509thPIB Posted November 7, 2018 Share #1 Posted November 7, 2018 https://www.amazon.com/Tanks-Hell-M...tDescription_secondary_view_div_1529384018051 Tanks In Hell In May 1943 a self-described really young, green, ignorant lieutenant assumed command of a new Marine Corps company. His even younger enlisted Marines were learning to use an untested weapon, the M4A2 Sherman medium tank. His sole combat veteran was the company bugler, who had salvaged his dress cap and battered horn from a sinking aircraft carrier. Just six months later the company would be thrown into one of the ghastliest battles of World War II. On 20 November 1943 the Second Marine Division launched the first amphibious assault of the Pacific War, directly into the teeth of powerful Japanese defenses on Tarawa. In that blood-soaked invasion, a single company of Sherman tanks, of which only two survived, played a pivotal role in turning the tide from looming disaster to legendary victory. In this unique study Oscar Gilbert and Romain Cansiere use official documents, memoirs, interviews with veterans, as well as personal and aerial photographs to follow Charlie Company from its formation, and trace the movement, actionand lossof individual tanks in this horrific four-day struggle. The authors have used official documents and interviews with veterans to follow the company from training through the brutal 76-hour struggle for Tarawa. Survivor accounts and air photo analysis document the movements and destruction of the companys individual tanks. It is a story of escapes from drowning tanks, and even more harrowing escapes from tanks knocked out behind Japanese lines. It is a story of men doing whatever needed to be done, from burying the dead to hand-carrying heavy cannon ammunition forward under fire. It is the story of how the two surviving tanks and their crews expanded a perilously thin beachhead, and cleared the way for critical reinforcements to come ashore. But most of all it is a story of how a few unsung Marines helped turn near disaster into epic victory. Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PREFACE Romain Cansiere PREFACE Ed Gilbert FOREWORD Edward L. bail, Jr., Colonel, USMC (Ret) 1 A NEW DOCTRINE FOR A NEW WAR 2 SALAD DAYSFORMATION AND TRAINING 3 THE TANKS OF CHARLIE COMPANY 4 THE CLOTHES ON THEIR BACKSCLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT 5 OBJECTIVE: CODE NAME HELEN 6 DAY ONETHE REEF 7 DAY ONEINLAND 8 DAY TWOSECURING THE BEACHHEAD 9 DAY THREESWEEPING THE ISLAND 10 DAY FOURTHE FINAL CARNAGE 11 AFTERMATH EPILOGUE: The Legacy of Tarawa LATER LIFE APPENDIX A: Charlie Company Chronology APPENDIX B: Tank Company Organization and Equipment APPENDIX C: Inside the M4A2 Tank APPENDIX D: Charlie Company Personnel at Tarawa APPENDIX E: Historical Research and Photographic Analysis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntssurplus Posted November 8, 2018 Share #2 Posted November 8, 2018 Looks like a good read, I'll have to add it to my list. How many pages is it?Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted November 8, 2018 Share #3 Posted November 8, 2018 Are there any photos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
509thPIB Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share #4 Posted November 8, 2018 264 pages. There is a hardback edition, softcover edition and a kindle edition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now