The island had been a Japanese possession since it was captured by the
Imperial Japanese Army during
World War I. As military conflict with the United States became increasingly likely during the 1930s, Japan expended great effort in fortifying Saipan. In mid-1944, nearly 30,000 troops were based on the island, almost double the estimates of US intelligence.[1]
2nd Marine Division asst. cmdr. Merritt A. Edson confers with 8th Marine Regiment officers James P. Riseley and Kenneth F. McLeod on Saipan.Marines digging in on the beach at Saipan.
Two Marines crawl to their assigned positions on the beach on Saipan.African-American Marine ammunition carriers on Saipan.Two Marine PFCs display the bazooka they used to disable Japanese tanks on Saipan.
^Pvt.
Lee Marvin, later a prominent Hollywood actor, was wounded while serving in Company I of this unit during the struggle for
Mount Tapochau.
^Relieved of command and expelled from the island by Lt. Gen. Holland Smith for allowing his troops to fall behind the Marine Corps advance up the island.
^A Japanese army was equivalent to a Euro-American corps.
Clark, George B. (2006). The Six Marine Divisions in the Pacific: Every Campaign of World War II. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Co.
ISBN978-0-7864-2769-7.
Goldberg, Harold J. (2007). D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan. Indiana University Press.
ISBN978-0-25334-869-2.
Johnston, Richard W. (1987). Follow Me: The Story of the Second Marine Division in World War II. Battery Press.
ISBN0-89839-099-0.
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1953). New Guinea and the Marianas, March 1944 – August 1944. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. VIII. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
LCCN53-7298.
Rottman, Gordon; Howard Gerrard (2004). Saipan & Tinian 1944: Piercing the Japanese Empire. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
ISBN1-84176-804-9.
The island had been a Japanese possession since it was captured by the
Imperial Japanese Army during
World War I. As military conflict with the United States became increasingly likely during the 1930s, Japan expended great effort in fortifying Saipan. In mid-1944, nearly 30,000 troops were based on the island, almost double the estimates of US intelligence.[1]
2nd Marine Division asst. cmdr. Merritt A. Edson confers with 8th Marine Regiment officers James P. Riseley and Kenneth F. McLeod on Saipan.Marines digging in on the beach at Saipan.
Two Marines crawl to their assigned positions on the beach on Saipan.African-American Marine ammunition carriers on Saipan.Two Marine PFCs display the bazooka they used to disable Japanese tanks on Saipan.
^Pvt.
Lee Marvin, later a prominent Hollywood actor, was wounded while serving in Company I of this unit during the struggle for
Mount Tapochau.
^Relieved of command and expelled from the island by Lt. Gen. Holland Smith for allowing his troops to fall behind the Marine Corps advance up the island.
^A Japanese army was equivalent to a Euro-American corps.
Clark, George B. (2006). The Six Marine Divisions in the Pacific: Every Campaign of World War II. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Co.
ISBN978-0-7864-2769-7.
Goldberg, Harold J. (2007). D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan. Indiana University Press.
ISBN978-0-25334-869-2.
Johnston, Richard W. (1987). Follow Me: The Story of the Second Marine Division in World War II. Battery Press.
ISBN0-89839-099-0.
Morison, Samuel Eliot (1953). New Guinea and the Marianas, March 1944 – August 1944. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. VIII. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
LCCN53-7298.
Rottman, Gordon; Howard Gerrard (2004). Saipan & Tinian 1944: Piercing the Japanese Empire. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
ISBN1-84176-804-9.