The Last Banzai: the battle of Saipan (with maps!)

Hell’s Pocket. Death Valley. Purple Heart Ridge. These were just some of the names given to places around the island of Saipan by the US Marines who fought there from 15 June to 9 July, 1944. The battle of Saipan was only a month long, a short time by Second World War standards, but it was one of the bloodiest engagements of the campaign in the Pacific.…