Operation Watchtower: 1942 Battle for Guadalcanal

WW2 Pacific Military History #1

by Daniel Wrinn, Griffin Smith (Editor)

A powerful account of the tide turning WW2 Pacific Theater campaign.

In the height of the second world war, US forces launched a long and gruelling campaign to take the island of Guadalcanal, mounting the first major land attack against Japanese forces. What followed was a 6-month string of devastating battles as these two forces wrestled over this key military position.

In the wake of near-daily aerial attacks and several determined assaults from the Japanese navy, the Guadalcanal campaign culminated in a victory for America and marked the first of many offensive attacks aimed at neutralizing the Japanese in the Pacific Theater.

Now, this thrilling book recounts the story of the Guadalcanal campaign in vivid, gritty detail. Exploring the forces involved, the major battles, and the daily struggle of trying to maintain control of the coveted Henderson airfield, Operation Watchtower examines the pivotal moments which led to the Allies seizing the strategic initiative in a key turning point of the war.

Perfect for fans of WW2 history books covering the pacific, this brilliant book pays tribute to the brave soldiers on both sides of the conflict, recounting their story for both passionate history fans and anyone searching for an in-depth look at of one the greatest battles of World War 2.

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

114 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 26, 2020

About the author

I write books and narrate audiobooks about WWII Pacific Theater history.

My focus covers three areas: the island-hopping campaigns that defeated Japan, the cultural forces that made Japanese soldiers fight to the death, and the extraordinary stories of Pacific War survivors who defied the odds.

What matters are the real experiences—the Marines on the beaches, the sailors under kamikaze attack, the soldiers who refused to surrender, and the commanders making impossible decisions.

US Navy veteran. Military history author.

Reviews

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

How much do you know about the Battle of Guadalcanal other than that the U.S. Marine Corps played a critical role in the fighting? After reading this short book you’ll have a deep understanding of why it was so important and why it’s the battle that turned the tide of the War in the Pacific during World War II. Afterward, Japan’s ability to threaten the U.S. and its allies was severely curtailed. But the price was incredibly high on both sides.

Wrinn has written a short account packed with details and crafted into a narrative that flows very rapidly from beginning to end. If you’re looking to understand a key point in the War of the Pacific and don’t want to get bogged down in a long tedious narrative, this book is a great place to begin.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a two-time combat veteran with 1st Marines units (2012-2014), the battle of Guadalcanal is forever etched on my soul. I really wanted to love this book, but it is just so poorly executed.

The sentence structure is…bad. I tried to just accept that it’s not the most well-written book but then he was mixing up unit names and the timelines were jumping all over the place.

In an effort to not sound like I am being petty, here is an excerpt from the book. “When the sun came up that Friday at 0650, Marine assault troops touched down at 0909 on Red Beach, on Guadalcanal’s north shore.” Why even mention the sunrise on that morning? The rest of the sentence has nothing to do with the sunrise. He later mentions some random person who was shot and evacuated but I have no idea why it was important to know that detail.

Considering the rating on this book, it sounds like plenty of others enjoyed it. However, I cannot recommend this to anyone wanting to truly gain some knowledge about this historical battle.

[John Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and Informative

Fascinating account of the Battle for Guadalcanal. The author has an incredible amount of information specific to this event - obviously an enormous amount of research. The end result is rare insight and a detailed account that keeps you engaged from start to finish.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another in the very good series of books on battles in the Pacific Ocean in World War II, this one about Guadalcanal.

The author points out that many Korean laborers were used to help build the defenses on the island. A lot of supplies were left behind in the invasion. Banzai charges are referred to and those are when a whole lot of Japanese soldiers would all rush Allied defenses at the same time with the result usually being the attacking Japanese group being totally wiped out.

It's easy to see why air superiority was so important in this and other battles. Planes could bomb and strafe the island and also help cut down the flow of Japanese supplies during the daytime.

Details of the battle are given and there is also a reference section in the book.It's a good summary of what happened.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a concise rendering of the bluster and indignities of both sides of the combat for Guadalcanal in 1942. I was amazed to see numbers of the Japanese forces on the ground because of the size of the country and their generals apparent blindness to the forces they would face. As a retired nurse and grandmother of a US Marine I was appalled to see the numbers of dead, wounded, and sidelined by tropical diseases. I already knew how dedicated Marines are and were. While this is full of numbers, no crossed or glazed eyes of boredom because it is intelligently rendered. It helped that the narrator is no-nonsense James McSorley who infuses it with interest while making it clear that this is a nonfiction account.
I won this audiobook in a giveaway.

[Aurora]

As you might expect given the subject matter, this book is full of dates and names and numbers which tends to make it a little dry. It is, however, an excellent chronicle of what happened at Guadalcanal and the brave and determined U.S. marines who courageously fought both a determined Japanese force and a hostile climate and terrain.
The book contains not only an account of the Guadalcanal campaign but a brief who's who and a description of some of the most important weapons and equipment that featured in the battle.
Well worth a read for anyone with an interest in the WWII Pacific theatre.

[John Ceglarek · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read many books on the Guadslcanal campaign, and this one is poor. It provides only a cursory review of events, with no details. Characters are introduced with little/no description of who they are. Grammatical errors abound. I was expecting a good book based on newly discovered information, not a piece that poorly documents well-known facts.

Anyone wanting an in-depth understanding of the struggle for Guadalcanel should look elsewhere.

[Kevin McPoyle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has horrible, primitive sentence structure in every chapter. He writes like one might talk, which is never good. Information was interesting but otherwise this book was a gigantic disappointment. I could hardly get through it and only did so I could write a review.

[Jeffrey Bentley-Johnston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Does not give justice to US forces

The book was more a listing of troop movements than an upclose description of the fighting. It does not convey the toughness of the campaign or the spirit of the men.

[Audrey Haugen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guadalcanal

Lots of statistics but not much personal stories by individual personnel,malaria seemed nearly as bad. As the Japanese were,alas ,

[Chaplain Stanley Chapin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative

There were time and again that the Japanese fought to finally death, it was most apparent in Guadalcanal and really one of the USA and allies first, long encounter.

[Robert Laugier · Rating 4 out of 5]

World war story

World war two battles Great for those who love war battle story take you like you were there every you wanted to know

[Tom Foley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adequate primer for the Battle of Guadalcanal. Obviously longer books have been, and likely will be, written that go in more in depth. This is basically the Cliffsnotes version.