No Bended Knee: The Battle for Guadalcanal

by Merrill B. Twining

“A VIVID NARRATIVE . . . A splendid first-person account of the costly campaign that enabled Allied forces to wrest Guadalcanal from the Japanese in World War II’s Pacific theater.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“By reading and studying No Bended Knee , the military professional can gain an appreciation for war at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels. Twining writes as he served his corps—boldly and straightforwardly, with impeccable detail and superb understanding of things strategic.”
— Airpower Journal

“A VIEW FROM THE NERVE CENTER COMPLETE WITH TELLING PERSONAL ANECDOTES.”
— Journal Inquirer (Manchester, CT)

“Twining adds notably to the literature on Guadalcanal and provides one of the best accounts of war as seen from the perspective of the often maligned yet absolutely indispensable headquarters staff.”
— Booklist

“CANDID AND REVEALING.”
— Publishers Weekly

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

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

Reviews

[Heikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's face it. Everyone knows Midway, right? No, not the video game company. The battle in 1942 during which the Japanese Navy broke its back. The one where Nimitz and Spruance beat Nagumo and Yamamoto.

Many people know the campaign of Guadalcanal too, the follow-up for Midway, which proved to be even more pivotal for the war in the Pacific. They may know Alexander Vandegriff, the Marine commander's name. But the man who wrote this compact and yet very satisfying book on it should be better known.

Merrill B. Twining was instrumental in developing the US Marines' amphibious doctrine. When they attacked Guadalcanal in August 1942, it was the first major attack of its kind. With uncontested beaches, the attack was successful. But the Japanese wouldn't give up the island so easily.

Twining, a Lt Col at the time, takes you through the multi-month campaign like no other. He talks about being let down by the Navy, when the Admirals feared a massive Japanese attack right after the landings. And the huge bombardment in October, when the Japanese battleships shelled the air base to splinters, and then the November naval battle where two US flagships were lost.

He goes into the foxholes, explains the tactics, shows you the battle scars, and makes you laugh out loud with the irrepressible Marine humor. And at the end of the book he says, "After the war, I served at the Marine headquarters in administrative duties". Yeah, right.

Not many people know that Twining was instrumental in the preservation of the US Marines as a branch of the military. Without him, the Army and the Navy would have chopped up the Marines and digested them into themselves. Therefore, all Marines and those interested in them should read this book.

[Matt Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a unique volume for me: a military history told by someone who lived through it, but designed to a dispassionate and analytical. Although Twining tells the story from his perspective, he makes a sincere effort to bring in supporting documentation to fill in the areas of the event he did not see himself. He also has no interest in maligning the Japanese; he is satisfied to praise their achievements and critique their shortcomings. Perhaps the distance of fifty years made that easier for him, but it reads like few military memoirs.

It certainly reads like something that someone from a 3 shop (operations) would write. It is abstracted, generally, from the immediate fighting and puts each contest into context. I appreciated the narrative voice and the author's excellent balance of telling his side of the story without trying to make it look like he was without error. It may not be the be-all, end-all Guadalcanal account, but it should be on the list of anyone looking to dive deeper into the buildup and execution of that battle.

[Daniel Miller]

Twinning was Vandegrift's operations officer on for the Guadalcanal campaign. This book informs us of the battle decisions as they were made. It is a nice fill-in for books about the actual battle. Because he was a staff officer all commands to battle units went through him. The actual plans were destroyed on orders from Vandegrift and Twinning recreates them from memory here. There are some great nuggets of info here such as how the Marines emerged from a guard duty unit into a fully equipped fighting one in the late 1920's. One needs to read histories of the Guadalcanal campaign to get any benefit from this one in my opinion. I'm glad I found it in my local library because It's not a necessary addition to one's WWII library.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book on the Battle for Guadalcanal. It discussed the difficulties that had to be overcome this early in the war. The author was a very important participant that provides great detail and views about the battle.

[Amy Peacock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent read on the 1st Marine Divisions' entry into the Pacific and Guadalcanal/Tulagi. Twining was the advance scout and helped set up camp for 13,000 Marines in New Zealand, among many other essential items.

[Alex Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good account, if a little slow in its detail. It's good if you want to really get into the details of history, not so much if you just want an entertaining read and don't care about the small things. Also interesting with the personal touches of the author being involved and knowing some "behind the scenes" things others will not usually have access to.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

From someone who was there from the start and doesn't pull punches.