Description
Book SynopsisA vivid narrative history of the Solomons campaign of World War II, one of the key turning points in the U.S. Navy''s campaign against the Japanese in the Pacific.
If the Battle of Midway, fought in June 1942, stopped further Japanese expansion in the Pacific, it was the Battle of Guadalcanal and the following Solomons Campaign that broke the back of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Between August 7, 1942 and February 24, 1944 when the Imperial Japanese Navy withdrew its surviving surface and air units from Rabaul, the main Japanese base in the South Pacific, the US Navy fought the most difficult campaign in its history, suffering such high personnel losses during the campaign that for years it refused to publicly release total casualty figures.
Unlike the Central Pacific Campaign, which was fought by ''the new Navy,'' the Solomons campaign saw the US Navy at its lowest point, using those ships that had survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other units of
Trade Review
Cleaver skillfully weaves individual narratives from both Allied and Japanese combatants into the overall story … the reader will come away having a greater understanding of the Pacific Theater as a whole, as well as a renewed appreciation for the courage and skill of both Allied and Japanese combatants in that grueling campaign. -- Lynn Ritger, Aviation Historian
Thomas Cleaver, whose ‘war stories’ we have come to cherish, has a new one ... a riveting and powerful saga, one rendered vividly, trenchantly, and with empathy – for both sides in the conflict. -- Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Former Chief of Staff to General Colin Powell
Under the Southern Cross offers a micro-macro history of the South Pacific campaign of 1942–44, shifting from cockpit and flag bridge perspectives to broad strategy. The Guadalcanal campaign especially remains of interest because so much was at stake and the opponents were so evenly matched for a sanguinary six months. Tom Cleaver does right by the subject in this book. -- Barrett Tillman, Author of 'On Wave and Wing: The 100-Year Quest to Perfect the Aircraft Carrier'
Recommended for anyone fascinated by aviation's role in World War Two. * Flypast *
This is a useful account of the air campaign against Rabaul, bringing together the efforts of the US Marines, USAAF and the US Navy’s carrier aircraft, all of which played a part in the campaign, and which are often seen in isolation. * Historyofwar.org *
This is an absorbing story that deserves the wider audience it will undoubtedly receive. -- Neil Smith * Wargames Illustrated *
Table of Contents
List of Maps List of Illustrations Foreword by CDR Curtis R. Dosé , USNR (Ret) Introduction 1: Operation Watchtower 2: Battle of the Eastern Solomons 3: The Cactus Air Force 4: Green Hell 5: Marine Aviation’s Finest Hour 6: All In 7: The End of the Beginning 8: Whistling Death 9: Pappy Gunn and the Sunsetters 10: Pearl Harbor Avenged 11: Jay Zeamer’s Eager Beavers 12: Reinforcement 13: The Surprise was Absolute 14: Bloody Tuesday 15: The Jolly Rogers 16: Sixty-One Days 17: Finale in the South Pacific Bibliography Index
