US Marine Corps Handbook 1941-1945

The United States Marine Corps has protected American interests in peace and war for over two hundred years, most recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. Following distinguished service in France in the First World War, the Marine Corps began to develop in earnest the doctrine, equipment, and organisation needed for amphibious warfare in the years before the outbreak of the Second. The assault and capture of a series of crucial Pacific islands held by the Japanese meant US bombers and their fighter escorts could reach mainland Japan, disrupting and eventually crippling Japan's war economy. From Tarawa to Okinawa, these island battles were all characterised by savage fighting and heavy casualties on both sides. Employing a wide range of archive black and white photographs, George Forty examines the US Marine Corps' organisation and command structure, strategy, tactics and amphibious assault doctrine. As well as providing brief biographies of its most important and influential figures, from senior commanders to Medal of Honour recipients, he surveys insignia, uniforms and personal equipment to provide a complete portrait of the US Marine Corps at war.