Hello and welcome to episode 226 of the unauthorized History of the Pacific War podcast. My name is Seth Perriden, historian and deputy director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum here at Camp Shelby. And with me, as always, is my esteemed co-host, retired Navy captain, Bill Toaddy, former skipper, the Fast Attack Submarine, USS, Indianapolis, Commodore of Submarine Squadron 3 in Pearl Harbor, and many other assignments. Welcome back, Bill and how are how are you yes you know it's funny because um we watched two episodes in a row as we're

recording this today um where i wasn't there and it was you and john now though several episodes

will have aired with me since then but those two episodes were recorded on the same day and And that was the day I was, you know, filming all those Titan midget submarine news spots. So it's, I'm happy to be back. And, you know, we are trying to use a new recording software program today. So viewers, you know, we are trying to use a new recording software program today, so viewers, listeners

won't be affected by it, but viewers, you, if it looks funky, we're still getting used

to the new system. So I hope it goes well.

I'm sure it will. And if it doesn't, we'll fudge it, so nobody will ever know.

But that's right.

Before we get started, as we've been doing in the last several episodes, we do want to ask you to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel as it does help others find our show.

One of the comments, many of the comments

we see often are, you know, I can't believe you guys don't have more subscribers. Well, the best way to do

that is for you guys who are watching it, who aren't subscribed, to do that very thing. We would

greatly appreciate it. Once you subscribe and like the videos, that helps you to push out the videos

to other people. And, you know, we want to get the history to the masses. So that's the easiest way we know how to get it done. So we would appreciate it very much. If you haven't subscribed, please do so. On with the show. So to this point in the war, the majority of the fighting on land has taken place in the South Pacific at places like Guadalcanal, New Georgia, and Bougainville.

All of these places were captured via amphibious landing.

All of them were against meager Japanese defenses, or in some cases, none at all.

The previous landings had gone exceedingly well with meager casualties to the assault forces, leaving American planners for a new offensive in a new area of the Pacific to feel optimistic about the chance of knocking the main island of an atoll in an area of the Gilbert Islands out rather quickly.

The Americans had been building forces, shepherding ships, and men from literally across the globe,

funneling them all to Pearl Harbor in order to execute this very offensive.

The forces amassing in Pearl Harbor were destined to be the spearhead of the new offensive

in the Pacific that was based off of decades-old plans, and also destined to be the guinea pigs

for the amphibious doctrine that the United States Navy and Marine Corps had been planning for years and slowly fine-tuning in the quote warm-up assaults that had thus far taken place in the Pacific.

A tremendous amount rode on the success of this upcoming operation.

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