Masterful pacing, vivid character sketches, and gripping action blend with rigorous historical detail in Samuel B. Griffith's The Battle for Guadalcanal.
Launched on August 7, 1942, to protect Allied control of the strategic South Pacific islands, the Guadalcanal operation was the most costly American offensive of World War II in the history of the U.S. Navy up to that time. Griffith, who fought with Edson's Raiders on Guadalcanal, describes in gritty detail the vicious close-range fighting, the valiant defense of the Henderson Field airstrip, and the dramatic naval engagements that led, in February 1943, to an American victory.
Drawing on American and Japanese sources, Griffith delineates the strategic decisions that shaped the conflict as well as the determination and endurance of combatants on both sides. A breathtaking narrative of military action anchored by a historian's objectivity, The Battle for Guadalcanal is a story of raw courage, desperate measures, and ultimate triumph.
- ISBN10 0252068912
- ISBN13 9780252068911
- Publish Date 13 July 2000 (first published 1 June 1963)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of Illinois Press
- Format Paperback
- Pages 312
- Language English