Charles Ashbacher Reviews

  Review of Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo , by Captain Ted W. Lawson Five out of five stars The first military action on the Japanese homeland   From Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 until the battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, which was basically a draw, Japanese forces won every engagement against Allied forces. Singapore fell in February 1942, Bataan and hence the Philippines fell in April 1942, and Indonesia fell in March of 1942. The Japanese leadership was loudly proclaiming that their home islands were impregnable, and the war would be fought on foreign soil.   That claim was rendered incorrect in April, 1942 when Lieutenant Colonel  James Doolittle led a group of 16 B-25B bombers in a raid over Tokyo. While the damage was relatively minor, the psychological impact was massive on both sides of the fighting. It was a major boost to American morale, and it demonstrated to the Japanese at all levels that the Japanese mainland could indeed be attacked fro...

  Review of A Close Encounter: The Marine Landings On Tinian , by Richard Harwood Five out of five stars Battle for a Pacific Island that is overlooked   When talking about Marine assaults against Pacific Islands held by the Japanese, the battles for Tarawa, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, Saipan and Guadalcanal are featured. The Mariana Islands were held by Japan and the most widely known components were Guam and Saipan. Tinian is an island in the same chain and was invaded by the Marines after they took Saipan. In fact, the islands are so close together that American artillery on Saipan could bombard Japanese positions on Tinian.   This is the story of the fight for Tinian, much of the action is similar to what happened in previous Pacific battles. In is a story of heroism, determination in the face of danger, the bloody destruction of thousands of human bodies and an ultimate American victory. One fact generally lost to history is that Tinian was the busiest American airf...