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Operation Watchtower
- The 1942 Invasion and Battle for Guadalcanal (WW2 Pacific Theater, Book 1)
- Narrated by: James McSorley
- Length: 2 hrs and 31 mins
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Publisher's summary
A powerful account of the tide turning WW2 Pacific Theater campaign.
In the height of the Second World War, US forces launched a long and grueling campaign to take the island of Guadalcanal, mounting the first major land attack against Japanese forces. What followed was a six-month string of devastating battles as these two forces wrestled over this key military position.
In the wake of near-daily aerial attacks and several determined assaults from the Japanese navy, the Guadalcanal campaign culminated in a victory for America and marked the first of many offensive attacks aimed at neutralizing the Japanese in the Pacific Theater.
Now, this thrilling book recounts the story of the Guadalcanal campaign in vivid, gritty detail. Exploring the forces involved, the major battles, and the daily struggle of trying to maintain control of the coveted Henderson airfield, Operation Watchtower examines the pivotal moments which led to the Allies seizing the strategic initiative in a key turning point of the war.
Perfect for fans of WW2 history books covering the Pacific, this brilliant book pays tribute to the brave soldiers on both sides of the conflict, recounting their story for both passionate history fans and anyone searching for an in-depth look at of one the greatest battles of World War 2.
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Story
The story of the Battle of Saipan has it all. Marines at war: on Pacific beaches, in hellish volcanic landscapes in places like Purple Heart Ridge, Death Valley, and Hell's Pocket, under a commander known as "Howlin' Mad." Naval combat: carriers battling carriers from afar, fighters downing Japanese aircraft, submarines sinking carriers. Marine-army rivalry. Fanatical Japanese defense and resistance. A turning point of the Pacific War. James Hallas reconstructs the full panorama of Saipan in a way that no recent chronicler of the battle has done.
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Outstanding!
- By Patrick on 03-08-20
By: James H. Hallas
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Midnight in the Pacific
- Guadalcanal -- The World War II Battle That Turned the Tide of War
- By: Joseph Wheelan
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Published on the 75th anniversary of the battle and utilizing vivid accounts written by the combatants at Guadalcanal, along with marine corps and army archives and oral histories, Midnight in the Pacific is both a sweeping narrative and a compelling drama of individual marines, soldiers, and sailors caught in the crosshairs of history.
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Don't start here or you'll be confused.
- By Doctor Bob on 08-13-17
By: Joseph Wheelan
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Leyte 1944
- The Soldiers' Battle
- By: Nathan N. Prefer
- Narrated by: Jones Allen
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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When General Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia in March 1942, having successfully left the Philippines to organize a new American army, he vowed, "I shall return!" More than two years later he did return, at the head of a large U.S. army to retake the Philippines from the Japanese. The place of his re-invasion was the central Philippine Island of Leyte. Much has been written about the naval Battle of Leyte Gulf that his return provoked, but almost nothing has been written about the three-month long battle to seize Leyte itself.
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Very well Researched..
- By jbnimble on 04-19-14
By: Nathan N. Prefer
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War at the End of the World
- Douglas MacArthur and the Forgotten Fight for New Guinea 1942-1945
- By: James P. Duffy
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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One American soldier called it "a green hell on Earth". Monsoon-soaked wilderness, debilitating heat, impassable mountains, torrential rivers, and disease-infested swamps - New Guinea was a battleground far more deadly than the most fanatical of enemy troops. Japanese forces numbering some 600,000 men began landing in January 1942, determined to seize the island as a cornerstone of the empire's strategy to knock Australia out of the war.
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The WW2 New Guinea Campaign
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 09-26-18
By: James P. Duffy
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Normandy '44
- D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: John Sackville
- Length: 24 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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D-Day, June 6, 1944, and the 76 days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed the Allied landing, have become the defining episode of World War II in the west - the object of books, films, television series, and documentaries. Yet as familiar as it is, as James Holland makes clear in his definitive history, many parts of the OVERLORD campaign, as it was known, are still shrouded in myth and assumed knowledge.
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Excellent account of Normandy but be weary...
- By S. H. Moore on 02-22-20
By: James Holland
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Where the Iron Crosses Grow
- The Crimea 1941-44
- By: Robert Forczyk
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The Crimea was one of the crucibles of the war on the Eastern Front, where first a Soviet and then a German army were surrounded, fought desperate battles, and were eventually destroyed. The fighting in the region was unusual for the Eastern Front in many ways, in that naval supply, amphibious landings, and naval evacuation played major roles, while both sides were also conducting ethnic cleansing as part of their strategy - the Germans eliminating the Jews and the Soviets purging the region of Tartars.
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names, places,troop strength and commanders
- By richard on 02-19-15
By: Robert Forczyk
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Okinawa
- The Last Battle
- By: Roy E. Appleman, James MacGregor Burns, Russell A. Gugeler, and others
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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On 1 April, 1945, the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific Theater began. The battle for the island of Okinawa would last for the next 82 days. Through the course of this dramatic battle, over 20,000 Americans would lose their lives, and over 75,000 Japanese were killed in one of the bloodiest clashes of World War II. Okinawa: The Last Battle is a remarkably detailed account of this monumental event by four soldiers who witnessed the action first-hand.
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Good Okinawa History
- By Derail on 03-10-20
By: Roy E. Appleman, and others
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D-Day in the Pacific
- The Battle of Saipan
- By: Harold J. Goldberg
- Narrated by: Gary D. MacFadden
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In June 1944, the attention of the nation was riveted on the events unfolding in France. But in the Pacific, the Battle of Saipan was of extreme strategic importance. D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan is a gripping account of one of the most dramatic engagements of World War II. The conquest of Saipan and the neighboring island of Tinian was a turning point in the war in the Pacific, making the American victory against Japan inevitable.
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Written like an amateur's account of his battle
- By jack on 12-18-13
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Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative.
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Astonishingly good.
- By Mike From Mesa on 09-01-12
By: Ian W. Toll
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Sicily '43
- The First Assault on Fortress Europe
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Al Murray
- Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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On July 10, 1943, the largest amphibious invasion ever mounted took place, larger even than the Normandy invasion 11 months later: 160,000 American, British, and Canadian troops came ashore or were parachuted onto Sicily, signaling the start of the campaign to defeat Nazi Germany on European soil. Operation HUSKY, as it was known, was enormously complex, involving dramatic battles on land, in the air, and at sea. Yet, despite its paramount importance to ultimate Allied victory, and its drama, very little has been written about the 38-day Battle for Sicily.
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Great writing, great narration, interesting topic
- By ItalCali on 08-02-21
By: James Holland
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Four Hours of Fury
- The Untold Story of World War II's Largest Airborne Operation and the Final Push into Nazi Germany
- By: James M. Fenelon
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than 2,000 Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized....
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personal and powerful.
- By TXcustomer on 07-09-19
By: James M. Fenelon
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Under the Southern Cross
- The South Pacific Air Campaign Against Rabaul
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Lance C Fuller
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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From August 7th 1942 until February 24th 1944, the US Navy fought the most difficult campaign in its history. Between the landing of the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal and the final withdrawal of the Imperial Japanese Navy from its main South Pacific base at Rabaul, the US Navy suffered such high personnel losses that for years it refused to publicly release total casualty figures.
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Another first class work by Thomas Cleaver.
- By Amazon Customer on 07-10-21
What listeners say about Operation Watchtower
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mary Karowski
- 01-03-21
Great short tale of the battle of Guadalcanal
I love war history books that manage to
Teach me something I haven’t yet learned in the many others that I’ve read or listened to. I
Find every little factoid to be fascinating and entertaining. This one doesn’t disappoint, there are so many little nuances that it hits upon (George medal)that you can’t help but look up more stuff on your own to get more details. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher
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- Gilbert M. Stack
- 12-08-20
How Guadalcanal Changed World War II
How much do you know about the Battle of Guadalcanal other than that the U.S. Marine Corps played a critical role in the fighting? After reading this short book you’ll have a deep understanding of why it was so important and why it’s the battle that turned the tide of the War in the Pacific during World War II. Afterward, Japan’s ability to threaten the U.S. and its allies was severely curtailed. But the price was incredibly high on both sides.
Wrinn has written a short account packed with details and crafted into a narrative that flows very rapidly from beginning to end. If you’re looking to understand a key point in the War of the Pacific and don’t want to get bogged down in a long tedious narrative, this book is a great place to begin.
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- Cecly Ann Mitchell
- 01-14-21
Excellent listen
For persons wanting to get specific information about certain aspects of various World War 11 combat operations, this listen is an excellent choice. Information about operations in the Pacific theater was brilliantly narrated, along with bios of the persons and other incidentals of battle in that part of the world. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this narration.
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- Anonymous User
- 01-01-21
history
The narrative was engaging and historically accurate. Told in chronological order as the battles progressed, it was interesting to review the history i had learned years ago in school. The narrator's voice is pleasant but at times his delivery is a bit out of sync. Overall this was an enjoyable audio book. Thank you to Story Origin and the publisher for providing a copy of this audio book to listen to. The opinions expressed here are my own, witten honestly and voluntarily.
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- Aurora Dawn
- 12-20-20
The Story of a Pivotal WWII Pacific Campaign
As you might expect given the subject matter, this book is full of dates and names and numbers which tends to make it a little dry. It is, however, an excellent chronicle of what happened at Guadalcanal and the brave and determined U.S. marines who courageously fought both a determined Japanese force and a hostile climate and terrain.
The book contains not only an account of the Guadalcanal campaign but a brief who's who and a description of some of the most important weapons and equipment that featured in the battle.
Well worth a read for anyone with an interest in the WWII Pacific theatre.
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- S. H. Moore
- 01-07-21
This book is an excellent overview of Watchtower
If you are interested in Guadalcanal but do not want to listen to a 5 to 10 hour book on what happens this book is the one to get. A lot Battle summary books are just to sparse. Trying to fit a whole battle in to an hour. This one is longer and it is worth it.
This book covers all three sides, land, air, and naval including useful context to flush the battle out. You know what’s happening, what needs to happen for both sides, and why things went the way they did and the consequences.
I see there are other entries in this series and I look forward to purchasing them.
I was given a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
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2 people found this helpful
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- MolllyT
- 12-19-20
USMC wins again
This is a concise rendering of the bluster and indignities of both sides of the combat for Guadalcanal in 1942. I was amazed to see numbers of the Japanese forces on the ground because of the size of the country and their generals apparent blindness to the forces they would face. As a retired nurse and grandmother of a US Marine I was appalled to see the numbers of dead, wounded, and sidelined by tropical diseases. I already knew how dedicated Marines are and were. While this is full of numbers, no crossed or glazed eyes of boredom because it is intelligently rendered. It helped that the narrator is no-nonsense James McSorley who infuses it with interest while making it clear that this is a nonfiction account.
I won this audiobook in a giveaway.
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- outdoor lover
- 02-22-22
a great narrative of a desperate struggle
It is a documentary. Well written for those who love history. Detailing how our US Marines fought with distinction, against enormous odds, to turn the tide of the war.
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