The war in the Solomons can be considered to be America's first offense in the South Pacific. Yes, there were units fighting in New Guinea as well, but that is considered the Southwest Pacific and was done along with the Australians. Guadalcanal was pretty much a US only event, though there were a couple of Australian patrol units on other islands watching the back door.

This volume continues where the previous one left off and concentrates on events during the month of October 1942. This was one of the pinnacle months of the campaign, where the US was not the strongest and was continually low on fuel, ammunition, aircraft, and manpower.  During this time, the Japanese were constantly applying pressure and that included on the land, sea, and air. However, the Japanese effort was uncoordinated, resulting in lost opportunity and the piecemeal deployment of assets.

During this time was the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands, which resulted in the loss of one of two operational carriers in the Pacific and the damage of the other. This was a Japanese tactical victory but did not result in the strategic results that they wanted.

If you have ever read any Avonmore book by this author, you know that the research into the subject is meticulous. A lot of primary reasearch was done on both the US and Japanese sides to provide the best picture of events of the time. Every mission is covered in some respect, whether it was a mass bombing raid by the Japanese from Rabaul or a PBY search mission. Air combats are covered with an accurate assessment of each one. In addition to each day's missions and events, you get several nice appendices that cover US and Japanese aircraft losses.As with all Avonmore books, there's a nice selection of full color profiles and art work in addition to period photos. In all, it makes for a book that I'm always eager to read and I know you will as well.

April 2024

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