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Twentieth-Century Battles
New Georgia: The Second Battle for the Solomons
In 1942, the Solomon Islands formed the stepping stones toward Rabaul, the main base of Japanese operations in the South Pacific, and the Allies primary objective. The stunning defeat of Japanese forces at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November marked the turning point in the war against Japan and the start of an offensive in the Central Solomons aimed at New Georgia. New Georgia: The Second Battle for the Solomons tells the story of the land, sea, and air battles fought there from March through October 1943. Making careful and copious use of both Japanese and Allied sources, Ronnie Day masterfully weaves the intricate threads of these battles into a well-crafted narrative of this pivotal period in the war. As Day makes clear, combat in the Solomons exemplified the war in the Pacific, especially the importance of air power, something the Japanese failed to understand until it was too late, and the strategy of island hopping, bypassing Japanese strongholds (including Rabaul) in favor of weaker or more strategically advantageous targets. This multifaceted account gives the fighting for New Georgia its proper place in the history of the drive to break the Japanese defensive perimeter and bring the homeland within range of Allied bombers.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published February 18, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 28, 2018
I liked reading about the battles between Guadacanal and Bougainville. Overall there was a lot of "this unit went here" type of military history. More first hand quotes would have enlivened the book greatly. Recommended for those folks with a significant interest in the Solomons Campaign.
February 24, 2019
A good overall history of the New Georgia campaign encompassing the ground war, air war and the many naval engagements offshore. As many people have said before, Day’s book is very much a blow-by-blow account of the action without many firsthand accounts. For those with a greater interest in the Solomons campaign and the precursors to Operation Cartwheel versus Rabaul, I would suggest this work.
August 27, 2023
This is my review published in the July/August 2016 edition of World War II Magazine
On April 3, 1943, Admiral Yamamoto Isoruku, commander of Japan’s Combined Fleet, flew to Rabaul to command an air offensive against Guadalcanal. That night, as thunder rumbled over New Britain’s hills, Vice Admiral Ugaki Motome, Yamamoto’s chief of staff, expressed foreboding. “When we decided to come down south to take command of operations,” he wrote in his diary, “we of Combined Fleet made an important resolution. If and when this attempt fails to achieve satisfactory results, there will be no hope of future success in this area.” Having seen the state of affairs in Rabaul, Ugaki “wondered if this has been fully brought home to those concerned with operations.”
After the February loss of Guadalcanal, Japan’s Imperial General Staff bigwigs disagreed on where and how to halt the American advance. The navy was adamant that New Georgia, the next big step up the Solomon Island chain, could be defended. However, the army sensed another Guadalcanal and instead urged pulling back to Bougainville. In the end, the IJN unwisely promised Emperor Hirohito that, once properly fortified, New Georgia “would inflict great damage on Guadalcanal.”
Many histories of the World II Solomons campaign engage in something like ‘island hopping.’ Doubling down on the bigger and bloodier battles for Guadalcanal and Bougainville, they downplay the intervening captures of New Georgia and nearby islands.
Perhaps with some irony, the resource-starved plan for seizing New Georgia was code-named TOENAILS; the 1st Marines, after all, once referred to Guadalcanal as ‘Operation Shoestring.’ In the end, however, TOENAILS witnessed some of the most iconic moments of the Pacific War, including the aerial execution of Yamamoto and a test of endurance for a young PT Boat skipper named John F. Kennedy.
In New Georgia: the Second Battle for the Solomons, author Ronnie Day delivers an updated three-dimensional account—ground, air and sea—of TOENAILS. It is real tragedy that Day, formerly a history professor at East Tennessee State University, did not live to see the book in print. New Georgia is a worthy account, workmanlike in its detail, solid in its documentation.
TOENAILS, a campaign of probes and feints, had a lot of moving parts, many of them poorly executed. This creates narrative difficulties, especially where the author is committed to covering all aspects of the campaign. It requires unfailing reader attention as Day shifts focus among air, land and sea engagements. That said, New Georgia is an estimable valediction. The reader wishes only that Ronnie Day could bask in the well-deserved plaudits.
On April 3, 1943, Admiral Yamamoto Isoruku, commander of Japan’s Combined Fleet, flew to Rabaul to command an air offensive against Guadalcanal. That night, as thunder rumbled over New Britain’s hills, Vice Admiral Ugaki Motome, Yamamoto’s chief of staff, expressed foreboding. “When we decided to come down south to take command of operations,” he wrote in his diary, “we of Combined Fleet made an important resolution. If and when this attempt fails to achieve satisfactory results, there will be no hope of future success in this area.” Having seen the state of affairs in Rabaul, Ugaki “wondered if this has been fully brought home to those concerned with operations.”
After the February loss of Guadalcanal, Japan’s Imperial General Staff bigwigs disagreed on where and how to halt the American advance. The navy was adamant that New Georgia, the next big step up the Solomon Island chain, could be defended. However, the army sensed another Guadalcanal and instead urged pulling back to Bougainville. In the end, the IJN unwisely promised Emperor Hirohito that, once properly fortified, New Georgia “would inflict great damage on Guadalcanal.”
Many histories of the World II Solomons campaign engage in something like ‘island hopping.’ Doubling down on the bigger and bloodier battles for Guadalcanal and Bougainville, they downplay the intervening captures of New Georgia and nearby islands.
Perhaps with some irony, the resource-starved plan for seizing New Georgia was code-named TOENAILS; the 1st Marines, after all, once referred to Guadalcanal as ‘Operation Shoestring.’ In the end, however, TOENAILS witnessed some of the most iconic moments of the Pacific War, including the aerial execution of Yamamoto and a test of endurance for a young PT Boat skipper named John F. Kennedy.
In New Georgia: the Second Battle for the Solomons, author Ronnie Day delivers an updated three-dimensional account—ground, air and sea—of TOENAILS. It is real tragedy that Day, formerly a history professor at East Tennessee State University, did not live to see the book in print. New Georgia is a worthy account, workmanlike in its detail, solid in its documentation.
TOENAILS, a campaign of probes and feints, had a lot of moving parts, many of them poorly executed. This creates narrative difficulties, especially where the author is committed to covering all aspects of the campaign. It requires unfailing reader attention as Day shifts focus among air, land and sea engagements. That said, New Georgia is an estimable valediction. The reader wishes only that Ronnie Day could bask in the well-deserved plaudits.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews