Odin & Aesop
Interested in military history? Please join Join Bill Redman and Tony Faust two retired Marines as they review military history books and provide a unique look at how the book’s contents relate to current trends in military operations. Each episode provides a detailed book discussion along with some recommendations for related reading on the topic.”
Odin & Aesop
Utmost Savagery
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Bill Redman, Kevin Yeo & Tony Faust
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Season 2
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Episode 7
The Navy and Marine Corps attacked the Tarawa atoll on November 20th, 1943. It was their first objective in the drive across the Central Pacific. The island was defended by 2,600 Japanese troops and about 2,200 Japanese and Korean laborers. They had spent nine months fortifying the atoll. Most of the action took place on Betio. Betio is the largest island in the atoll but it is only covered six tenths of a square mile big. In 76 hours it took to seize Betio, 1,009 Sailors and Marines died, along with virtually the entire Japanese garrison. It was a battle of utmost savagery and the reason Joseph Alexander used it for the title of this book.