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 units on other islands watching the back door In addition there were Australian and New Zealand patrol squadrons based in the area. .

This volume continues where the previous one left off and concentrates on events during January and February 1943. By this time, it was realized by both the Japanese Army and Navy that the US was too far entrenched to be removed. It was also exceedingly expensive in ships and aircraft to keep supplying the forces on Guadalcanal. Plans were developed to remove as many troops from the island as possible without the evacuation turning into a debacle. As such, it was important for the Japanese to keep up appearances as if nothing unusual was occurring. This meant continuing patrols and ship movements.

The remarkable thing was that the Japanese were wholly successful in removing just about all the troops from Guadalcanal without the Allies realizing it. Of course, during this time, the Allies continued to not only perform their offensive missions against Japanese units and bases farther up the chain of island, but also continued to bring in reinforcements and replacements. Such was the build up that new airstrips had to be build to handle the increased traffic as more units called Guadalcanal home.

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 research 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 bombing raid by the Japanese or a US attack mission on Japanese bases up the chain. Air combats are covered with an accurate assessment of each one. This includes ever increasing B-17 and B-24(PB4Y) action as well as raids against Japanese shipping.

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.

September 2026

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