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Merrill's Marauders: The Untold Story of Unit Galahad and the Toughest Special Forces Mission of World War II - Tapa dura
Sinopsis
In August of 1943, a call went out for American soldiers willing to embark on a "hazardous and dangerous mission" behind enemy lines in Burma. The war department wanted 3,000 volunteers, and it didn't care who they were; they would be expendable, with an expected casualty rate of 85 percent. The men who took up the challenge were, in the words of one, "bums and cast-offs" with rap sheets and reputations for trouble. One war reporter described them as "Dead End Kids," but by the end of their five-month mission, those that remained had become the legendary "Merrill's Marauders." From award-winning historian Gavin Mortimer, Merrill's Marauders is the story of the American World War II special forces unit originally codenamed "Galahad," which, in 1944, fought its way through 700 miles of snake-infested Burmese jungle--what Winston Churchill described as "the most forbidding fighting country imaginable." Though their mission to disrupt Japanese supply lines and communications was ultimately successful, paving the way for the Allied conquest of Burma, the Marauders paid a terrible price for their victory. By the time they captured the crucial airfield of Myitkyina in May 1944, only 200 of the original 3,000 men remained; the rest were dead, wounded, or riddled with disease. This is the definitive nonfiction narrative of arguably the most extraordinary, but also unsung, American special forces unit in World War II.
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Acerca del autor
Gavin Mortimer is a best-selling author and an award-winning historian whose versatile narrative nonfiction books have been published in the United States and Great Britain.He is the author of Merrill's Marauders (Zenith Press, 2013), which profiles the American jungle fighters who fought a brutal campaign against the Japanese in Burma in 1944 and was seen on the CBS network during its coverage of Veterans Day 2013.Mortimer's other recent title is The History of the Special Boat Squadron in World War 2, an Amazon bestseller that was featured prominently in the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mirror, the latter praising it as a "remarkable" account of the wartime SBS.Mortimer is also the author of The First Eagles, to be released in the summer of 2014, which is a compelling account of the American pilots who flew with the Royal Air Force in World War I.www.gavinmortimer.com
De la contraportada
In September 1943, three thousand U.S. Army soldiers answered the call for volunteers to embark on a hazardous secret mission in spite of estimated casualties of 85 percent. The mission: advance into enemy-held territory in Burma to disrupt Japanese supply lines and ultimately recapture an important Allied airstrip at Myitkyina.
The men of the 5307th Compositional Unit (Provisional), eventually nicknamed Merrill s Marauders after their commander, Brig. Gen. Frank Merrill, trained in India for months before crossing into enemy territory in February 1944. After traveling some seven hundred miles through grueling jungle conditions and encountering Japanese troops every step of the way, the Marauders, ravaged by disease and malnutrition, arrived at the Myitkyina airstrip in May 1944. There, they bravely held their position until reinforcements arrived, even as their numbers were whittled down to only two hundred able-bodied troops from the original three thousand.
Written by award-winning historian Gavin Mortimer, Merrill s Marauders profiles one of the most important and toughest special operations forces of World War II through new archival research and personal interviews with the surviving members of the Marauders.
De la solapa interior
From late 1941 through 1942, Japan overran much of the Pacific, including Burma. In March 1943, British Gen. Orde Wingate and his famed long-range penetration unit, the Chindits, cut through the Burmese jungle, skirmishing with Japanese troops, destroying bridges, and cutting rail lines. Their advance and success shocked the Japanese, who had been conquering East Asia at an unstoppable pace. The Chindits success, however, came at a price: they lost one-third of their three thousand men during the two-month-long mission. But though the Chindits were ultimately pushed back to India, their mission set the foundation for long-range penetration troops into Japanese-controlled territory.
Months later, in August 1943, a call went out for three thousand American troops to volunteer for a hazardous secret mission in the Burmese jungle. Casualties were expected to be 85 percent.
Despite these unfavorable odds, the required number of troops was raised, comprising men with varied military and personal backgrounds, such as Sioux and Japanese-Americans who later formed the core of the unit s elite intelligence and reconnaissance platoons. Code-named Unit Galahad but lacking an official designation, they were christened the Dead End Kids by an embedded newspaper correspondent. After Col. Charles Hunter, the unit s commander during training, was reassigned to second-in-command and replaced by Brig. Gen. Frank Merrill, other members of the press coined the more popular nickname for the unit that eventually stuck: Merrill s Marauders.
After training for months in India, the Marauders made their way into Burma in February 1944 and cut their way over mountain passes and through thick jungle growth, fighting off malaria and dysentery. The Marauders continued their trek through the Burmese jungle and engaged in several skirmishes with Japanese troops on their way to their ultimate goal: capturing the vital Japanese-controlled airstrip at Myitkyina, which linked northern Burma to the rest of the country.
Once the airfield was captured through a series of brilliant outflanking movements assisted by Chinese units and Kachin hill tribes, the Marauders dug in to defend it until troops from the First Chinese Army arrived. Only two hundred of the original three thousand Marauders remained in fighting condition when the support came. General Joseph Stilwell reorganized the group with reinforcements and then focused on taking the town of Myitkyina, which the Allies finally wrestled from the Japanese in August 1943.
For their bravery in the harshest fighting conditions, the group received a Presidential Unit Citation, six Distinguished Service Crosses, four Legions of Merit, and forty-four Silver Stars. Merrill s Marauders is the story of this highly decorated unit, one of the toughest special forces units of World War II.
Author bio:
Award-winning historian Gavin Mortimer is one of the world s foremost experts on World War II special forces. His history of the wartime Special Air Service was praised by the BBC as a highly authoritative but also absorbing account, and it is currently under option from GK-TV in Hollywood. He has also written The Daring Dozen: Special Forces Legends of World War II, a study of twelve of the most influential wartime special forces soldiers from the United States, Britain, and Germany. He contributes regularly to World War II magazine, MHQ (Military History Quarterly), and other historical publications on both sides of the Atlantic.
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- EditorialZenith Press
- Año de publicación2013
- ISBN 10 0760344329
- ISBN 13 9780760344323
- EncuadernaciónTapa dura
- IdiomaInglés
- Número de páginas240
- Contacto del fabricanteno disponible
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Merrill's Marauders: The Untold Story of Unit Galahad and the Toughest Special Forces Mission of World War II
Publicado por
Zenith Press, 2013
ISBN 10: 0760344329
ISBN 13: 9780760344323
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Librería: Hilltop Book Shop, Marshfield, WI, Estados Unidos de America
Calificación del vendedor: 5 de 5 estrellas
hardcover. Condición: Very Good. Hardcover in very good condition. Dust jacket and cover in great shape. Binding is secure. Clean pages free of writing, marks or tears. We package our items carefully, so you receive them in the advertised condition. Nº de ref. del artículo: 2504040005
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Merrill*s Marauders: The Untold Story of Unit Galahad and the Toughest Special Forces Mission of World War II
Publicado por
Zenith Press, 2013
ISBN 10: 0760344329
ISBN 13: 9780760344323
Antiguo o usado
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Librería: dsmbooks, Liverpool, Reino Unido
Calificación del vendedor: 4 de 5 estrellas
hardcover. Condición: Very Good. Very Good. book. Nº de ref. del artículo: D8S0-3-M-0760344329-6
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