The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942–1944

by Ian W. Toll

trenchant

Good word

The fanaticism of the Japanese was unnerving, but it prompted them, again and again, to fight in tactically idiotic ways.

pyrrhic

Good word

celerity

Good word

in the absence of deadlines “it is not repeat not practicable to provide able structure for our operations

imbroglio

Good word

Tarawa posed formidable problems. There would be no immediate means of achieving depth of deployment; the landing forces would initially be pinned down on a long, narrow beach. The flat little island would offer scant room for maneuvering onto the enemy’s flanks. The battlefield was so contracted, it seemed doubtful that direct naval gunfire or air support could be provided without posing danger to the marines ashore. All understood in advance that the assault on Tarawa was unprecedented and might prove appallingly costly.

THOUGH AMERICANS WERE SLOW TO APPRECIATE IT, they had just won the decisive victory of the Pacific War. Capture of the Marianas and the accompanying ruin of Japanese carrier airpower were final and irreversible blows to the hopes of the Japanese imperial project.