Bougainville 1943-1945: The Forgotten Campaign

by Harry A. Gailey

Book Overview

The 1943 invasion of Bougainville, largest and northernmost of the Solomon Islands, and the naval battles during the campaign for the island, contributed heavily to the defeat of the Japanese in the Pacific War. Here Harry Gailey presents the definitive account of the long and bitter fighting that took place on that now all-but-forgotten island. A maze of swamps, rivers, and rugged hills overgrown with jungle, Bougainville afforded the Allies a strategic...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813190479
• ISBN13: 9780813190471
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Odd I know, but a great historian

He was my professor in college. A great one at that. I have the privilege of having been educated by him about what history is, not what it "ought to be". Will there be errors? Maybe, but will you learn what it was supposed to be...yes. If you really want to learn what history is about, find a copy of "Sir Donald Cameron: Colonial Governor" or "Lugard and the Abeokutra uprising: the Demise of Egba Independence" and you will learn what it takes to get a Phd. Meanwhile, I choose to remember how he was.

Helps Connect The Dots

This book provides the reader with good information and persepctive on the war efforts at Bougainville and the surrounding area. It fills in a valuable piece in the Pacific War puzzle. We recently visited the USMC Museum in Quantico, VA, and this book helped enrich our experience and understanding of the challenges faced by those who fought in the Solomons. A recommended read for those with an interest in WWII.

Time to Remember

As the son of an Americal Division infantryman, I found the book a very important addition to my personal library and I have given a number of copies away as gifts to others with an interest in Bougainville. My father and my uncle arrived at Bougainville Christmas 1943 and spent most of 1944 there. There has been precious little written about this phase of the war. We should all understand the price these men paid at places such as Hill 260. "Bougainville" is a word that freedom loving Americans should understand and cherish, and this book helps that happen. Professor Gailey recognized a need and filled it admirably. If your loved one served at Bougainville, this is a must read.

Mixed feelings.

I have mixed feelings concerning this book. Gailey did an excellent job in explaining the overall situation in the South Pacific and the Solomons prior to the landing on Bougainville and its place in the strategy for the eventual reduction of Rabaul. The detailed accounting of Merrill's covering of the landing by engaging the naval force under the command of Omori was first class. This severe beating of the Japanese naval forces was the last major surface engagement in the Solomon area. Halsey's gutsy decision to commit Sherman's Task Force 38 and its carrier air groups against Rabaul to protect the landing force made for enjoyable reading. From this day forward Rabaul was pounded into insignificance.The 3rd marines landed on the island on 11/1/43 and in spite of hellish swamps, impenetrable rain forests and Japanese assaults, Seabees managed to construct the first air strip which was able to accept a damaged aircraft for landing a mere 23 days after the amphibious landing. A remarkable feat given the logistics problems at hand. The major Japanese counter attack began on the night of March 8-9 and failed for a number of reasons given by Gailey. Chief among these reasons, to this reviewer, and not given the attention it deserved, was the piecemeal strategy employed. Commander of the defending Japanese, General Hyakutake, had at his disposal over 60,000 troops. For this major engagement he sent approximately 15,000 men under General Kanda to face a force which outnumbered them at least 2 to 1. Gailey laid off this tactical lapse, in part, to defective Japanese intelligence reports and assumed that Hyakutake thought he was facing at most a division. Even so, to attack a fortified position, one needs a superior force not an equal force. With so many troops under his command, there is simply no defending Hyakutake's flawed strategy. With similar defective reasoning, Kanda himself committed his meager troops in uncoordinated attacks resulting in the near destruction of his men. This tendency of Japanese commanders to husband their resources and commit them in piecemeal fashion was observed through out the Pacific, both with naval and land forces.The book, after this battle, stumbles somewhat. Maps of the landings and early engagements were adequate but from this point forward, their quality and quantity declined noticeably. The last two maps dealing with the final Australian operations omitted rivers, villages and crossings referred to in the text. One later chapter deals with the unfortunate exploits of the 93rd Division. This unwieldy aside succeeds in raising more questions than it answers. For it's excellent early chapters, Gailey rates the four star rating. Somewhere after the March Japanese counterattack, the book trails off and like the Japanese defenders, dies a slow death.

Superb documentary of one of the war's bloodiest battles

Gailey gives a detailed, concise look at what happened during all the skirmishes and maneuvers. He also explains the commanders' rationale for their decisions. He puts the battle in context vis a vis the other battles going on in different parts of the world, and the drain on resources this created.My father was a 2nd Lt. with the 3rd Marine Division at the invasion of Bougainville. After reading this book, I have a much better understanding of what he went through, and why it changed his life forever.