Overview

An exploration of the actions and fate of the First Marine Division during the invasion of the Pacific island of Peleliu in September 1944. On September 15, 1944, the United States, in its effort to defeat the Japanese Empire, invaded a tiny island named Peleliu. This campaign inflicted terrific losses on the First Marines until they were withdrawn. The division would be out of action for six months, with the three rifle regiments averaging over 50% casualties - the highest unit losses in Marine Corps history. This book analyses in detail the many things that went wrong to make these casualties so excessive, and in doing so, corrects several earlier accounts of the campaign. AUTHOR: Peter Margaritis minored in History at Ohio State University. A retired chief petty officer, he has an extensive military background in communications and naval intelligence. He now writes and lectures on military history. He has written many technical manuals and guides as a civilian, dozens of reports in the military, and several articles on World War II and the Civil War. He is the co-author (with George Peto) of 22 on Peleliu (Casemate 2017) and has also written several short books on the European theater. 32 b/w photographs

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9781612006451

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Landing in Hell will soon be acknowledged as the ultimate reference to understanding that, arguably, not only was the loss of so much life unnecessary, but also not since the American Civil War had a major campaign been so incompetently prepared and managed. --Leatherneck Magazine

Landing in Hell will soon be acknowledged as the ultimate reference to understanding that, arguably, not only was the loss of so much life unnecessary, but also not since the American Civil War had a major campaign been so incompetently prepared and managed. --Leatherneck Magazine Margaritis gives us a very long critical analysis of the why of these events. In this he covers such matters as shortages of large caliber naval munitions, poor reconnaissance, inadequate intelligence, limited tactical radio range, and even the pressures generated by the rapidly accelerating Allied success against Japan. Not neglecting the other side of the hill, he examines the revision of Japanese defensive tactics from suicidal banzai counter-attacks to tenacious resistance in well sited and constructed fortifications. Margaritis closes with a chapter on the aftermath of the battle. While there have been a number of good books about Peleliu, Margaritis's analysis makes this an essential read for anyone interested in the campaign or amphibious warfare --The NYMAS Review

Margaritis's analysis makes Landing in Hell an essential read for anyone interested in the campaign or amphibious warphare. * STRATEGY PAGE 29/07/2019 *

Author Information

Peter Margaritis minored in History at Ohio State University. A retired chief petty officer, he has an extensive military background in communications and naval intelligence. He now writes and lectures on military history. He has written many technical manuals and guides as a civilian, dozens of reports in the military, and several articles on World War II and the Civil War. He has published several short books on The European Theater.

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