:,978-0811706575 ISBN-10: 0811706575,ISBN-13: 978-0811706575 The Yokosuka 1st Special Naval Landing Force Dash forward Japan needs oil P1 Airfield The capture of Palembang Dutch West Timor Development of the parachute The U.S. paratrooper Equipping the American paratrooper Operation Cartwheel Nadzab Baptism of fire Birth of a division : death of a program New Guinea interlude Noemfoor Leyte firefight The calm before the storm Caught napping Buri Airfield By air and by sea Tagaytay Ridge The Rock Rock Force Assault Seizing the Rock Los Baños The raid The last jump The Pacific combat parachute drops Notes. From the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, through Japan's surrender in September 1945, the Americans and Japanese conducted a total of twelve combat parachute drops in the Pacific theatre of World War II, seven by the U.S. and five by Japan. Complete account of airborne operations in the Pacific theater. Firsthand descriptions from American and Japanese paratroopers. Detailed maps illustrate battles.