Building upon the expertise of the authors and historians of the Naval Institute Press, the Naval History Special Editions are designed to offer studies of the key vessels, battles, and events of armed conflict. Using an image-heavy, magazine-style format, these Special Editions should appeal to scholars, enthusiasts, and general readers alike. USS Massachusetts (BB-59) is the third ship of the South Dakota-class, whose short but intense career encapsulates the story of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Laid down in July 1939. She was launched three months before Pearl Harbor. Her massive 16-inch/45 caliber Mark 6 guns were the first of their type to fire on an enemy in combat during World War II, and they also held the distinction of discharging the last 16-inch salvos of the war. Her shells fell on targets from Casablanca to the suburbs of Tokyo. She engaged an enemy battleship and protected one of the most important American amphibious operations of the war. She scored several of the longest-range gunfire hits against a moving target in the history of naval warfare, and this during her shakedown cruise with a crew that was 80 percent straight from the recruiting center. After this remarkable beginning, Massachusetts served in the Pacific, in the Gilberts, Marshalls, Philippines, and in the Okinawa and Japanese campaigns. This Naval History Special Edition tells how she was constructed, manned, and was equipped. This work is richly illustrated with an outstanding collection of photographs covering her entire career. The content draws upon her war diaries, her action reports, and the oral histories of the men who served aboard her. This book tells the story of each of the eleven battle starts earned by Massachusetts. It is the story of the U.S. Navy's unprecedented triumph in World War II.

Rhode Island's contribution to World War II vastly exceeded its small size. Narragansett Bay was an armed camp dotted by army forts and navy facilities. They included the country's most important torpedo production and testing facilities at Newport and the Northeast's largest naval air station at Quonset Point. Three special, top-secret German POW camps were based in Narragansett and Jamestown. Meanwhile, Rhode Island workers from all over the state - including, for the first time, many women - manufactured military equipment and built warships, most notably the Liberty ships at Providence Shipyard. Authors from the Rhode Island history blog smallstatebighistory.com trace Rhode Island's outsized wartime role, from the scare of an enemy air raid after Pearl Harbor to the war's final German U-boat sunk off Point Judith.

The U.S. Army attacked three villages near the German-Belgium border, surprising the Germans who surrendered with little resistance. The German army regrouped and counterattacked. A brief but horrific battle ensued, and as the enemy pressed forward, the Americans retreated in haste, leaving behind their wounded and their dead. Discussion of this week-long conflict that began on All Souls Day, November 2, 1944, has been confined to officer training school, in part due to its heavy losses and ignominy. After the war the U.S. Army returned to the battlefield to bring home its fallen. To its dismay it found that many of these men had vanished. The disappearances were puzzling and for decades the U.S. government searched unsuccessfully for clues. After poring over now-declassified battlefield reports and interviewing family members, the authors reconstruct a spellbinding story of love and sacrifice, honor and bravery, as well as a portrait of the gnawing pain of families not knowing what became of their loved ones. Ultimately this work of history and in-depth contemporary journalism proffers a glimmer of light in the ongoing search.

Prelude to war, 1941: Blitzkrieg -- Prelude to war, 1943: war in the Pacific -- 1942-1944: breaking Hitler's grip -- 1944-1945: victory over Germany -- 1943-1945: defeating Japan.

Over 500,000 Massachusetts residents answered the call to military duty in the Second World War, while the rest of the state's citizens fought the war on the home front. Everyone in the family, including pets, found creative and essential ways to contribute. Thousands worked in factories, volunteered for Civil Defense, watched for enemy aircraft, and took part in salvage collections and bond drives, all while dealing with rationing, blackouts, rumors and a host of other wartime inconveniences. And while thousands of service members left to fight overseas, the Bay State also welcomed thousands more to serve on its military bases that were such an important part of our nation's defense. Author James Parr reveals the stories of these brave and dedicated citizens--from the famous to the ordinary--as they faced wartime challenges.