Approximately 350 sources, both official and unofficial, have been used in writing the narrative of the Tinian operation. In specific actions or phases of the operation, the reports of the units most intimately concerned with the particular actions or phases have been consulted. Likewise, individuals in the best positions to observe given periods were asked to comment on the author's interpretation of the information contained in the action reports and to elaborate upon that interpretation. This step corrected several errors and uncovered a wealth of additional information. The lowest echelon reporting on a specific incident was generally considered the most dependable source for details, whereas a report of a higher unit, more familiar with the over-all situation, was generally more dependable for the evaluation and results of a particular action. In rare instances where two sources disagreed upon a basic detail, additional sources were consulted until one version emerged correct, the other incorrect. Where it was impossible to resolve a discrepancy by this means, the alternative that appeared correct to the Marine Corps Historical Division was used in the text and the other alternative mentioned in a footnote.
Unless otherwise indicated, the below-listed bibliographical material is filed in the Marine Corps Historical Division.
Documents
Proceedings of Joint Chiefs of Staff and Combined Chiefs of Staff meetings and the papers and studies considered at those meetings. Filed at the Naval Records and Library.
CINCPAC-CINCPOA Campaign Plan GRANITE (13Jan44) and GRANITE II (3Jun44). Filed at the Naval Records and Library.
JICPOA Information Bulletins 7-44 and 29-44. The former, entitled "Marianas," gives detailed facts concerning the islands' appearance, history, geography, climate and people. The latter, entitled "Weather Survey for Carolines and Marianas," gives weather statistics for the islands.
CINCPAC-CINCPOA Operation Plan 3-44, 23Apr44. Assigns southern Marianas as a specific objective. Filed at Naval Records and Library.
COMINCH P-007, 30Dec44, "Invasion of the Marianas, June to August 1944." Prepared at the Headquarters of the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. This document is a valuable synthesis of action reports received from major subordinate units participating in the Saipan, Tinian and Guam operations.
ComFIFTHFleet Final Report on the Operation to Capture the Marianas Islands, 30Aug44. Draws general conclusions (chiefly strategic) regarding the entire Marianas campaign.
Task Force 51 Report (Saipan, Tinian and Guam).
Task Force 52 Report (Tinian).
Task Force 52 Pictorial History of Capture and Occupation of Tinian.
USS Calvert Action Report (Tinian).
USS Cleveland Action Report (Tinian).
USS Colorado Action Report (Guam and Tinian).
Task Force 56 Report on FORAGER, 2Oct44. Basic report of Commanding General Expeditionary Troops,
seven enclosures in separate volumes, covering planning, operations, intelligence, logistics, personnel and special staff officers' reports (Saipan, Tinian and Guam).
Northern Troops and Landing Force Report (Tinian).
Northern Troops and Landing Force Operation Orders 30-44 through 39-44 (Tinian).
Northern Troops and Landing Force G-1 Report (Tinian).
Northern Troops and Landing Force G-2 Report (Tinian).
Northern Troops and Landing Force G-2 Periodic Reports 40 through 49 (Tinian).
Northern Troops and Landing Force G-3 Operational Dispatches (Tinian).
Northern Troops and Landing Force G-4 Report (Tinian).
Northern Troops and Landing Force LVT Report (Tinian).
Northern Troops and Landing Force Medical Report (Tinian).
Northern Troops and Landing Force Naval Gun Fire Report (Tinian).
V Amphibious Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion Report (Tinian).
VAC G-2 Study of the Theater of Operations, Southern Marianas. Contains descriptions of Saipan, Tinian, Aguijan, and Rota, together with information on terrain, climate, and meteorology.
V Amphibious Corps Report on Marianas, Phase III, Tinian.
XXIV Corps Artillery Report (Saipan and Tinian).
2d Marine Division Report (Tinian).
2d Marine Division Operation Orders 45 through 55 (Tinian).
2d Marine Division D-2 Periodic Reports 74 through 82 (Tinian).
2d Marine Division D-3 Journal (Tinian).
Annual Sanitary Report, Second Marine Division Fleet Marine Force, 1944, from Division Surgeon to Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
2d Marines Report (Saipan and Tinian).
6th Marines Report (Saipan and Tinian).
8th Marines Report (Saipan and Tinian).
10th Marines Report (Saipan and Tinian).
1st Battalion, 8th Marines Report (Saipan and Tinian).
2d Battalion, 18th Marines Report (Saipan and Tinian).
2d Tank Battalion Report, including reports from Companies A, B, C, and D (Tinian).
4th Marine Division Report (Tinian).
4th Marine Division Operation Orders 33-34 through 44-44 (Tinian).
4th Marine Division D-2 Periodic Reports 71 through 80 (Tinian).
4th Marine Division Representative Translations Made on Tinian. Prepared by 4th Marine Division Language Section, document contains Japanese orders, battle plans, and miscellaneous material.
14th Marines Report (Tinian).
20th Marines Report (Tinian).
23d Marines Report (Tinian).
24th Marines Report (Tinian).
25th Marines Report (Tinian).
24th Marines, Special Action Report of Battalions (Saipan and Tinian).
1st Battalion, 25th Marines Report (Saipan and Tinian).
3d Battalion, 25th Marines Report (Saipan and Tinian).
3d Battalion, 23d Marines Report (Tinian).
4th Tank Battalion Report, including reports from Companies A, B, C and D (Tinian).
27th Infantry Division Artillery Report (Saipan and Tinian).
Primary Sources
Joint Army Navy Assessment Committee. "Japanese Naval and Merchant Shipping Losses During World War II by All Causes." February 1947.
King, Fleet Admiral Ernest J. Second Report to the Secretary of the Navy, 27 March 1945. U. S. Navy at War. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1945.
Military Reports. Military Intelligence Division, War Department. Report No. 23.
Mission Accomplished. Prepared by Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Intelligence Headquarters, Army Air Forces, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946. (Interrogations of Japanese Industrial, Military and Civil Leaders of World War II.)
United States Strategic Bombing Survey. The Campaigns of the Pacific War. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946.
United States Strategic Bombing Survey. The Effects of Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946.
United States Strategic Bombing Survey. Interrogations of Japanese Officials. 2 Volumes, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1946.
The War Reports of General George C. Marshall, General Henry H. Arnold and Admiral Ernest J. King. New York and Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1947.
Secondary Sources
Arnold, Henry H. Global Mission. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1949.
Blackett, P. M. S. Fear, War, and the Bomb. New York: Whittlesey House, 1949.
Buchanan, A. R., editor. The Navy's Air War, A Mission Completed. New York: Harper and Brothers for Aviation History Unit OP-519B, DCNO (Air), 1946.
Daniel, Hawthorne. Islands of the Pacific. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1943.
Drury, Captain Clifford M., USNR. The History of the Chaplain Corps, United States Navy, Volume II, 1939-1949. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1950.
Haugland, Vern. The AAF Against Japan. New York and London: Harper and Brothers, 1948.
Hough, Frank O, The Island War: The United States Marine Corps in the Pacific. Philadelphia and New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1947.
Howard, Clive, et al. One Damned Island After Another. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1946.
Johnston, Richard W. Follow Me! New York: Random House, 1948.
Josephy, Alvin M., et al. Uncommon Valor: Marine Division in Action. Washington: Infantry Journal Press, 1946.
Karig, Captain Walter, USNR. Battle Report, End of an Empire. New York: Rinehart & Co., Inc., 1948.
Kenney, George C. General Kenney Reports. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1949.
Knox, Dudley W. A History of the United States Navy. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1948.
Krieger, Herbert W. Smithsonian War Background Studies Number Sixteen, People of the Western Pacific, Micronesia and Melanesia. Baltimore: Lord Baltimore Press, 1943.
Miller, Francis Trevelyan. History of World War II. Philadelphia and Toronto: The John C. Winston Company, 1945.
Pratt, Fletcher. The Marines' War. New York: William Sloane Associates, 1948.
Price, Willard. Japan's Islands of Mystery. New York: John Day Company, 1944.
Proehl, Carl W. The Fourth Marine Division in World War II. Washington: Infantry Journal Press, 1946.
Robson, R. W. The Pacific Islands Handbook, 1944. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1945.
Schmidt, R. K. "The Tinian Operation, A Study in Planning for an Amphibious Operation." Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, Virginia, 1948-1949.
Smith, Holland M. Coral and Brass. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1949.
Stockman, Captain James R., USMC. The Battle for Tarawa. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1947.
Stockman, Captain James R., et al. Campaign for the Marianas. Philadelphia: Marine Corps Publicity Bureau for Historical Division, U. S. Marine Corps, 1946.
Yanaihara, Tadao. Pacific Islands Under Japanese Mandate. New York: Oxford University Press, 1940.
Periodicals
All Hands. Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin. January 1945.
Chevron. Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California. 29 July 1944.
Miller, S/Sgt. Bill. "Beachhead Government," Marine Corps Gazette. November 1944.
Thomason, Captain John W., III. "The Fourth Marine Division at Tinian." Marine Corps Gazette, January 1945.
Letters and Interviews
The many valuable letters and interviews concerning this monograph cannot be cited individually in this bibliography because of space limitations. But all are available in the working files of the Marine Corps Historical Division for the reference of any bona-fide student of this phase of military history. Many letters and interviews have been cited at appropriate places in the book. Others, although not specifically cited, served to corroborate information already available.
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