“Bloodstained Sands: US Amphibious Operations in World War II”
by Mike Walling
Available Now!
For the men who served in America's Amphibious Forces during World War II, the conflict was an unceasing series of D-Days. They were responsible for putting men ashore in more than 200 landings throughout the conflict, most against well-entrenched enemy positions. Bloodstained Sands: US Amphibious Operations in World War II tells the story of these forgotten men for the first time, tracing their operational history from Guadalcanal to Casablanca, Sicily, Normandy, Iwo Jima and finally Okinawa. The men's stories are told in their own voices, with fascinating accounts from Underwater Demolition Teams, Attack Transport crews and many other unsung heroes of World War II.
Amphibious warfare was not a new concept, but in World War II, amphibious operations were attempted on an unprecedented scale. Millions of men and vast quantities of equipment were landed on hostile beaches from North Africa, where American forces came under the intense fire of Vichy French defenders, to the shores of Normandy where they suffered heavy casualties on Omaha Beach, and the final, costliest landings on the remote islands of Japan’s far reaching Pacific empire. That the Allies succeeded is due to their logistical and engineering ingenuity and brilliance, but also the courage of countless men, largely inexperienced in warfare, asked to do the impossible again and again. This is their story. Told not from the perspective of senior commanders far offshore, but from the viewpoint of the men at the spear’s tip whose blood stained the beaches to secure victory.
"Amphibious operations were one of the keys to victory in World War II. In Bloodstained Sands, Michael Walling tells the gripping stories of the valiant men who made those landings, and then fought and sacrificed to ensure that ultimate victory." - Admiral James Stavridis, USN
"An amphibious assault on a hostile shore is the most complex and dangerous operation a military force can undertake. Michael G. Walling's account of how the American armed forces learned how to do them by trial and error during World War II, culminating in the D-Day invasion of Normandy and the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, is riveting history, a story of professionalism, determination, valor and sacrifice. Bloodstained Sands should be required reading for every military officer. Some day we may have to do it again." - Stephen Coonts, author of FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER
"Amphibious landings incorporated the greatest risks and the highest stakes of any operation in World War II. Their success depended on courage and determination at the cutting edge, in the landing craft and on the beaches. And the US was amphibious war‘s unquestioned master. Walling offers a distinguished contribution to the understanding of that achievement’s whys and hows." - Dennis Showalter, author of INSTRUMENT OF WAR
“Mike Walling has scored another win with his moving and exciting new work, Bloodstained Sands. The award-winning author once again uses first-person accounts and personal interviews to tell the gripping story of the forgotten American heroes who stormed enemy-held beaches during World War II. Thanks to authors like Mike Walling, their stories will no longer be forgotten, but will be recorded so future generations will always remember the sacrifices these Americans made on behalf of freedom and democracy.” - Robert F. Cross, author of SHEPHERDS OF THE SEA: DESTROYER ESCORTS IN WORLD WAR II and SAILOR IN THE WHITE HOUSE: THE SEAFARING LIFE OF FDR
"An amphibious assault on a hostile shore is the most complex and dangerous operation a military force can undertake. Michael G. Walling's account of how the American armed forces learned how to do them by trial and error during World War II, culminating in the D-Day invasion of Normandy and the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, is riveting history, a story of professionalism, determination, valor and sacrifice. Bloodstained Sands should be required reading for every military officer. Some day we may have to do it again." - Stephen Coonts, author of FLIGHT OF THE INTRUDER
"Amphibious landings incorporated the greatest risks and the highest stakes of any operation in World War II. Their success depended on courage and determination at the cutting edge, in the landing craft and on the beaches. And the US was amphibious war‘s unquestioned master. Walling offers a distinguished contribution to the understanding of that achievement’s whys and hows." - Dennis Showalter, author of INSTRUMENT OF WAR
“Mike Walling has scored another win with his moving and exciting new work, Bloodstained Sands. The award-winning author once again uses first-person accounts and personal interviews to tell the gripping story of the forgotten American heroes who stormed enemy-held beaches during World War II. Thanks to authors like Mike Walling, their stories will no longer be forgotten, but will be recorded so future generations will always remember the sacrifices these Americans made on behalf of freedom and democracy.” - Robert F. Cross, author of SHEPHERDS OF THE SEA: DESTROYER ESCORTS IN WORLD WAR II and SAILOR IN THE WHITE HOUSE: THE SEAFARING LIFE OF FDR