New Guinea and the Marianas, March 1944 - August 1944

The eighth volume of Admiral Morison’s History of United States Naval Operations in World War II covers five of the most eventful months of the Pacific war, from March to August of 1944. It describes the submarine patrols of this period, the fast carrier strikes of March and April and the bold leaps of the Southwest Pacific Forces under General MacArthur’s command, to Hollandia, Wakde, Biak and Vogelkop. Here, also, is the story of the Pacific Fleet operations from the end of the Marshall Islands campaign to the recovery of Guam. The battle of the Philippine Sea in June, a naval action equal to Midway in tactical interest, and decisive in the outcome of the war, receives particular emphasis as the greatest carrier action of all time– the Jutland of World War II. The first two assaults of Operations “Galvanic” and “Flintlock” of Volume VII were “sudden death” affairs, but the bitterly contested Marianas operation lasted two months. Events forced changes in the original plans, and our naval and ground forces displayed the greatest flexibility and fortitude. About the Author Samuel Eliot Morison taught history at Harvard from 1915 to 1955, except for active duty service in the Navy on board eleven different ships in all theatres of the war. In addition to this series, Rear Admiral Morison wrote many other popular and award-winning books on maritime history, including Two Ocean War. Morison, who died in 1976, was the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes, two Bancroft Prizes, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.