Elite 117: US World War II Amphibious Tactics, Army & Marine corps, Pacific Theater

by Gordon L Rottman, illustrated by Peter Dennis

Published by Osprey Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-84176-841-3, 64 pages.

This book comes in nice time for modellers of the Italeri and Trumpeter LCM-3 kits. Not, I hasten to add, as a reference for building the models but as guidance on how the LCMs were used and what they carried. It is full of detail about the US Army and Marine use of all amphibians, from DUKWs to Tank Landing Ships – the plate showing Marines transferring from an LCM-3 to an LVT-4 gives a great diorama idea itself.

The book starts with a look at the Pacific Theatre with relevance to amphibious operations, then shows how doctrine evolved during the war years. Next comes the organisation of the various sizes of Navy, Army and Marine landing forces and their assorted ships and assault vehicles, both seaborne and amphibious. A chapter on Command and Control describes the arrangements for command handover from Navy to the landing forces and how they changed and also how the assault forces were organised for a landing. Then to end it comes a longer chapter on the various types of ship and landing craft followed by one on the actual assault arrangements.

This is all excellent stuff, just what modellers need to create an authentic scene with an LCM-3, LVT or DUKW instead of just loading it with a tank or troops and plonking it down on a beach. Highly recommended!

John Prigent

More details from Osprey Publishing

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