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History of United States Naval Operations in World War II #5
History of US Naval Operations in WWII 5: Struggle for Guadalcanal 8/42-2/43
Recounts the role of the United States in World War II at sea, from encounters in the Atlantic before the country entered the war to the surrender of Japan.
440 pages, cloth
First published January 30, 1949
5 people are currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Samuel Eliot Morison
482 books93 followersSamuel Eliot Morison, son of John H. and Emily Marshall (Eliot) Morison, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on 9 July 1887. He attended Noble’s School at Boston, and St. Paul’s at Concord, New Hampshire, before entering Harvard University, from which he was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1908. He studied at the Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques, Paris, France, in 1908-1909, and returned to Harvard for postgraduate work, receiving the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1912. Thereafter he became Instructor, first at the University of California in Berkeley, and in 1915 at Harvard. Except for three years (1922-1925) when he was Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford, England, and his periods of active duty during both World Wars, he remained continuously at Harvard University as lecturer and professor until his retirement in 1955.
He had World War I service as a private in the US Army, but not overseas. As he had done some preliminary studies on Finland for Colonel House’s Inquiry, he was detailed from the Army in January 1919 and attached to the Russian Division of the American Commission to Negotiate Peace, at Paris, his specialty being Finland and the Baltic States. He served as the American Delegate on the Baltic Commission of the Peace Conference until 17 June 1919, and shortly after returned to the United States. He became a full Professor at Harvard in 1925, and was appointed to the Jonathan Trumbull Chair in 1940. He also taught American History at Johns Hopkins University in 1941-1942.
Living up to his sea-going background – he has sailed in small boats and coastal craft all his life. In 1939-1940, he organized and commanded the Harvard Columbus Expedition which retraced the voyages of Columbus in sailing ships, barkentine Capitana and ketch Mary Otis. After crossing the Atlantic under sail to Spain and back, and examining all the shores visited by Columbus in the Caribbean, he wrote Admiral of the Ocean Sea, an outstanding biography of Columbus, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1943. He also wrote a shorter biography, Christopher Columbus, Mariner. With Maurico Obregon of Bogota, he surveyed and photographed the shores of the Caribbean by air and published an illustrated book The Caribbean as Columbus Saw It (1964).
Shortly after the United States entered World War II, Dr. Morison proposed to his friend President Roosevelt, to write the operational history of the US Navy from the inside, by taking part in operations and writing them up afterwards. The idea appealed to the President and Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, and on 5 May 1942, Dr. Morison was commissioned Lieutenant Commander, US Naval Reserve, and was called at once to active duty. He subsequently advanced to the rank of Captain on 15 December 1945. His transfer to the Honorary Retired List of the Naval Reserve became effective on 1 August 1951, when he was promoted to Rear Admiral on the basis of combat awards.
In July-August 1942 he sailed with Commander Destroyer Squadron Thirteen (Captain John B. Heffernan, USN), on USS Buck, flagship, on convoy duty in the Atlantic. In October of that year, on USS Brooklyn with Captain Francis D. Denebrink, he participated in Operation TORCH (Allied landings in North and Northwestern Africa - 8 November 1942). In March 1943, while attached to Pacific Fleet Forces, he visited Noumea, Guadalcanal, Australia, and on Washington made a cruise with Vice Admiral W. A. Lee, Jr., USN. He also patrolled around Papua in motor torpedo boats, made three trips up “the Slot” on Honolulu, flagship of Commander Cruisers, Pacific Fleet (Rear Admiral W.W. Ainsworth, USN), and took part in the Battle of Kolombangara before returning to the mainland. Again in the Pacific War Area in September 1943, he participated in the Gilbert Islands operation on board USS Baltimore, under command of Captain Walter C. Calhoun, USN. For the remainder of the Winter he worked at Pearl Harbor, and in the Spring
He had World War I service as a private in the US Army, but not overseas. As he had done some preliminary studies on Finland for Colonel House’s Inquiry, he was detailed from the Army in January 1919 and attached to the Russian Division of the American Commission to Negotiate Peace, at Paris, his specialty being Finland and the Baltic States. He served as the American Delegate on the Baltic Commission of the Peace Conference until 17 June 1919, and shortly after returned to the United States. He became a full Professor at Harvard in 1925, and was appointed to the Jonathan Trumbull Chair in 1940. He also taught American History at Johns Hopkins University in 1941-1942.
Living up to his sea-going background – he has sailed in small boats and coastal craft all his life. In 1939-1940, he organized and commanded the Harvard Columbus Expedition which retraced the voyages of Columbus in sailing ships, barkentine Capitana and ketch Mary Otis. After crossing the Atlantic under sail to Spain and back, and examining all the shores visited by Columbus in the Caribbean, he wrote Admiral of the Ocean Sea, an outstanding biography of Columbus, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1943. He also wrote a shorter biography, Christopher Columbus, Mariner. With Maurico Obregon of Bogota, he surveyed and photographed the shores of the Caribbean by air and published an illustrated book The Caribbean as Columbus Saw It (1964).
Shortly after the United States entered World War II, Dr. Morison proposed to his friend President Roosevelt, to write the operational history of the US Navy from the inside, by taking part in operations and writing them up afterwards. The idea appealed to the President and Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, and on 5 May 1942, Dr. Morison was commissioned Lieutenant Commander, US Naval Reserve, and was called at once to active duty. He subsequently advanced to the rank of Captain on 15 December 1945. His transfer to the Honorary Retired List of the Naval Reserve became effective on 1 August 1951, when he was promoted to Rear Admiral on the basis of combat awards.
In July-August 1942 he sailed with Commander Destroyer Squadron Thirteen (Captain John B. Heffernan, USN), on USS Buck, flagship, on convoy duty in the Atlantic. In October of that year, on USS Brooklyn with Captain Francis D. Denebrink, he participated in Operation TORCH (Allied landings in North and Northwestern Africa - 8 November 1942). In March 1943, while attached to Pacific Fleet Forces, he visited Noumea, Guadalcanal, Australia, and on Washington made a cruise with Vice Admiral W. A. Lee, Jr., USN. He also patrolled around Papua in motor torpedo boats, made three trips up “the Slot” on Honolulu, flagship of Commander Cruisers, Pacific Fleet (Rear Admiral W.W. Ainsworth, USN), and took part in the Battle of Kolombangara before returning to the mainland. Again in the Pacific War Area in September 1943, he participated in the Gilbert Islands operation on board USS Baltimore, under command of Captain Walter C. Calhoun, USN. For the remainder of the Winter he worked at Pearl Harbor, and in the Spring
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 30, 2009
This is a series written immediately after the war.
On the bookshelves of most vets in the 1950's and 60's.
Well written but technical,too close to the war to get a perspective on events.
On the bookshelves of most vets in the 1950's and 60's.
Well written but technical,too close to the war to get a perspective on events.
July 31, 2019
This book contains much information I hadn't seen in all the others I had read. It took longer than I expected to read, but I still think I need to read the others in the series.
March 27, 2018
Very readable nautical history; the title in hand is part of a multivolume work by a respected author. Read the series published by the original publishers, Atlantic Little, Brown, not Castle Books or other publishers, as the reprints leave out charts that were in the original editions. Charts are important on a vast featureless ocean. Morison was a sailor, so he is not shy of calling a bonehead maneuver or order boneheaded.
September 29, 2019
As part of Morison's authoritative 15 volume work on U.S. naval operations in World War 2, "The Struggle For Guadalcanal" came out only 4 years after the guns fell silent and for over 60 years served as the "go to" book for anyone wanting to study this critical chapter of the Pacific War. Despite its age and the coming to light of new information since 1949, it still serves as a very detailed and highly readable introduction to the subject mainly covering the eight battles and numerous skirmishes between the opposing navies over a six month span during 1942-43. Ground and aerial actions are also recounted as Morison realized that the Marines, GIs and airmen also played a vital part in securing the island for the failure of one would mean defeat for all. Japanese sources were also consulted but were at the time relatively sketchy, with the highly detailed 101 volume official history not starting to come out til the late 1950s.
On the downside, the edition I read was published by the Naval Institute Press and is missing numerous track charts covering the carrier battles, the Battleship Night Action of 14-15 November and the Battle of Tassafaronga. This is a small matter if you're not a dyed in the wool bibliophile, for adequate charts can be found online. For the die-hard collectors, I suggest the original editions by Little, Brown and Company.
On the downside, the edition I read was published by the Naval Institute Press and is missing numerous track charts covering the carrier battles, the Battleship Night Action of 14-15 November and the Battle of Tassafaronga. This is a small matter if you're not a dyed in the wool bibliophile, for adequate charts can be found online. For the die-hard collectors, I suggest the original editions by Little, Brown and Company.
August 31, 2019
Morison once again does himself proud -- a heroic, convincing, but down-and-dirty story about a drawn-out fight over a small island in the South Pacific, full of drama, selfless heroism, clever (and, sometimes, not-so-clever) tactics, touching paeans to the heroes, rich scene setting. It draws you in....
Wait, what's that? This is a history, you say? Oh, so it is. What's your point? I stand by my claims. Just because it's a history doesn't prevent Morison from telling an involving story. Makes it all the more dramatic in some way: Morison's uncensored negative opinion of the island itself is all the more compelling because he's describing a real place. Heroic attempts of seamen to save their fellow crewmen are all the more poignant when you realize these are real men risking their lives. And just because it's history doesn't revoke Morison's poetic license -- at one point he compares a vessels get-away to a young lady's graceful escape from the grasp of an overly-eager sailor (or something vaguely to that effect).
The only naysay I have about this book are the occasional flashes of racism -- usually directed at the "natives", but sometimes directed as the American ships' crewmen.
Wait, what's that? This is a history, you say? Oh, so it is. What's your point? I stand by my claims. Just because it's a history doesn't prevent Morison from telling an involving story. Makes it all the more dramatic in some way: Morison's uncensored negative opinion of the island itself is all the more compelling because he's describing a real place. Heroic attempts of seamen to save their fellow crewmen are all the more poignant when you realize these are real men risking their lives. And just because it's history doesn't revoke Morison's poetic license -- at one point he compares a vessels get-away to a young lady's graceful escape from the grasp of an overly-eager sailor (or something vaguely to that effect).
The only naysay I have about this book are the occasional flashes of racism -- usually directed at the "natives", but sometimes directed as the American ships' crewmen.
February 21, 2022
Even though it was first published in 1949, Morison's book is still one of the best sources concerning the naval battles in the battle for Guadalcanal, though the author's racist remarks are very disturbing.
February 12, 2016
Part of the History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. As usual, I'll just point out some of the highlights of this fascinating book.
On August 8, 1942, Americans learned that their troops had invaded Guadalcanal. During the next four months, the area was the scene of six major naval engagements and over fifty ship-to-ship and air-sea fights.
When the Japanese took over the Melanesian area, they paid the natives in “occupation shillings.”
The Marines on Guadalcanal had a number of tasks they had to do. They had to fight off Japanese counterattacks. They had to supply the garrison, and they had to complete the airfield.
Tojo underestimated the number of U.S. troops on Guadalcanal. He thought there were some 2,000, but there were actually 17,000.
In referring to the Marines killing Japanese in a certain area, the book says “...the Marines had sent almost a thousand Songs of Heaven to the wrong address.”
The book also talks a lot about the “Tokyo Express.”
The book talks a little about how the various Pacific commands (U.S.) didn't necessarily really get along with each other very well.
There's a reference made to a speech by one of the Japanese generals that said the battle would be one “...in which the rise or fall of the Japanese Empire will be decided.” I wonder if anyone has actually made a list of all the times that the Japanese leaders aid that. It seems to me that almost every single battle from Guadalcanal or even earlier was described as that type of battle; when the Japanese would lose, then it was the next battle that was described that way, and so on. There were some military leaders that, at least in my opinion, had a major problem in understanding and accepting reality.
Reference is made to Halsey's sign: “Kill Japs, Kill Japs, Kill More Japs!”
The book is very, very detailed about all the various phases of the Guadalcanal campaign which was actually pretty complicated.
On August 8, 1942, Americans learned that their troops had invaded Guadalcanal. During the next four months, the area was the scene of six major naval engagements and over fifty ship-to-ship and air-sea fights.
When the Japanese took over the Melanesian area, they paid the natives in “occupation shillings.”
The Marines on Guadalcanal had a number of tasks they had to do. They had to fight off Japanese counterattacks. They had to supply the garrison, and they had to complete the airfield.
Tojo underestimated the number of U.S. troops on Guadalcanal. He thought there were some 2,000, but there were actually 17,000.
In referring to the Marines killing Japanese in a certain area, the book says “...the Marines had sent almost a thousand Songs of Heaven to the wrong address.”
The book also talks a lot about the “Tokyo Express.”
The book talks a little about how the various Pacific commands (U.S.) didn't necessarily really get along with each other very well.
There's a reference made to a speech by one of the Japanese generals that said the battle would be one “...in which the rise or fall of the Japanese Empire will be decided.” I wonder if anyone has actually made a list of all the times that the Japanese leaders aid that. It seems to me that almost every single battle from Guadalcanal or even earlier was described as that type of battle; when the Japanese would lose, then it was the next battle that was described that way, and so on. There were some military leaders that, at least in my opinion, had a major problem in understanding and accepting reality.
Reference is made to Halsey's sign: “Kill Japs, Kill Japs, Kill More Japs!”
The book is very, very detailed about all the various phases of the Guadalcanal campaign which was actually pretty complicated.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews