Misled by poor intelligence, the 9,000 Marine infantry-men who landed on Peleliu's beaches found themselves facing 11,000 Japanese who had turned the island into an intricate network of caves and underground fortifications unrivaled in the history of warfare. Sloan's gripping narrative seamlessly weaves together the experiences of the men who were there, producing a vivid and unflinching look at the nightmare that was Peleliu-a ferocious melee of non-stop infantry attacks, hand-to-hand combat, flame-thrower assaults, and night skirmishes, many in temperatures that topped 115 degrees. With casualties in some infantry units averaging more than sixty percent, Peleliu is the bloodiest battle in the Corps' history.