Synopses & Reviews
The first in a 3-volume series on amphibious operations in the South Pacific in WWII. McGee's exhaustive research, hundreds of live interviews, and a point-blank writing style combine to capture the very essence of the amphibious assignments in the WWII "Gator Navy."
Synopsis
"A deeply engaging biographical history of the World War II ship-to-shore landing craft and their crews. . . . A welcome and informative addition to personal and academic World War II history and reference collections."
- Midwest Book Review Volume I in award-winning author William L. McGee's Pacific war series is a biographical history of the revolutionary amphibious landing craft of World War II - LCTs (Landing Craft, Tank), LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank) and LCIs (Landing Craft, Infantry) - each designed and built to land assault troops and equipment directly on a hostile or potentially hostile beach.
The reader will learn:
-A brief history of amphibious warfare from the Revolutionary War to the 1942 Guadalcanal and North Africa campaigns.
-A focus on the "Earlybird" Flotilla Five LCTs, LSTs, LCIs, and their crews, from landing craft design and construction, to amphibious training, to crew and flotilla formations, and to on-the-job warfare training in the Southern Solomons. . .all in preparation for their first invasion of enemy-held territory, Operation TOENAILS.
- A profile of the famed "Green Dragons," the high-speed destroyer transports that filled a pressing Marine Corps need for ship-to-shore delivery prior to the availability of the new landing craft.
110 b/w photos, 13 maps, plus charts, appendices, notes, bibliography, and index.
OTHER TITLES IN THE SERIESVol. II, THE SOLOMONS CAMPAIGNS, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point.
* Winner of the Military Writers Society of America 2018 Silver Medal for History.
Vol. III, PACIFIC EXPRESS: The Critical Role of Military Logistics in World War II