The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point - Softcover

William L. McGee

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0970167873 ISBN 13: 9780970167873

Publisher: BMC Publications, 2001

Synopsis

WINNER OF THE MILITARY WRITERS SOCIETY OF AMERICA SILVER MEDAL AWARD!

"Enough gripping drama, heroism, and heartbreak in McGee's almost encyclopedic THE SOLOMONS CAMPAIGNS to supply Hollywood with material for a century."
- Marine Corps League Magazine

Volume II in the Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII series by William L. McGee.

After the decisive Battle of Midway in June 1942, the war in the Pacific reached a critical juncture. Just two months later, on August 7, 1942, U.S. forces launched a relentless offensive in the Solomon Islands, leading to more than a year of brutal combat. By the time the campaign ended in November 1943, the tide of the Pacific War had decisively turned in favor of the Allies.

Under one cover, award-winning military historian William L. McGee delivers a definitive account of the Solomons Campaigns, covering all three phases of the hard-fought battles across land, sea, and air.

Inside this Definitive Volume

Part I, The Southern Solomons covers the bloody six-month struggle for Guadalcanal. The relationship between ground fighting, naval warfare and air combat is described in considerable detail as first one side and then the other gains the advantage. Seven major naval engagements are recounted including America's severe defeat at Savo Island and decisive victory in the three-day Naval Battle of Guadalcanal--another notable turning point.

Part II, The Central Solomons chronicles the amphibious operations in the New Georgia Islands group including the five separate landings at Rendova, Segi Point, Viru Harbor, Wickham Anchorage, and Rice Anchorage, plus three more significant naval battles and the occupation of Vella Lavella.

Part III, The Northern Solomons recounts the seizure of the Treasuries, the Choiseul Diversion and the Bougainville campaign, plus two more significant naval battles.

Lessons Learned - Finally, the many valuable lessons learned during the Solomons Campaigns are summarized--ranging from logistic support and force requirements to offshore toeholds and leapfrogging. Most became doctrine in later Pacific campaigns.

"William L. McGee has written the second of a three-volume set that will form a definitive account of naval, sea, and land operations in the South Pacific, where America's response to Pearl Harbor began….a thoroughgoing historical record and analysis that historians and scholars will find invaluable."
- Library Journal

Book Details
688 pages
310 B&W photographs, 44 maps
Charts, notes, appendices, bibliography, & index
Paperback

Other Titles in the Series
Vol. I, THE AMPHIBIANS ARE COMING! Emergence of the 'Gator Navy and its Revolutionary Landing Craft
Vol. III, PACIFIC EXPRESS: The Critical Role of Military Logistics in World War II

Follow the author's blog at www.WilliamMcGeeBooks.com

About this title

About the Author

Award-winning World War II military historian William L. McGee's writing career spans six decades. He has written 22 books, including five WWII military histories. 

PACIFIC EXPRESS: THE CRITICAL ROLE OF MILITARY LOGISTICS IN WORLD WAR II (Volume III in McGee's acclaimed Pacific war series AMPHIBIOUS OPERATIONS IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC IN WWII) is on the Marine Corps Commandant's Professional Reading List for required reading on Logistics for all active duty and reserve Marines, officer and enlisted.

THE SOLOMONS CAMPAIGNS, 1942-1943 (Volume II in the series) won the Military Writers Society of America 2018 Silver Medal Award for History.

McGee is a veteran of both WWII and Operation CROSSROADS, the postwar atomic bomb tests at the Bikini Atoll in 1946. He recounted his Crossroads experience in OPERATION CROSSROADS - LEST WE FORGET! AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT, BIKINI ATOMIC BOMB TESTS 1946, published in June 2016 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Crossroads. 

Reviews

A World War II navy veteran and prolific author, McGee has written the second of a three-volume set that will form a definitive account of naval, sea, and land operations in the South Pacific, where America's response to Pearl Harbor began. McGee's narrative coverage in this second volume is encyclopedic, providing concise details of operations, often on a daily basis. His introductory essay is an informative summary of events from 1931 to 1941 that illustrates how these events led up to World War II. An exhaustive list of sources and notes creates a solid background for a detailed but readable text. In addition to battle history, the book discusses logistics, tactics, and the deployment of forces. Most useful is the author's analysis of the campaigns ("Lessons Learned in the Solomons"). Numerous interviews and recollections of veterans bring in the war's human side, and a long list of military abbreviations and designations aids the reader, as do photos, maps, and charts. This work is a thoroughgoing historical record and analysis that historians and scholars will find invaluable. Recommended for academic and large public libraries and for specialized collections. —David M. Alperstein

Edition details

• Publisher: BMC Publications
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0970167873
• ISBN 13: 9780970167873
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 686