U.S. Naval Gunfire Support in the Pacific War: A Study of the Development and Application of Doctrine

On November 20, 1943, the U.S. military invaded the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands as part of the first American offensive in the Central Pacific region during World War II. This invasion marked more than one first, as it was also the introductory test of a doctrine developed during the interwar years to address problems inherent in situations in which amphibious assaults required support by naval gunfire rather than land-based artillery.

In this detailed study, Donald K. Mitchener docu...