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Great Battles of History
The Battle for Guadalcanal
Masterful pacing, vivid character sketches, and gripping action blend with rigorous historical detail in Samuel B. Griffith's The Battle for Guadalcanal.
Launched on August 7, 1942, to protect Allied control of the strategic South Pacific islands, the Guadalcanal operation was the most costly American offensive of World War II in the history of the U.S. Navy up to that time. Griffith, who fought with Edson's Raiders on Guadalcanal, describes in gritty detail the vicious close-range fighting, the valiant defense of the Henderson Field airstrip, and the dramatic naval engagements that led, in February 1943, to an American victory.
Drawing on American and Japanese sources, Griffith delineates the strategic decisions that shaped the conflict as well as the determination and endurance of combatants on both sides. A breathtaking narrative of military action anchored by a historian's objectivity, The Battle for Guadalcanal is a story of raw courage, desperate measures, and ultimate triumph.
Launched on August 7, 1942, to protect Allied control of the strategic South Pacific islands, the Guadalcanal operation was the most costly American offensive of World War II in the history of the U.S. Navy up to that time. Griffith, who fought with Edson's Raiders on Guadalcanal, describes in gritty detail the vicious close-range fighting, the valiant defense of the Henderson Field airstrip, and the dramatic naval engagements that led, in February 1943, to an American victory.
Drawing on American and Japanese sources, Griffith delineates the strategic decisions that shaped the conflict as well as the determination and endurance of combatants on both sides. A breathtaking narrative of military action anchored by a historian's objectivity, The Battle for Guadalcanal is a story of raw courage, desperate measures, and ultimate triumph.
312 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 1, 2020
A stirring and detailed account of the battle (actually six-month campaign) that began turning the tide of the Pacific War in 1942-43. A couple of later books apparently have more information from sources that became public after Griffith wrote this, but there's plenty of information here — from the strategic level to the daily realities of filth, disease and bombardment faced by the Marines and air crews on the island. Griffith was largely objective but occasionally somewhat judgmental, especially of the U.S. Navy, which did put in several poor performances. In addition to the story of the campaign, the book implicitly offers general lessons in warfare — a chaotic environment in which success often depends on individual initiative, training, intelligence gathering, and effective supply.
Actually read the 1966 Ballantine paperback edition, which is not listed in Goodreads and has better cover art than the editions that are listed. It was part of the Ballantine War Books series and is described on the cover as "the guts and glory account of U.S. Marines in the first great battle of the Pacific." The colourful account delivers what the mass market was promised. But there are all those sobering presentations of the numbers of dead and wounded tallied after individual engagements.
Actually read the 1966 Ballantine paperback edition, which is not listed in Goodreads and has better cover art than the editions that are listed. It was part of the Ballantine War Books series and is described on the cover as "the guts and glory account of U.S. Marines in the first great battle of the Pacific." The colourful account delivers what the mass market was promised. But there are all those sobering presentations of the numbers of dead and wounded tallied after individual engagements.
March 5, 2022
I haven't retained as much of the details of this book as I wish I had. I enjoy reading history and especially history of WWII, so I didn't want to give up reading. The battle lasted almost six months exactly and the victory provided strategic defense abilities.
July 16, 2017
Simple best. Admiral Tanaka my new personal hero.
April 10, 2013
WHY ASSAULT GUADALCANAL? "...intelligence from Rochefort's HYPO team at Pearl Harbor, which now had begun to penetrate the new version of the JN25 code, revealing that an airfield was being hurriedly constructed on Guadalcanal. Once completed, it would not only allow Jappan to make a renewed bid for air superiority over the Coral Sea but also close the sea approached to eastern Australia..." (From chapter 17 in The Pacific War by John Costello, copyright 1981. Page 341 in Book Club Edition.)
This book, The Battle for Guadalcanal, is an important and detailed history of the battle for Guadalcanal. This battle stopped the Japanese advance.
Read how the Japanese Army, for the first time in World War II, was defeated. At the Battle of the Tenaru River and at the Battle of Bloody Ridge the Japanese Army suffered major defeats.
"The BATTLE OF THE THE 'TENARU' was history. The 'divine influence' of the imperial army's 'devil-subduing sharp bayonets' had been nullified. ... At a total cost of 99 casualties, including 43 killed, the marines had eliminated one of the elite storm detachments of the Japanesee Army. ... The myth of Japanese invincibility ... was shattered at the 'Tenaru'." (page 112)
"Here (on Guadalcanal) the offensive which earlier had engulfed Malaya, Guam, the Philippines, Hong Kong, the Indies, and the Bismarcks reached its terminal point. Here for the first time in World War II a Japanese army checked, held, and thwarted of its purpose, was preparing to abandon the field." (page 271)
"For the first time, some senior officers in Tokyo and in combat commands attempted seriously to evaluate future prospects. ... After Guadalcanal, they could hope only that ultimate defeat would not be totally disastrous." (page 274)
This book, The Battle for Guadalcanal, is an important and detailed history of the battle for Guadalcanal. This battle stopped the Japanese advance.
Read how the Japanese Army, for the first time in World War II, was defeated. At the Battle of the Tenaru River and at the Battle of Bloody Ridge the Japanese Army suffered major defeats.
"The BATTLE OF THE THE 'TENARU' was history. The 'divine influence' of the imperial army's 'devil-subduing sharp bayonets' had been nullified. ... At a total cost of 99 casualties, including 43 killed, the marines had eliminated one of the elite storm detachments of the Japanesee Army. ... The myth of Japanese invincibility ... was shattered at the 'Tenaru'." (page 112)
"Here (on Guadalcanal) the offensive which earlier had engulfed Malaya, Guam, the Philippines, Hong Kong, the Indies, and the Bismarcks reached its terminal point. Here for the first time in World War II a Japanese army checked, held, and thwarted of its purpose, was preparing to abandon the field." (page 271)
"For the first time, some senior officers in Tokyo and in combat commands attempted seriously to evaluate future prospects. ... After Guadalcanal, they could hope only that ultimate defeat would not be totally disastrous." (page 274)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews