Brian Lane Herder

An illustrated study of the organization, training, tactics, and operations of the US Navy during World War I, both before and after the US formally joined the Entente Powers.In 1914, the US Navy was the third-largest navy in the world. Although World War I brought no opportunity for the type of capital-ship fleet action for which it had been trained, the US Navy carried out (alongside the Allied navies) a wide range of other missions such as patrolling, convoy escort, laying mines, antisubmarine warfare, landing parties, and manning 14in. naval guns ashore on the Western Front, all while pioneering naval aviation against a background of gunboat diplomacy in the "Banana Wars" in the Caribbean.This absorbing new study examines the US Navy''s varied activities in the different theaters of World War I, paying particular attention to the considerable array of uniforms, personal equipment, protective clothing, and insignia employed, including those used by the first female US naval personnel. Complementing naval warfare expert Brian Lane Herder''s insightful research are archive photographs and eight newly commissioned color plates, providing a detailed and vivid account of the many facets of the US Navy during this pivotal chapter in its history.

The little-known history of the Hawaii-based Seventh Air Force''s war as it fought in all the major island campaigns from the Gilberts and Marshalls to the Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.Rebuilt after being shattered at Pearl Harbor, the Hawaii-based Seventh Air Force was assigned responsibility for the new Central Pacific Area, which (bar Midway) was then very quiet. But when the Navy began its counteroffensive in late 1943, Seventh Air Force was sent into action as the USAAF''s contribution to the Central Pacific. In this book, military historian Brian Lane Herder details Seventh Air Force’s part in the Pacific War, actions long overshadowed by the Navy’s carrier war. He explains how Seventh Air Force fought in all the major 1943–45 Central Pacific campaigns – the Gilberts, Marshalls, Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. As each island fell, and sometimes with the airfield still under Japanese fire, a detachment flew ashore to provide organic air defense and to start attacking the next targets. The Seventh provided a major part of the airpower at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and as the end of the war approached, its P-51s and P-47s then flew ultra-long-range B-29 escort missions. Researched almost entirely from primary sources, this book is spectacularly illustrated with many unpublished photos, original artwork, maps and 3D diagrams. It is a long-overdue account of Seventh Air Force''s unjustly overlooked Pacific War campaign.

An illustrated history of "the first Pacific War," which saw the United States transform itself into an outward-looking, expansionist great power.In April 1898, the United States and Spain declared war on each other. Led by Commodore George Dewey, the small US Asiatic Squadron departed China and attacked the Spanish naval squadron defending Manila Bay on May 1. Simultaneously, an insurrection under a charismatic young Filipino named Aguinaldo liberated most of the Philippines on its own and laid siege to Manila. This resulted in three warring sides vying for supremacy, with each fixed on their own unique political goals. Here, respected author Brian Lane Herder explores why the 1898 US campaign in the Philippines permanently transformed US foreign policy, and highlights the importance of the Filipino rebels in defeating the Spanish. Illustrated with stunning battlescenes, photographs, and informative maps and diagrams, this work covers the May 1 naval battle between the US and Spanish cruiser squadrons, the May–August Philippines land campaign, the capture of Guam, and the annexation of Hawaii. The resultant work is one of the first to address the entire Pacific theater of the Spanish–American War, including both military and diplomatic developments.