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Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Solomons Campaigns 1942-1943 From Guadalcanal to Bougainville Pacific War Turning Point by Willi The Solomons Campaigns 1942-1943: From Guadalcanal to Bougainville Pacific War Turning Point by William L. McGee. From Guadalcanal to Bougainville. A new book by William L. McGee. Click here and print out our order form. THE SOLOMONS CAMPAIGNS 1942-1943, From Guadalcanal to Bougainville� Pacific War Turning Point, Volume II By William L. McGee Review by John Cummer Editor, The Elsie Item LCI (Landing Craft, Infantry) National Assn. Our friend . Bill McGee, who did such a fine job of telling the story of the early days of Flotilla Five in The Amphibians Are Coming !, has produced another impressive, interesting and highly readable account. This time, broadening his scope to include all services, he has produced a meticulously researched history that anyone interested in this early and decisive campaign will treasure. It could well become the definitive work on the campaigns. With this broader perspective, LCL veterans will see more clearly t heir particular roles. It gives one a sense of, "Ah, now I see how what we did fit into the whole picture!" The LCI veteran will need to exercise some patience when first opening the book looking specifically for what it has to say about LCIs. The prelude to the war, strategic decisions relating to Guadalcanal/Bougainville, and the story of the six-month struggle for Guadalcanal all are dealt with before specifics of amphibious operations involving LCIs, as well as LCTs and LSTs, are introduced. The shore-to -shore Landing Craft story begins to unfold in McGee's fifth chapter with t he account of the formation of a most formidable sounding organization: ComLanCraFlotSoPac (Commander, Landing Craft Flotillas, South Pacific) and its commander. Rear Admiral George H. Fort. This organization became necessary with the arrival, in significant numbers, of the first LCIs, LCTs and LSTs in the South Pacific. From that point forward in McGee's book, prominence is given to the roles of each of these types. If you have read McGee's Volume I, The Amphibians Are Coming !, you know that it. centers on the activities of Flotilla Five and , as far as LCIs are concerned, on the war diary of LCI-334, as provided by LT(jg) Al Ormston, skipper of the 334. In this volume, McGee continues this literary device of illustrating the general by the particular and it works well for it would have been a formidable task, indeed, to trace the involvement of all the LCIs. He is not, however, slavishly limited to the 334 alone. Time and again accounts of incidents involving other LCIs are woven into the story. All 26 LCIs in LCI Flotilla Five, commanded by Commander Chester L. Walton, are included in the narrative and several are pictured as well. I was particularly interested to leam the name of the man responsible for me idea of converting LCIs into gunboats. McGee tells us that it was Captain Roy T. "Slim" Cowdrey, a ship repair officer on the staff of Admiral Halsey, who came up with the idea and directed, first, the changes of LCIs 22 and 23 and eventually by December of 1943, the 21, 24, 67, 68, 69 and 70 into gunboats. It is such details, as well as the entertaining and enlightening anecdotes that McGee includes, that make this book such a good read. Get yourself a copy; get into your favorite chair; tell the family not to bother you; and settle down for a great evening of reading and remembering. You'll be glad you did. For more information on The Amphibians Are Coming! Click here Also check out Mr. McGee's other book Bluejacket Odyssey. A added bonus for us is if you order the book using our order form that is linked below before December 31,2001 we will receive 20% from each sale to help support our web site. Click here and print out our order form. Japanese Eighth Area Army. The Japanese Eighth Area Army ( 第8方面軍 , Dai-hachi hōmen gun ? ) was a field army of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Contents. History [ edit | edit source ] The Japanese 8th Area Army was formed on November 16, 1942 under the Southern Expeditionary Army Group for the specific task of opposing landings by Allied forces in Japanese-occupied Solomon Islands and New Guinea. [1] It had its headquarters at Rabaul, New Britain and saw considerable combat in the Solomon Islands campaign, Bougainville campaign and New Guinea campaign. [2] William McGee Books. Wrangler, writer, broadcaster, World War II Pacific war historian. The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943. THE SOLOMONS CAMPAIGNS, 1942-1943 From Guadalcanal to Bougainville, Pacific War Turning Point by William L. McGee Vol. II, Amphibious Operations in the South Pacific in WWII. Winner of the Military Writers Society of America Silver Medal for History. “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. About The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943. The Battle of Midway was fought 4–6 June 1942 and became the first major turning point in the Pacific war. Two months later, beginning on 7 August 1942 and continuing to 25 November 1943, bloody battles were fought in the Solomon Islands. When they were over, these battles became known as the Solomons Campaigns – the second major turning point in the Pacific war. Under one cover, award-winning WWII military historian William L. McGee provides a definitive account of all the Solomons campaigns: Part I, The Southern Solomons Campaigns covers the bloody six-month struggle for Guadalcanal. The relationship between ground fighting, naval warfare, and air combat is described in detail, as first one side and then the other gains the advantage. Seven major naval engagements are recounted: The Battle of Savo Island, 9 August 1942 The Battle of the Bloody Ridge, 12-14 September 1942 The Battle of Cape Esperance, 11-12 October 1942 The Battle for Henderson Field, 19-26 October 1942 The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, 26-27 October 1942 The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, 12-15 November 1942 The Battle of Rennell Island, 29-30 January 1943. Part II, The Central Solomons Campaigns chronicles the amphibious operations in the New Georgia Islands group, including the five separate landings at Rendova, Segi Point, Viru Harbor, Wickham Anchorage, three more significant naval battles – Battle of Kula Gulf, Battle of Kolombangar, Battle of Vella Gulf – and the occupation of Vella Lavella. Part III, The Northern Solomons Campaigns recounts the Seizure of the Treasury Islands, the Choiseul Diversion, the Bougainville campaign, plus the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay and the Battle of Cape St. George. 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 becoming doctrine in later Pacific campaigns. “ As a Marine who landed on Guadalcanal on 7 August 1942, Bill McGee’s “The Solomons Campaigns” is the most comprehensive book I’ve read on the subject. It covers all the campaigns – Southern, Central and Northern – and sums up the tough lessons learned. It brings back memories of those very dark days. Semper Fi. “ – William J. Carroll, President, Guadalcanal Campaign Veterans. Book Specs. 688 pp, 310 B&W photographs, 44 maps, plus charts, notes, appendices, bibliography, and index Paperback $39.95 BMC Publications, 2001. Other titles in the series. Editorial Reviews of The Solomons Campaigns, 1942-1943. MILITARY WRITERS SOCIETY OF AMERICA, May 2018 The Solomons Campaigns by William L. McGee… incredibly detailed and exhaustingly researched. Click to read full review. MARINE CORPS LEAGUE Magazine, Summer 2002 Blow by Blow Through the Solomons – One real-life incident during World War II was the inspiration for the box office success, “Saving Private Ryan”… However, there is enough gripping drama, heroism, and heartbreak in McGee’s almost encyclopedic The Solomons Campaigns to supply Hollywood with material for a century …. It is difficult to select what to excerpt from his narrative, because his spare but effective style is as precise and economical as a Mickey Spillane novel … His narrative is copiously supplemented with photographs, tables, stats, command lists, and even official critiques of operations and lessons learned. He drew extensively on a variety of sources to tell the whole tale: records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy, Marine, Army and Army Air Corps archives, Japanese records, veterans’ accounts, memoirs, and other histories of the campaigns. And, as with a good Spillane novel, his tale bears repeated readings. — Edward Cline. LIBRARY JOURNAL , March 1, 2002 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.