"HOWLIN' MAD" VS THE ARMY:
CONFLICT IN COMMAND, SAIPAN 1944.

Harry A. Gailey

Presidio Press, 1986. VG+/VG--. Book is clean & tight; jacket has some minor flaking & chipping on the spine. Book Club edition. Notes, index, 278 pages. "Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Holland M. Smith relieved his subordinate, Maj. Gen. Ralph Smith, of command of the Army's 27th Infantry Division, on 24 June 1944, during the assault on Saipan. The 27th was lagging behind the Marine advance on either flank; it must be the fault of the commander. The furor was immediate, loud and and long. The media came to the defense of the Marines. The old argument as to whether the Marines were as capable as the Army of commanding large bodies of troops was reopened. Was the Army slow? ... were the Marines too reckless with lives? ... should there be an overall Pacific commander? ... were some of the questions raised. It was a conflict in command, and a conflict between commanders. On one side was a general whose temper had earned his nickname justly. H.M. Smith had spent over forty years in the Marine Corps but until Saipan he had never been in action, never been a "fighting Marine". Ralph Smith, on the other hand, in his first twenty-five years in the Army, had held posts in both combat and training. He was forty-nine years old when he took command of the 27th; calm, self-possessed, well-liked and generally considered successful. Professor Gailey presents us first with the basic factors, then he proceeds to the analysis. He discusses brilliantly the part the media played in the controversy. He also analyzes the affair according to H.M. Smith's account in "Coral and Brass". He discusses the struggle on Saipan, in its broad context as well as in particular detail. Conclusions can be drawn. Was the relief of Ralph Smith justified? Was it a personality conflict as well as a conflict in command? Was it politics? "Howlin' Mad vs the Army" is an intriguing, lucid study of two men, a battle, and a double-sided conflict. Ralph Smith, well into his nineties, contributed to the background of the book. For the rest, the author, an historian at the University of California, San Jose, has done a remarkable job of research and writing. Though Gailey's book concerns a particular incident, it has wide-reaching implications and is bound to stir up controversy." Harry A. Gailey is a history professor at San Jose State University and the author of other books, including 'Peleliu, 1944'.

$30.00