Target: Rabaul : The Allied Siege of Japan's Most Infamous Stronghold, March 1943 ? August 1945

The Allied Siege of Japan's Most Infamous Stronghold, March 1943-August 1945.;A pirate goes to Washington -- Stepping stones: the Elkton Plan -- New Guinea graveyard -- The heart of darkness -- Lethal moonlight -- Zeamer and Sarnoski -- The big feud -- Wewak -- Hornet's nest -- Primary colors -- The buccaneers attack -- Stormy weather -- Bloody Tuesday -- Redemption for the Pond Lily -- Carrier raid redux -- Ferdinand the bull -- The twisted code -- Transition -- The ace race -- The feeding frenzy -- Fortress rubble -- Island of despair -- Glory. A history of World War II's Operation Cartwheel, a major Allied operation by US, Australian, and New Zealand forces to take the Japanese base at Rabaul. Prior to World War II, few Americans had heard of Rabaul, a small harbor town in a far-off corner of the Pacific. But it became a household name after the Japanese captured Rabaul in January 1942 and developed it into their most heavily defended fortress outside the home islands. Thereafter, Rabaul endured Allied air attacks for a total of forty-four months—a span unmatched by any other locale during World War II. In Target: Rabaul , respected military historian Bruce Gamble concludes his critically acclaimed trilogy about Japan's most notorious stronghold. Picking up where Fortress Rabaul left off, Gamble narrates the story of Cartwheel, the multiple-operation plan that isolated Rabaul through aerial and naval siege. The effort, involving all of the armed branches of the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, resulted in some of the heaviest and most dramatic aerial combat of the Pacific war, with frequent clashes between hundreds of planes. The culmination of an amazing story, Target: Rabaul profiles the resolve of the Allied and Japanese combatants in the horrific Pacific battleground—and provides the turbulent, triumphant conclusion to the most comprehensive account of World War II's longest battle. "Bruce Gamble has done it again! An impeccable researcher and a master storyteller with a keen eye for details and characters, Gamble presents Target: Rabaul , a powerful conclusion to his must-read trilogy on the battle over Japan's Southwest Pacific stronghold. The heart-pounding stories of aerial combat read like a thriller—and show why he is one of the finest writers working today." —James Scott, author of The War Below and The Attack on the Liberty As the final book in Bruce Gamble's esteemed trilogy on the War in the Pacific, Target: Rabaul picks up where Fortress Rabaul, the second installment, leaves off and sets the stage for the major Allied aerial engagements of 19431954, which would result in the defeat of Japan. March 1943, Washington, D.C.: Major General George Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force, begins to formulate plans for Operation Cartwheel's mission to neutralize Rabaul, Japan's most notorious stronghold, with the use of unescorted daylight bombing raids against the base and the heavily-defended satellite installations nearby. But the undertaking would prove to be anything but straightforward, and the story of Rabaul's destruction remains one of the most gripping of World War II's Pacific Theater. In Target: Rabaul , award-winning military historian Bruce Gamble expertly narrates the Allied air raids against the stronghold: the premature celebrations by George Kenney and Gen. Douglas MacArthur; the bequeathing of authority to Adm. Bull Halsey; the unprecedented number of near-constant air battles that immediately followed; the Japanese retreat to Truk Lagoon in 1944; and their ultimate surrender to Allied forces in August 1945. This amazing story, one that profiles the bravery and resolve of the Allies in the horrific Pacific battleground, is the turbulent conclusion to an acclaimed trilogy from one of today's most talented nonfiction military authors. As the final book in Bruce Gamble's esteemed trilogy on the War in the Pacific, Target: Rabaul picks up where Fortress Rabaul, the second installment, leaves off--and sets the stage for the major Allied aerial engagements of 1943-1945, which would result in the defeat of Japan. March 1943, Washington, D.C.: Major General George Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force, begins to formulate plans for Cartwheel--a 2-year campaign to neutralize Rabaul, Japan's most notorious stronghold, with the use of unescorted daylight bombing raids against the base and the heavily-defended satellite installations nearby. The undertaking would prove to be anything but straightforward, and the story of Rabaul's destruction remains one of the most gripping of World War II's Pacific Theater. In Target: Rabaul, award-winning military historian Bruce Gamble expertly narrates the Allied air raids against the stronghold: the premature celebrations by George Kenney and Gen. Douglas MacArthur; the bequeathing of authority to Adm. William F. "Bull" Halsey; the unprecedented number of near-constant air battles that immediately followed; the Japanese retreat to Truk Lagoon in 1944; and their ultimate surrender to Allied forces in August 1945. This amazing story, one that profiles the bravery and resolve of the Allies in the horrific Pacific battleground, is the turbulent conclusion to an acclaimed trilogy from one of today's most talented nonfiction military authors. As the final book in Bruce Gamble's esteemed trilogy on the War in the Pacific, Target: Rabaul picks up where Fortress Rabaul, the second installment, leaves off—and sets the stage for the major Allied aerial engagements of 1943–1954, which would result in the defeat of Japan. March 1943, Washington, D.C.: Major General George Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force, begins to formulate plans for Operation Cartwheel—a mission to neutralize Rabaul, Japan's most notorious stronghold, with the use of unescorted daylight bombing raids against the base and the heavily-defended satellite installations nearby. But the undertaking would prove to be anything but straightforward, and the story of Rabaul's destruction remains one of the most gripping of World War II's Pacific Theater. In Target: Rabaul , award-winning military historian Bruce Gamble expertly narrates the Allied air raids against the stronghold: the premature celebrations by... As the final book in Bruce Gamble's esteemed trilogy on the War in the Pacific, Target: Rabaul picks up where Fortress Rabaul, the second installment, leaves off and sets the stage for the major Allied aerial engagements of 1943 which would result in the defeat of Japan. March 1943, Washington, D.C.: Major General George Kenney, commander of the 5th Air Force, begins to formulate plans for Operation Cartwheel a mission to neutralize Rabaul, Japan's most notorious stronghold, with the use of unescorted daylight bombing raids against the base and the heavily-defended satellite installations nearby. But the undertaking would prove to be anything but straightforward, and the story of Rabaul's destruction remains one of the most gripping of World War II's Pacific Theater. In Target: Rabaul, award-winning military historian Bruce Gamble expertly narrates the Allied air raids against the stronghold: the premature celebrations by .. From award-winning military historian Bruce Gamble, Target: Rabaul is the culmination of an amazing story profiling the Allied campaign against Rabaul, Japan's most notorious stronghold, in the Pacific Theater of World War II.