Under the Southern Cross: The South Pacific Air Campaign Against Rabaul, August 1942-February 1944

From August 7, 1942 until February 24, 1944, the US Navy fought the most difficult campaign in its history. Between the landing of the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal and the final withdrawal of the Imperial Japanese Navy from its main South Pacific base at Rabaul, the US Navy suffered such high personnel losses that for years it refused to publicly release total casualty figures. The Solomons campaign saw the US Navy at its lowest point, forced to make use of those ships that had survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other units of the pre-war navy that had been hastily transferred to the Pacific. 140 days after the American victory at Midway, USS Enterprise was the only pre-war carrier left in the South Pacific and the US Navy would have been overwhelmed in the face of Japanese naval power had there been a third major fleet action. At the same time, another under-resourced campaign had broken out on the island of New Guinea. The Japanese attempt to reinforce their position there had led to the Battle of the Coral Sea in May and through to the end of the year, American and Australian armed forces were only just able to prevent a Japanese conquest of New Guinea. The end of 1942 saw the Japanese stopped in both the Solomons and New Guinea, but it would take another 18 hard-fought months before Japan was forced to retreat from the South Pacific. Under the Southern Cross draws on extensive first-hand accounts and new analysis to examine the Solomons and New Guinea campaigns which laid the groundwork for Allied victory in the Pacific War. A vivid narrative history of the Solomons and New Guinea campaigns of World War II, which represented key turning points in the U.S. Navy's campaign against the Japanese in the Pacific.From August 7, 1942 until February 24, 1944, the US Navy fought the most difficult campaign in its history. Between the landing of the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal and the final withdrawal of the Imperial Japanese Navy from its main South Pacific base at Rabaul, the US Navy suffered such high personnel losses that for years it refused to publicly release total casualty figures. The Solomons campaign saw the US Navy at its lowest point, forced to make use of those ships that had survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other units of the pre-war navy that had been hastily transferred to the Pacific. 140 days after the American victory at Midway, USS Enterprise was the only pre-war carrier left in the South Pacific and the US Navy would have been overwhelmed in the face of Japanese naval power had there been a third major fleet action.At the same time, another under-resourced campaign had broken out on the island of New Guinea. The Japanese attempt to reinforce their position there had led to the Battle of the Coral Sea in May and through to the end of the year, American and Australian armed forces were only just able to prevent a Japanese conquest of New Guinea. The end of 1942 saw the Japanese stopped in both the Solomons and New Guinea, but it would take another 18 hard-fought months before Japan was forced to retreat from the South Pacific.Under the Southern Cross draws on extensive first-hand accounts and new analysis to examine the Solomons and New Guinea campaigns which laid the groundwork for Allied victory in the Pacific War. "A vivid narrative history of the Solomons campaign of World War II, one of the key turning points in the U.S. Navy's campaign against the Japanese in the Pacific. If the Battle of Midway, fought in June 1942, stopped further Japanese expansion in the Pacific, it was the Battle of Guadalcanal and the following Solomons Campaign that broke the back of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Between August 7, 1942 and February 24, 1944 when the Imperial Japanese Navy withdrew its surviving surface and air units from Rabaul, the main Japanese base in the South Pacific, the US Navy fought the most difficult campaign in its history, suffering such high personnel losses during the campaign that for years it refused to publicly release total casualty figures. Unlike the Central Pacific Campaign, which was fought by 'the new Navy,' the Solomons campaign saw the US Navy at its lowest point, using those ships that had survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and other units of the pre-war navy hastily transferred to the Pacific. After the Battle of Santa Cruz in late October, USS Enterprise was the only pre-war carrier left in the South Pacific and the Navy would not have been able to resist the Imperial Japanese Navy had they sought a third major fleet action in the region. For most of the campaign, the issue of which side would ultimately prevail was in doubt until toward the end when the surge of American industrial production began to make itself felt. Under the Southern Cross examines the Solomons campaign from land, sea and air, offering a new account of the military offensive that laid the groundwork for Allied success throughout the rest of the Pacific War."--Amazon.com