Guadalcanal: Decision At Sea

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Author :
Publisher : Daniel Hammel
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 496 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Guadalcanal: Decision At Sea by : Eric Hammel

Download or read book Guadalcanal: Decision At Sea written by Eric Hammel and published by Daniel Hammel. This book was released on 2020-12-23 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: GUADALCANAL DECISION AT SEA The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal November 13–15,1942 BY ERIC HAMMEL Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea is a full-blown examination in vivid detail of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13–15, 1942, a crucial step toward America’s victory over the Japanese during World War II. The three‑day air and naval action incorporated America’s most decisive surface battle of the war and the only naval battle of this century in which Ameri­can battleships directly confronted and mor­tally wounded an enemy battleship. This American victory decided the future course of the naval war in the Pacific, indeed of the entire Pacific War. Eric Hammel has brilliantly blended the detailed historical records with personal accounts of many of the officers and enlisted men involved, creating an engrossing nar­rative of the strategy and struggle as seen by both sides. He has also included major new insights into crucial details of the battles, including a riveting account of the American forces’ failure to effectively use their radar advantage. Originally published in 1988 as the concluding volume in Eric Hammel’s series of three independent books focusing on the Guadalcanal campaign and exploring all the elements that made it a turning point of the war in the Pacific, Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea lives up to the high standards and expectations that have marked this author’s many historical books and articles. Praise for Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea and Eric Hammel “Hammel’s description of surface tactics, naval gunnery, and what happens when the order to abandon ship is given is vivid and memorable.” —Publishers Weekly “[Hammel’s] detailed and fast-paced chronicle includes a number of incidents and anecdotes not found in the more prosaic official histories.” —Sea Power “Meticulously well-researched and scholarly, but still readable. Author Hammel presents an interesting account of the three-phase battle with frequently gripping ship-by-ship, plane-by-plane, blow-by-blow narratives laden with many human-interest vignettes from both sides.” —The Hook “[Hammel] mixes action with his history, the result being a highly readable story difficult to put down.” —Riversie Press-Enterprise “Hammel’s painstaking reconstruction affords not only a wealth of strategic and tactical detail but also a full measure of critical judgements. . . . a kaleidoscopic but invariably intelligible accounts of key actions . . .” —Kirkus Reviews “Hammel does not write dry history. His battle sequences are masterfully portrayed.” —Library Journal

Guadalcanal

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Author :
Publisher : Crown Publishing Group (NY)
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 520 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Guadalcanal by : Eric M. Hammel

Download or read book Guadalcanal written by Eric M. Hammel and published by Crown Publishing Group (NY). This book was released on 1988 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Details the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November of 1942, a crucial step toward America's victory over the Japanese during WWII. Blends detailed historical records with personal accounts of many of the officers and enlisted men involved, creating an engrossing narrative of the strategy and struggle as seen by both sides. Includes major new insights into the battles, including an account of the American forces' failure to effectively use their radar advantage. Originally published in 1988 as the concluding volume in the author's series of three independent books. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Guadalcanal

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Author :
Publisher : Pacifica Military History
ISBN 13 : 9780935553352
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (533 download)

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Book Synopsis Guadalcanal by : Eric Hammel

Download or read book Guadalcanal written by Eric Hammel and published by Pacifica Military History. This book was released on 1999 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Guadalcanal Decision at Sea

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Author :
Publisher : Ibooks
ISBN 13 : 9781416508601
Total Pages : 492 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (86 download)

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Book Synopsis Guadalcanal Decision at Sea by : Eric Hammel

Download or read book Guadalcanal Decision at Sea written by Eric Hammel and published by Ibooks. This book was released on 2005-11-01 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Hammel's painstaking reconstruction affords not only a wealth of strategic and tactical detail but also a full measure of critical judgments . . . a kaleidoscopic but invariably intelligible account of key actions."-Kirkus Reviews "Hammel does not write dry history. His battle sequences are masterfully portrayed."-Library Journal "Vivid and memorable . . ."-Publishers Weekly GUADALCANAL: DECISION AT SEA is a vivid examination of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13-15, 1942, and its crucial impact on America's offensive against Japan in World War II. This three-day air and naval action incorporated America's most decisive surface battle of the war and it was the only naval battle of the 20th century where American battleships fought Japanese battleships. This American victory decided the future course of the naval war in the Pacific. Hammel has brilliantly blended the detailed historical records with personal accounts of many of the officers and enlisted men involved, creating an engrossing narrative of the strategy and struggle as seen by both sides.

Decision at Sea

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780199754885
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (548 download)

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Book Synopsis Decision at Sea by : Craig L. Symonds

Download or read book Decision at Sea written by Craig L. Symonds and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-10-23 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From thunderous broadsides traded between wooden sailing ships on Lake Erie, to the carrier battles of World War II, to the devastating high-tech action in the Persian Gulf, here is a gripping history of five key battles that defined the evolution of naval warfare--and the course of the American nation. Acclaimed military historian Craig Symonds offers spellbinding narratives of crucial engagements, showing how each battle reveals the transformation of technology and weaponry from one war to the next; how these in turn transformed naval combat; and how each event marked a milestone in American history. - Oliver Hazard Perry's heroic victory at Lake Erie, one of the last great battles of the Age of Sail, which secured the Northwestern frontier for the United States - The brutal Civil War duel between the ironclads Monitor and Virginia, which sounded the death knell for wooden-hulled warships and doomed the Confederacy's hope of besting the Union navy - Commodore Dewey's stunning triumph at Manila Bay in 1898, where the U.S. displayed its "new navy" of steel-hulled ships firing explosive shells and wrested an empire from a fading European power - The hairsbreadth American victory at Midway, where aircraft carriers launched planes against enemies 200 miles away--and where the tide of World War II turned in the space of a few furious minutes - Operation Praying Mantis in the Persian Gulf, where computers, ship-fired missiles, and "smart bombs" not only changed the nature of warfare at sea, but also marked a new era, and a new responsibility, for the United States. Symonds records these encounters in detail so vivid that readers can hear the wind in the rigging and feel the pounding of the guns. Yet he places every battle in a wide perspective, revealing their significance to America's development as it grew from a new Republic on the edge of a threatening frontier to a global superpower. Decision at Sea is a powerful and illuminating look at pivotal moments in the history of the Navy and of the United States. It is also a compelling study of the unchanging demands of leadership at sea, where commanders must make rapid decisions in the heat of battle with lives--and the fate of nations--hanging in the balance.

The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

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Author :
Publisher : US Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 280 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal by : James W. Grace

Download or read book The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal written by James W. Grace and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most ferocious naval battles of World War II, the night action off the coast of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942 - between U.S. cruisers and Japanese battleships fighting at point-blank range - claimed the lives of two American admirals. Though famous for tipping the scales in favor of the U.S. Navy in this critical area of the Pacific, this action has never before received the treatment provided in this book. Here, James Grace describes events from deck level and from both sides. He draws on a wealth of previously untapped primary sources, including the vivid personal recollections of some two hundred Japanese and American survivors of the fight. These eyewitness accounts lend immediacy to a work that will appeal to the general reader as well as to serious World War II buffs and historians.

Black Shoe Carrier Admiral

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Author :
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 1612512208
Total Pages : 667 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (125 download)

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Book Synopsis Black Shoe Carrier Admiral by : John B Lundstrom

Download or read book Black Shoe Carrier Admiral written by John B Lundstrom and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2013-02-15 with total page 667 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The revisionist work about Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, who won his battles at sea but lost the war of public opinion. A surface warrior, Fletcher led the carrier forces in the Pacific that won against all odds at Coral Sea, Midway, and the Eastern Solomon’s. Despite these successes, during the post-war Fletcher had become one of the most controversial figures in U.S. naval history and was portrayed as a timid bungler who failed to relieve Wake Island and who deliberately abandoned the Marines at Guadalcanal.

Neptune's Inferno

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Author :
Publisher : Bantam
ISBN 13 : 0553385127
Total Pages : 578 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (533 download)

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Book Synopsis Neptune's Inferno by : James D. Hornfischer

Download or read book Neptune's Inferno written by James D. Hornfischer and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2012-03-06 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A literary tour de force that is destined to become one of the . . . definitive works about the battle for Guadalcanal . . . [James D.] Hornfischer deftly captures the essence of the most pivotal naval campaign of the Pacific war.”—San Antonio Express-News The Battle of Guadalcanal has long been heralded as a Marine victory. Now, with his powerful portrait of the Navy’s sacrifice, James D. Hornfischer tells for the first time the full story of the men who fought in destroyers, cruisers, and battleships in the narrow, deadly waters of “Ironbottom Sound.” Here, in stunning cinematic detail, are the seven major naval actions that began in August 1942, a time when the war seemed unwinnable and America fought on a shoestring, with the outcome always in doubt. Working from new interviews with survivors, unpublished eyewitness accounts, and newly available documents, Hornfischer paints a vivid picture of the officers and enlisted men who opposed the Japanese in America’s hour of need. The first major work on this subject in almost two decades, Neptune’s Inferno does what all great battle narratives do: It tells the gripping human stories behind the momentous events and critical decisions that altered the course of history and shaped so many lives. Praise for Neptune’s Inferno “Vivid and engaging . . . extremely readable, comprehensive and thoroughly researched.”—Ronald Spector, The Wall Street Journal “Superlative storytelling . . . the masterwork on the long-neglected topic of World War II’s surface ship combat.”—Richard B. Frank, World War II “The author’s two previous World War II books . . . thrust him into the major leagues of American military history writers. Neptune’s Inferno is solid proof he deserves to be there.”—The Dallas Morning News “Outstanding . . . The author’s narrative gifts and excellent choice of detail give an almost Homeric quality to the men who met on the sea in steel titans.”—Booklist (starred review) “Brilliant . . . a compelling narrative of naval combat . . . simply superb.”—The Washington Times

Guadalcanal: Starvation Island

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Author :
Publisher : Daniel Hammel
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 498 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Guadalcanal: Starvation Island by : Eric Hammel

Download or read book Guadalcanal: Starvation Island written by Eric Hammel and published by Daniel Hammel. This book was released on 2020-12-23 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Guadalcanal: Starvation Island Eric Hammel The Japanese defeats at Midway and Guadalcanal decided the outcome of the Pacific War. Guadalcanal was the classic three-dimensional campaign. On land, at sea, and in the air, fierce battles were fought with both sides stretching their supplies and equipment to the breaking point. The campaign lasted six months, involved nearly one million men, and stopped Japanese expansion in the Pacific. When the campaign began on August 7, 1942, no one on either side quite knew how to conduct it, as Eric Hammel shows in this masterly account. Guadalcanal: Starvation hand corrects numerous errors and omissions in the official records that have been perpetuated in all the books previously published about the campaign. Hammel also draws on the recollections of more than 100 participants on both sides, especially the enlisted men at the sharp end. Their words bring us into the heart of the battle and portray the fighting accurately, realistically, andvery powerfully. Guadalcanal: Starvation Island follows the men and the commanders of this decisive World War II campaign in an integrated, brilliantly told narrative of the desperate struggle at sea, on land, and in the air. *** Praise for Guadalcanal: Starvation Island and Eric Hammel “A comprehensive history of the Guadalcanal Campaign . . . [and] a well‑balanced account. Well written and fast moving.” —Marine Corps Gazette “Hammel has written the most comprehensive popular ac­count to date . . . and exposes controversial aspects often passed over,” —Publishers Weekly “Hammel takes the reader behind the scenes and details how decisions were made . . . and how they impacted on the troops carrying them out. He tells the story in a very human way.” —Leatherneck Magazine “A splendid record of this decisive campaign. Hammel offers a wealth of fresh material drawn from archival records and the recollections of 100‑odd surviving participants. . . . A praise­worthy contribution to Guadalcanal lore.” —Kirkus Reviews “Hammel’s ability to reveal both the immediacy and the hu­manity of war without judgment or bias makes all his books both readable and scholarly. —San Francisco Chronicle “Hammel does not write dry history. His battle sequences are masterfully portrayed. —Library Journal

Guadalcanal

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin Books
ISBN 13 : 9780140165616
Total Pages : 844 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (656 download)

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Book Synopsis Guadalcanal by : Richard B. Frank

Download or read book Guadalcanal written by Richard B. Frank and published by Penguin Books. This book was released on 1992-01-01 with total page 844 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Brilliant...an enormous work based on the most meticulous research.”—LA Times Book Review The battle at Guadalcanal—which began eight months to the day after Pearl Harbor—marked the first American offensive of World War II. It was a brutal six-month campaign that cost the lives of some 7,000 Americans and over 30,000 Japanese. This volume, ten years in the writing, recounts the full story of the critical campaign for Guadalcanal and is based on first-time translations of official Japanese Defense Agency accounts and recently declassified U.S. radio intelligence, Guadalcanal recreates the battle—on land, at sea, and in the air—as never before: it examines the feelings of both American and Japanese soldiers, the strategies and conflicts of their commanders, and the strengths and weaknesses of various fighting units.

Guadalcanal

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Author :
Publisher : CreateSpace
ISBN 13 : 9781515027737
Total Pages : 474 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (277 download)

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Book Synopsis Guadalcanal by : John Miller, Jr.

Download or read book Guadalcanal written by John Miller, Jr. and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-07-11 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In publishing the history of combat operations the Department of the Army has three objectives. The first is to provide the Army itself with an accurate and timely account of its varied activities in directing, organizing, and employing its forces for the conduct of war-an account which will be available to the service schools and to individual members of the Armed Services who wish to extend their professional reading. The second objective is to offer the thoughtful citizen material for a better understanding of the basic problems of war and the manner in which these problems were met, thus augmenting his understanding of national security. The third objective is to accord a well-earned recognition to the devoted work and grim sacrifices of those who served. "The successes of the South Pacific Force," wrote Admiral Halsey in 1944, "were not the achievements of separate services or individuals but the result of whole-hearted subordination of self-interest by all in order that one successful 'fighting team' could be created."* The history of any South Pacific campaign must deal with this "fighting team," with all United States and Allied services. The victory on Guadalcanal can be understood only by an appreciation of the contribution of each service. No one service won the battle. The most decisive engagement of the campaign was the air and naval Battle of Guadalcanal in mid-November 1942, an engagement in which neither Army nor Marine Corps ground troops took any direct part. This volume attempts to show the contribution of all services to the first victory on the long road to Tokyo.

Japanese Destroyer Captain

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Author :
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 1612513743
Total Pages : 344 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (125 download)

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Book Synopsis Japanese Destroyer Captain by : Tameichi Hara

Download or read book Japanese Destroyer Captain written by Tameichi Hara and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2011-08-15 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This highly regarded war memoir was a best seller in both Japan and the United States during the 1960s and has long been treasured by historians for its insights into the Japanese side of the surface war in the Pacific. The author was a survivor of more than one hundred sorties against the Allies and was known throughout Japan as the "Unsinkable Captain." A hero to his countrymen, Capt. Hara exemplified the best in Japanese surface commanders: highly skilled (he wrote the manual on torpedo warfare), hard driving, and aggressive. Moreover, he maintained a code of honor worthy of his samurai grandfather, and, as readers of this book have come to appreciate, he was as free with praise for American courage and resourcefulness as he was critical of himself and his senior commanders.

The Cactus Air Force

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1472851056
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (728 download)

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Book Synopsis The Cactus Air Force by : Eric Hammel

Download or read book The Cactus Air Force written by Eric Hammel and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-09-01 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts, this vivid narrative brings to life the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942. The battle of Guadalcanal was the first offensive operation undertaken by the US and its allies in the Pacific War. The three months of air battles between August 20, 1942, when the first Marine air unit arrived on the island, and November 15, when the last enemy attempt to retake the island was defeated, were perhaps the most important of the Pacific War. “Cactus,” the code name for the island, became a sinkhole for Japanese air and naval power, as they experienced losses that could never be made good. For 40 years, the late Eric Hammel interviewed more than 150 American participants in the air campaign at Guadalcanal, none of whom are still alive. These interviews are the most comprehensive first-person accounts of the battle assembled by any historian. More importantly, they involved the junior officers and enlisted men whose stories and memories were not part of the official history, and thus provide a unique insight. In The Cactus Air Force, Pacific War expert Thomas McKelvey Cleaver worked closely with Eric to build on his collection of diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts to create a vivid narrative of the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.

Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 (Vol. 1) (The Pacific War Trilogy)

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Author :
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393083179
Total Pages : 732 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (93 download)

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Book Synopsis Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 (Vol. 1) (The Pacific War Trilogy) by : Ian W. Toll

Download or read book Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 (Vol. 1) (The Pacific War Trilogy) written by Ian W. Toll and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2011-11-14 with total page 732 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Northern California Book Award for Nonfiction "Both a serious work of history…and a marvelously readable dramatic narrative." —San Francisco Chronicle On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss, a blow that destroyed the offensive power of their fleet. Pacific Crucible—through a dramatic narrative relying predominantly on primary sources and eyewitness accounts of heroism and sacrifice from both navies—tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history to seize the strategic initiative.

Leaving Mac Behind

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Author :
Publisher : Fonthill Media
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 473 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Leaving Mac Behind by : Geoffrey Roecker

Download or read book Leaving Mac Behind written by Geoffrey Roecker and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2019-08-22 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "My first telegram came Sep. 3 1942 that my son was missing in action. And the next telegram came Aug. 18 1943 that he was Declared Dead. Till this day I do not know what happened to him." Mrs. Ann M. Lyons, August 7, 1957. Between 1942 and 1944, nearly four hundred Marines virtually vanished in the jungles, seas, and skies of Guadalcanal. They were the victims of enemy ambushes and friendly fire, hard fighting and poor planning, their deaths witnessed by dozens or not at all. They were buried in field graves, in cemeteries as unknowns, or left where they fell. They were classified as "missing," as "not recovered," as "presumed dead." And in the years that followed, their families wondered at their fates and how an administrative decision could close the book on sons, brothers, and husbands without healing the wounds left by their absence. 'Leaving Mac Behind' reconstructs the lives, last moments, and legacies of some of these men. Original records, eyewitness accounts, and recent discoveries shed new light on the lost graves of Guadalcanal's missing Marines--and the ongoing efforts to bring them home.

The Guadalcanal Campaign

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (31 download)

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Book Synopsis The Guadalcanal Campaign by : United States. Marine Corps

Download or read book The Guadalcanal Campaign written by United States. Marine Corps and published by . This book was released on 1949 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Operation KE

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Author :
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 1612511791
Total Pages : 418 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (125 download)

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Book Synopsis Operation KE by : Dennis R Letourneau

Download or read book Operation KE written by Dennis R Letourneau and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2012-11-15 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operation KE explores the air combat that attended the Japanese evacuation of Guadalcanal in early 1943 —a topic which has hitherto received very little attention. Operation KE was successful largely because Japanese strategic planning and tactical execution was basically sound. The traditional view holds that the Japanese got away with the initiative largely because the Americans let them; the US Pacific high command felt it was not worth the effort to try and stop them. Letourneau contends that this was not entirely the case. He argues that the Cactus Air Force and Guadalcanal-based naval units did their best to disrupt the evacuation, still believing that the Tokyo Express was bringing reinforcements and supplies to the 17th Army. Other US forces in the South Pacific did make a half-hearted and questionably-executed attempt to stop the Japanese, but were bluffed into adopting a ""wait-and-see"" posture. Operation KE focuses on the air war fought between the Cactus and US 13th Air Forces on the one hand and the Japanese Navy and Army Air Forces on the other, from mid-December, 1942 to mid-February, 1943. The book scrutinizes the US air strikes against the six KE-related Tokyo Express destroyer runs, plus related air strikes against the Japanese merchant marine, as well as air and naval base-suppression missions undertaken by both sides, to determine what actually happened in order to analyze why the Japanese evacuation succeeded and why Cactus failed to stop it. Background chapters attempt to assess the respective states of readiness of the Japanese and US air arms in the South Pacific to support on the one hand and counter on the other the execution of Operation KE. The central portion of the book narrates in some detail what actually occurred in the air and at sea -—including air strikes, fighter sweeps, base suppression missions, and naval sorties -—during the crucial prelude to and the actual playing out of the interrelated events that comprised the evacuation operation. Concluding chapters analyze, on both strategic and tactical levels, the Japanese planning and execution of Operation KE, and Cactus' initiatives to interdict KE's successful prosecution. The authors conclude that both the Japanese and the American states of readiness on the eve of Operation KE suffered in such matters as optimizing both resources and operating procedures, and combating a hostile environment. Consequently, both combatants were somewhat handicapped in their abilities respectively to carry out and contest Operation KE. The author contends that the Japanese developed a reasonably sound strategy that exploited those methods and tools of war then in use in the South Pacific; to achieve success, they maximized their own strengths while taking advantage of their adversary's limitations. Contrary to the traditional view, the authors are of the opinion that Japanese utilization of their newly-built airstrip at Munda in the Central Solomons played an important role in the success of Operation KE, which was in keeping with the long-range intention of developing Munda and Vila airstrips as major forward airbases to defend against any Allied push toward Rabaul through the Solomons. The U.S., on the other hand, by consistently misreading Japanese intent regarding Operation KE and pursuing a cautious offensive strategy, blunted the tactical impact of their initiatives to counter the evacuation. Several imprudent tactical decisions and a misallocation of resources further diluted the strength of US efforts."