Carlson's Raid: The Daring Marine Assault on Makin

by George W. Smith

Book Overview

Led by Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson, the 2nd Marine Raider commandos were the celebrated "Gung Ho Battalion." In August 1942, as a diversion to the invasion of Guad-alcanal, the 219 Raiders... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891417443
• ISBN13: 9780891417446
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: Presidio Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Advent of the commando concept in the U.S.M.C.

In the first half of World War II, things looked very bleak for the allies. The German and Japanese military were presumed to be invincible, by the more pessimistic observers. Germany had over-run Europe and North Africa, and almost defeated the Soviet Union in October of 1941. The Japanese had over-run much of East Asia and half of the Pacific Ocean. The Axis Powers were planning to link-up in India, and to most of the world, it seemed that this was innevitable. In Britain, a nation crippled by its losses in the disaster at Dunkirk, Winston Churchill refused to wait for the prospective German invasion of his nation. Believing that any manner of offensive action would be better than doing nothing at all, Churchill authorized the formation of elite raiding units, the Commandos. This was the birth of modern military special-operations. The Commando-concept found much resistance from the typically closed-minds of intellectually-mediocre, inner-circle, military careerists who always seem to dominate armed-forces bureaucracy. Unfortunately, the U.S. Marine Corps had its share of such uninspired conformists. However, not everyone was opposed to such "radical" ideas. Franklin Roosevelt, inspired by the commando successes reported by Churchill, gave his endorsement to the formation of American commando units. Roosevelt's son James was a Marine Corps officer, and was among the first eager advocates. James Roosevelt would serve as XO under his friend, Evans Carlson, in the 2nd Raider Battalion. This should not have been such a contentious issue for the U.S.M.C. After all, the Marines historically had always been a raiding-force, by their vary nature as ship-borne infantry. As the Army formed the Ranger units, the U.S.M.C. formed its own commando group, the Raiders. Here is the story of Evans Carlson, James Roosevelt, the Marine Corps Raiders, and the raid on Makin Island. Conducted as a diversion for the larger Marine landings on Guadalcanal, the Makin raid was an operation of questionable value in some respects. The raid did result in the capture of useful intelligence documents, and valuable experience was gained. Sadly, as is common in such daring under-takings, things did not go as well in the conduct and extraction phases as theycould have. There are always unforseen hazards, despite how thorough the planning and the rehearsals may be. The Makin raid almost became an absolute disaster, but the Raiders prevailed. Earlier histories of the Raiders have alluded to the controversial nature of Lt.Col. Carlson and his eccentric politics, without going into much detail. Finally, we have a bit more of the story. There were suspicions by some, that Carlson was a communist, as he had temporarilly accompanied the Chinese communist forces in China prior to World War II. This is where he learned about guerilla-warfare, and the value of a raiding force. Carlson was openly a socialist, but also a Christian, and certainly no communist. Although I can not

Factual histories reveal how messy reality is...

Evans Fordyce Carlson was a loose cannon. The Raider concept was "emerging doctrine" (MilSpeak for "make up stuff as the situation develops"). Carlson's legacy is the modern Marine Corps fire team--a humble honor that Carlson would probably appreciate. As for the official record, "maverick" is an understatement. George W. Smith begins "Carlson's Raid" with the events of Sunday, December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor. The author also gives a brief biography of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, a key player in the Raider story. James Roosevelt, FDR's son and Carlson's battalion executive officer, and of course the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, were the reason that Carlson wound up with one of the two Raider battalions. The Marine Corps was bitterly opposed to forming any "special force" because the official dogma was that every Marine was special. (Note: in 2005 the United States Marine Corps finally recanted this long-held doctrine and established a presence in the Special Operations Command--SOCOM. "Carlson's Raid" was published prior to this event and only time will tell how this radical change will affect the Corps.) The bulk of the book is about the Makin raid from preparation to aftermath. One chapter is devoted to Carlson's Raiders' Long Patrol and another is devoted to the disbanding of the Raiders. I like bibliographies and indexes because they allow me to go to other sources and quickly find things. I came to the conclusion that the Makin Raid was a defeat for Headquarters Marine Corps because even after being organized and equipped specifically for raiding and undergoing extensive (for the time) training the raid was all but a disaster. This was an HQMC defeat because it proved that "ordinary Marine line companies" were NOT capable of conducting Makin Island type operations. The Raider companies themselves needed refinement in training and better equipment. Radios and outboard motors were not up to the task of keeping raid elements in touch with the mother ship or each other, and of crashing through the surf line. No wonder Raider units were "squandered" as line infantry on Guadalcanal and then disbanded! The Para-Marines were never used as parachute infantry, either. I think that "Carlson's Raid" is great history because it shows how fouled up war fighting can be. Smith leaves me with more questions than answers, which is a good thing. There are gaps in the record on the Makin Island operation. George W. Smith put a lot of information into "Carlson's Raid" because military operations do not happen in a clinical, isolated setting. FDR's "interference" in "military operations" and the Hollywood connection (the movie "Gung Ho!") all cloud the issue of success and failure. In military operations the difference between defeat and victory is often merely a matter of opinion.

Shakin' Makin With Peatross Too

I enjoyed the book, however, a lot more can be learned of the Raiders by reading Oscar Peatross' book Bless 'em All, which is out of print, unfortunately; however, excerpts are available at one of the Marine Raider websites. The chapter on The Long Patrol at the end of the book, is short and somewhat superficial, and a story truly deserving of a novel in itself. Imagine being on patrol and living in the jungles of Guadalcanal for 32 days. Ahoy Raiders! We are truly indebted and thank you for your sacrifices.

Marine Raiders Takin' Makin

This is a fairly brief(233pp.) account of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion's assault on a Japanese held Central Pacific island in the first year of the Pacific War during WWII. The author outlines the formation of elite Marine commando units and the intra-service squabbling it entailed. He then takes you into the early career of the leader, Evans Carlson, and its influence on his philosophy of covert operations such as these units were tasked with. He later follows with a descriptive narrative of the preparation, training, and execution of the mission of invading Butaritari Island in Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. I applaud his use of oral interviews of survivors of the operation. My only critique was the ineffective sprinkling of humorous events throughout which did not blend well with the flow of the story. Overall I highly recommend this book to those interested in learning more about one of the elite Marine units of WWII.

If you have to work tomorrow, don't read it tonite!

Smith has surpassed his last work (The Seige at Hue) and written a "can't put it down" thrilling account of one of WWII's most daring attacks. You'll get to know the players (including FDR's son, Maj. Jimmy Roosevelt)and be part of the battle and drama. Whether you have a military background or just like adventurous reads, you'll find this to be a page-turner. Make sure you block out chunks of time to read this because you'll be wanting to know what happens next.