The Naval Battles for Guadalcanal 1942: Clash for Supremacy in the Pacific

Osprey Campaign #255

by Mark E. Stille, Howard Gerrard (Illustrator)

The battle for Guadalcanal that lasted from August 1942 to February 1943 was the first major American counter-offensive against the Japanese in the Pacific, it also marks the high point of Japanese expansion and can justly be claimed as one of the major turning points of the Pacific War. While the troops of the US Marine Corps and later the US Army battled the Japanese occupiers on the densely jungled island of Guadalcanal, the US and Japanese naval forces fought a series of tightly contested battles in the waters nearby. The first of these, the battle of Savo Island on the night of 9 August 1942, saw the Japanese inflict a sever defeat on the Allied force, driving them away from Guadalcanal and leaving the just-landed marines in a perilously exposed position.

This was the start of a series of night battles that culminated in the First and Second battles of Guadalcanal, fought on the nights of 13 and 15 November, that were narrowly won by US Naval forces and prevented the Japanese from reinforcing their troops on the island to any great extent, and heralded the turning of the tide in the battle for Guadalcanal.

One further major naval action followed, the battle of Tassafaronga on 30 November 1942, when the US Navy once again suffered a severe defeat, but this time it was too late to alter the course of the battle as the Japanese evacuated Guadalcanal in early February 1943.

This title will detail the contrasting fortunes experienced by both sides over the intense course of naval battles around the island throughout the second half of 1942 that did so much to turn the tide in the Pacific.

Genres: History, World War II, Military History, Military Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2013

Reviews

[Billy Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

To give justice to seven major naval battles within a 96 page book is almost an inconceivable task, But nonetheless Osprey publishing continues to try to attain the nearly impossible. To their credit in some cases they nearly make the impossible actually possible. But, once again they fall short. That’s not to say that this book is garbage. Because it’s not. It is full of useful information within its 96 pages. Just not to the detail that’s serious reader or researcher would be looking for. So if the reader had no knowledge at all of the naval battles for Guadalcanal and was only interested in who won or lost the battles with a rudimentary picture of what actually happened, then this book would suffice. But, if the reader was looking for more details into the strategies, concepts, and details of the battles, then another source would probably need to be consulted. But this volume does a fair job presenting who was present, what happened, and a pretty good accounting of the losses sustained. Not a bad book, but not a great book either.

[Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a US Navy Sailor, I concede my own bias in enjoying this book, nevertheless it is an excellent read that gives a great depiction of the naval battle for Guadalcanal. I think the author did an excellent job piecing together background information such as the Admiral's own biases, the role weather played, and how faulty intelligence and luck also shaped the battles.

[Richard Klueg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good factual account.

[Nathan Trachta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Osprey's Campaign Series is a hit or miss proposition depending on many things and this time this one is a miss for me. My cudo's for the front part of the book, Mr. Stille's does a good job presenting the lead in for the campaign; the background and situation are nicely described and gave me good hope for the book setting it up to be either a strong 3 star or weak 4 star book. The wheels came off the track though once Mr. Stille begins telling us about the different battles. For openers Mr. Stille seems to have forgotten about the battle of Bailpapan. I say this because this was the first successful night engagement by the US Navy against the Japanese Navy. Being a part of the engagements in Indonesia in early 1942 it's forgotten by many, just surprising that someone with Mr. Stille's background would exclude it (in Mr. Stille's defense the battle of Bailpapan hadn't influenced US Navy doctrine at this point because information was just starting to filter back to the US on the engagements by the Asiatic Fleet). I forgave Mr. Stille's for this but it did cause me to look a little hard at this work. The harder I looked, the more I had problems, specifically his descriptions of the battles was abrupt making me prefer the Wikipedia descriptions. Making matters worse was when I read the Battle of Guadalcanal I became disappoint; Mr. Stille calls out Admiral Callaghan and Captain Young for their winning of the Medal of Honor but fails to mention Admiral Scott winning it in the same battle. I know Osprey's books are limited in their print size but please, if you're mentioning two of the three winners, mention the third. What sealed the deal and made this a 2 star book the maps. While color is used they provide such poor information compared to the Two Ocean War (my gold standard) or Neptune's Inferno. Please, a simple ting like maps in a book like this Osprey can make it or break it and in this case helped sink this book to the bottom of Iron Bottom Sound for me. Maybe 3 stars if there was a better conclusion with the book but sorry, it just evaporated...

[Sean Chick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fine Osprey book from Stille that balances just about every aspect of war in a tight narrative.