The fleet at flood tide : America at total war in the Pacific, 1944-1945

The extraordinary story of the World War II air, land, and sea campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its strength and marked the rise of the United States as a global superpowerOne of America s preeminent military historians, James D. Hornfischer has written his most expansive and ambitious book to date. Drawing on new primary sources and personal accounts by Americans and Japanese alike, here is a thrilling narrative of the climactic end stage of the Pacific War, focusing on the U.S. invasion of the Mariana Islands in June 1944 and the momentous events that it triggered. With its thunderous assault into Japan s inner defensive perimeter, America crossed the threshold of total war. From the seaborne invasion of Saipan to the stunning aerial battles of the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, to the largest banzai attack of the war and the strategic bombing effort that led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Marianas became the fulcrum of the drive to compel Tokyo to surrender with consequences that forever changed modern war. These unprecedented operations saw the first large-scale use of Navy Underwater Demolition Teams; a revolution in the fleet s ability to sustain cross-hemispheric expeditionary warfare; the struggle of American troops facing not only a suicidal enemy garrison but desperate Japanese civilians; and the rise of the U.S. Navy as the greatest of grand fleets. From the Marianas, B-29 Superfortresses would finally unleash nuclear fire on an enemy resolved to fight to the end. Hornfischer casts this clash of nations and cultures with cinematic scope and penetrating insight, focusing closely on the people who rose to the challenge under fire: Raymond Spruance, the brilliant, coolly calculating commander of the Fifth Fleet; Kelly Turner, whose amphibious forces delivered Marine General Holland Howlin Mad Smith s troops to the beaches of Saipan and Tinian; Draper Kauffman, founder of the Navy unit that predated today s SEALs; Paul Tibbets, who created history s first atomic striking force and flew the Enola Gay to Hiroshima; and Japanese warriors and civilians who saw the specter of defeat as the ultimate test of the spirit. Timed To Coincide With The 75th Anniversary Of The Attack On Pearl Harbor, Here Is An Unprecedented Account Of The Extraordinary World War Ii Air, Land, And Sea Campaign That Brought The U.s. Navy To The Apex Of Its Strength And Marked The Rise Of The United States As A Global Superpower,--amazon.com. The Extraordinary Story Of The World War Ii Air, Land, And Sea Campaign That Brought The U.s. Navy To The Apex Of Its Strength And Marked The Rise Of The United States As A Global Superpower. One Of America's Preeminent Military Historians, James D. Hornfischer Has Written His Most Expansive And Ambitious Book To Date. Drawing On New Primary Sources And Personal Accounts By Americans And Japanese Alike, Here Is A Thrilling Narrative Of The Climactic End Stage Of The Pacific War, Focusing On The U.s. Invasion Of The Mariana Islands In June 1944 And The Momentous Events That It Triggered. With Its Thunderous Assault Into Japan's Inner Defensive Perimeter, America Crossed The Threshold Of Total War.^ From The Seaborne Invasion Of Saipan To The Stunning Aerial Battles Of The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, To The Largest Banzai Attack Of The War And The Strategic Bombing Effort That Led To Hiroshima And Nagasaki, The Marianas Became The Fulcrum Of The Drive To Compel Tokyo To Surrender--with Consequences That Forever Changed Modern War. These Unprecedented Operations Saw The First Large-scale Use Of Navy Underwater Demolition Teams; A Revolution In The Fleet's Ability To Sustain Cross-hemispheric Expeditionary Warfare; The Struggle Of American Troops Facing Not Only A Suicidal Enemy Garrison But Desperate Japanese Civilians; And The Rise Of The U.s. Navy As The Greatest Of Grand Fleets. From The Marianas, B-29 Superfortresses Would Finally Unleash Nuclear Fire On An Enemy Resolved To Fight To The End.^ Hornfischer Casts This Clash Of Nations And Cultures With Cinematic Scope And Penetrating Insight, Focusing Closely On The People Who Rose To The Challenge Under Fire: Raymond Spruance, The Brilliant, Coolly Calculating Commander Of The Fifth Fleet; Kelly Turner, Whose Amphibious Forces Delivered Marine General Holland Howlin' Mad Smith's Troops To The Beaches Of Saipan And Tinian; Draper Kauffman, Founder Of The Navy Unit That Predated Today's Seals; Paul Tibbets, Who Created History's First Atomic Striking Force And Flew The Enola Gay To Hiroshima; And Japanese Warriors And Civilians Who Saw The Specter Of Defeat As The Ultimate Test Of The Spirit. From The Seas Of The Central Pacific To The Shores Of Japan Itself, The Fleet At Flood Tide Is A Stirring And Deeply Humane Account Of World War Ii's World-changing Finale. -- Part One: Sea. Engine Of Siege ; On The Western Warpath ; In Turner's Train ; A Charge For Ozawa ; The Outer Colony ; A Rumor Of Fleets ; Obb And Udt ; Heavy Weather -- Part Two: Land. Heavier, Higher, Faster ; D Day ; Trail, Attack, Report ; Tank Attack ; The View From The Mountain ; First Contact ; War Of The Wind Machines ; Fast Carriers Down ; To Build A Better Airfield ; Beyond Darkness ; Smith Versus Smith ; Satan's Breath ; The Dying Game ; Sniper Ship On A Cave Shoot ; Beyond All Boundaries ; Atop Suicide Cliffs ; Regime Change ; Steel Like Snowflakes ; The Will To Lose Hard -- Part Three: Air. Secrets Of New Mexico ; Going Critical ; Everybody's Business ; Divine Winds ; Methods Of Death On The Wing ; Opportunity And Madness ; Prompt And Utter Destruction ; Clear-cut Results -- Part Four: Earth. Eight Bells For An Empire ; The War Wearies. James D. Hornfischer. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [541]-568) And Index. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The extraordinary story of the World War II air, land, and sea campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its strength and marked the rise of the United States as a global superpower Winner, Commodore John Barry Book Award, Navy League of the United States • Winner, John Lehman Distinguished Naval Historian Award, Naval Order of the United States With its thunderous assault on the Mariana Islands in June 1944, the United States crossed the threshold of total war. In this tour de force of dramatic storytelling, distilled from extensive research in newly discovered primary sources, James D. Hornfischer brings to life the campaign that was the fulcrum of the drive to compel Tokyo to surrender—and that forever changed the art of modern war. With a close focus on high commanders, front-line combatants, and ordinary people, American and Japanese alike, Hornfischer tells the story of the climactic end of the Pacific War as has never been done before. Here are the epic seaborne invasions of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam, the stunning aerial battles of the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, the first large-scale use of Navy underwater demolition teams, the largest banzai attack of the war, and the daring combat operations large and small that made possible the strategic bombing offensive culminating in the atomic strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From the seas of the Central Pacific to the shores of Japan itself, The Fleet at Flood Tide is a stirring, authoritative, and cinematic portrayal of World War II’s world-changing finale. Illustrated with original maps and more than 120 dramatic photographs “Quite simply, popular and scholarly military history at its best.” —Victor Davis Hanson, author of Carnage and Culture “The dean of World War II naval history . . . In his capable hands, the story races along like an intense thriller. . . . Narrative nonfiction at its finest—a book simply not to be missed.” —James M. Scott, Charleston Post and Courier “An impressively lucid account . . . admirable, fascinating.” — The Wall Street Journal “An extraordinary memorial to the courageous—and a cautionary note to a world that remains unstable and turbulent today.” —Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander, NATO, author of Sea Power “A masterful, fresh account . . . ably expands on the prior offerings of such classic naval historians as Samuel Eliot Morison.” — The Dallas Morning News The extraordinary story of the World War II air, land and sea campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its strength and marked the rise of the United States as a global superpower. One of America's preeminent military historians, James D. Hornfischer has written his most expansive and ambitious book to date. Drawing on new primary sources and personal accounts by Americans and Japanese alike, here is a thrilling narrative of the climactic end stage of the Pacific War, focusing on the U.S. invasion of the Mariana Islands in June 1944 and the momentous events that it triggered. With its thunderous assault into Japan's inner defensive perimeter, America crossed the threshold of total war. From the seaborne invasion of Saipan to the stunning aerial battles of the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, to the largest banzai attack of the war and the strategic bombing effort that led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Marianas became the fulcrum of the drive to compel Tokyo to surrender, with consequences that forever changed modern war. These unprecedented operations saw the first large-scale use of Navy Underwater Demolition Teams, a revolution in the fleet's ability to sustain cross-hemispheric expeditionary warfare, the struggle of American troops facing not only a suicidal enemy garrison but desperate Japanese civilians and the rise of the U.S. Navy as the greatest of grand fleets. From the Marianas, B-29 Superfortresses would finally unleash nuclear fire on an enemy resolved to fight to the end. Hornfischer casts this clash of nations and cultures with cinematic scope and penetrating insight, focusing closely on the people who rose to the challenge under fire, such as Raymond Spruance, the brilliant, coolly calculating commander of the Fifth Fleet, Kelly Turner, whose amphibious forces delivered Marine General Holland "Howlin' Mad" Smith's troops to the beaches of Saipan and Tinian, Draper Kauffman, founder of the Navy unit that predated today's SEALs, Paul Tibbets, who created history's first atomic striking force and flew the Enola Gay to Hiroshima and Japanese warriors and civilians who saw the specter of defeat as the ultimate test of the spirit. From the seas of the Central Pacific to the shores of Japan itself, The Fleet at Flood Tide is a stirring and deeply humane account of World War II's world-changing finale Timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, an unprecedented account of the monumental Pacific War campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its power and supremacy and established the foundation for America as the dominant global superpower, from the New York Times bestselling author cited as "doing for the Navy what Stephen Ambrose did for the Army" ( Rocky Mountain News ). Distilling thousands of pages of primary-source research, here is an extraordinary narrative orchestration of the most strategically vital operation of the Pacific War: the U.S. Fifth Fleet's seizure of the Marianas, a multi-faceted exhibition of the new state-of-the-art in warfare. It was the Navy's first use of men who were the forerunners of today's SEALs. It marked the emergence of America's capacity to launch cross-hemispheric expeditionary operations. It saw the flowering of American naval aviation and aircraft carrier power. And shortly after a classified aviation outfit completed its secret training, Marianas-based U.S. airpower would shock the world with a first glimpse of nuclear fire. From the epic seaborne invasion of Saipan, to the stunning spectacle of the aerial battles of the Marianas Turkey Shoot, to the grinding fight ashore between American and Japanese troops-and the largest suicide attack of the war-to the devastating bombing campaign that culminated with Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Marianas were the fulcrum of the Pacific, conquered by naval, air, and ground-force warriors who revolutionized warfare. Filled with memorable action set pieces and closely observed portraits of the most compelling warriors and commanders of the day, The Fleet at Flood Tide is the broadly encompassing story of the most consequential campaign of WW2. An unprecedented account of the monumental Pacific War campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its strength and supremacy and established the foundation for America to become a dominant global superpower Here is the extraordinary story of the most consequential campaign of the Pacific War: the U.S. Fifth Fleets seizure of the Marianas, a relentless deployment of overwhelming force on air, land, and sea that opened the path to total victory over Japan and established a new state of the art in warfare: the first use of the forerunners of todays SEALs; the emergence of massive cross-hemispheric expeditionary operations; the flowering of American naval aviation and carrier power; and the secret training of Marianas-based air crews who would first unleash nuclear fire. From the epic seaborne invasion of Saipan, to the stunning aerial battles of the Marianas Turkey Shoot, to the grinding combat ashoreand the largest suicide attack of the warto the devastating bombing campaign that culminated with Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Marianas were the fulcrum of the Pacific. Filled with memorable action set pieces and closely observed portraits of the naval, air, and ground-force warriors and commanders who revolutionized warfare, The Fleet at Flood Tide is the broadly encompassing story of the full materialization of America as a world-class military power. Part One: Sea Engine of Siege On the Western Warpath In Turner's Train A Charge for Ozawa The Outer Colony a Rumor of Fleets OBB and UDT Heavy Weather Part Two: Land Heavier, Higher, Faster d Day Trail, Attack, Report Tank Attack The View From the Mountain First Contact War of the Wind Machines Fast Carriers Down To Build a Better Airfield Beyond Darkness Smith versus Smith Satan's Breath The Dying Game Sniper Ship on a Cave Shoot Beyond all Boundaries Atop Suicide Cliffs Regime Change Steel Like Snowflakes The Will to Lose Hard Part Three: Air Secrets of New Mexico Going Critical Everybody's Business Divine Woods Methods of Death on the Wing Opportunity and Madness Prompt and Utter Destruction Clear-cut Results Part Four: Earth Eight Bells for an Empire The War Wearies.