"The Ultimate Battle" is the full story of the last great clash of
World War II as it has never before been told. With the same
"grunt's-eye-view" narrative style that distinguished his
Brotherhood of Heroes (on the Battle of Peleliu), Bill Sloan
presents a gripping and uniquely personal saga of heroism and
sacrifice in which at least 115,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen
from both sides were killed, as were nearly 150,000 civilians
caught in the crossfire or encouraged to commit suicide by Japanese
troops.
It is a story set against a panorama of more than 1,500 American
ships, nearly two thousand Japanese kamikazes sworn to sink those
ships, and two huge armies locked in a no-quarter struggle to the
death -- the 541,000 GIs and Marines of the U.S. Tenth Army, and
Japan's 110,000-man 32nd Army. Woven into the broader narrative, in
"Band of Brothers" style, are the personal stories of men who
endured this epic battle and were interviewed by the author. In
many cases, their experiences are told here in print for the first
time.
A few days after Japanese defenders surprised American assault
troops by allowing them to land virtually unopposed on April 1,
1945, scouts of the 96th Division stumbled onto the outerworks of
formidable Japanese defenses near Kakazu Ridge, where fierce
fighting erupted. It would continue without respite for nearly
three months as American forces used every weapon and strategy at
their disposal to break through three cunningly designed Japanese
lines of defense, each anchored by commanding high ground,
intricate underground installations, and massed artillery. When one
line was about to be breached, the Japanese would slip away to the
next one, forcing the Americans to repeat the same exhausting and
deadly "corkscrew and blowtorch" assaults all over again.
Much of the action in "The Ultimate Battle" unfolds among men
pinned down under relentless fire on disputed hillsides, in the
ruins of shell-blasted villages, and inside stricken tanks and
armored cars. Sloan also takes readers aboard flaming ships and
into the cockpits of night-fighter aircraft to capture the horror
and heroism of men and vessels besieged by kamikazes.
When the battle was over, most of the GIs, Marines, and sailors
who survived it were too worn out to celebrate. More than 49,000 of
their comrades had been killed or wounded, and they knew that the
even more brutal invasion of Japan's home islands loomed just
ahead. But as Sloan makes clear, the slaughter at Okinawa helped to
convince President Truman to use the atomic bomb against Japanese
cities in the hope of shortening the war and averting a far more
horrific loss of life.
"The Ultimate Battle" is a searing and unforgettable recreation of
the Okinawa campaign as it was experienced by men who were there.
It is filled with fresh insights that only those men can provide.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
