Bougainville, 1943-1945: The Forgotten Campaign [Paperback]

Harry A. Gailey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2003

" 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 site for airbases from which to attack the Japanese bastion of Rabaul. By February of 1944 the Japanese air strength at Rabaul had indeed been wiped out and their other forces there had been isolated and rendered ineffective. The early stages of the campaign were unique in the degree of cooperation among Allied forces. The overall commander, American Admiral Halsey, marshaled land, air, and naval contingents representing the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Unlike the other island campaigns in the Pacific, the fighting on Bougainville was a protracted struggle lasting nearly two years. Although the initial plan was simply to seize enough area for three airbases and leave the rest in Japanese hands, the Australian commanders, who took over in November 1944, decided to occupy the entire island. The consequence was a series of hard-fought battles that were still going on when Japan's surrender finally brought them to an end. For the Americans, a notable aspect of the campaign was the first use of black troops. Although most of these troops did well, the poor performance of one black company was greatly exaggerated in reports and in the media, which led to black soldiers in the Pacific theater begin relegated to non-combat roles for the remainder of the war. Gailey brings again to life this long struggle for an island in the far Pacific and the story of the tens of thousands of men who fought and died there.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Highly recommended. While neglected by most students of World War II in the Pacific, the battle of Bougainville remains one of the key stepping stones to victory in September 1945." -- Armor

"A valuable contribution to the history of the war in the Southwest Pacific." -- Associated Press

"Military historians and buffs, and anyone else interested in learning more about battles in the Pacific Theater, should find this a valuable reference, especially veterans who may have fought at Bougainville." -- Gun Week

"An important contribution to World War II history." -- McCormick (SC) Messenger

"A wonderful narrative history on the little remembered battle at Bougainville." -- Southern Historian

"Gailey's flowing narrative and perceptive assessments make this study a useful campaign analysis." -- WWII History

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky; 2 Sub edition (February 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813190479
• ISBN-13: 978-0813190471
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #924,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings., April 11, 2001

By 

George G. Kiefer (Sevierville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bougainville, 1943-1945: The Forgotten Campaign (Hardcover)

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.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb documentary of one of the war's bloodiest battles, February 26, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Tulsa, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bougainville, 1943-1945: The Forgotten Campaign (Hardcover)

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.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fair History, But Could be Better Done, February 14, 2006

By 

R. J Szasz "Rod Szasz" (Tokyo, Japan Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bougainville, 1943-1945: The Forgotten Campaign (Paperback)

If you are going to be doing an overview campaign book on the Pacific War then I think it is instructive to remember two books that have set the standard on how history needs to be written: Philip B. Frank's "Guadalcanal" and Louis Allen's "Burma: The Longest War." Both exhibit the stylistic flair, command of the sources, and a good grasp of the entire campaign in the whole course of the war.


Both authors can recount strategic discussions on the macro level, and then focus upon individual experiences. This ability to go between the experiences of the grunt and the dictates of his campaign overseers is the mark of a good military historian.

Gailey has given us a rough gem in a little known area of the war, but I think that it could be much better done. Gailey's writing suffers from time to time being too focused on writing unit actions and engagements without the individual detail and reminiscenes of either the Japanese heishi or the American grunt. Gailey give us a small glimpse but the number of individual first person quotations is actually very small given the often very personal nature of this battle -- Bougainville was a very large island, covered with jungle, both sides had difficulty maneuvring and contact came first at the infantry level once the beaches were left behind. But this element of fear, the very smell of the jungle is lacking.

In addition I was personally a little dissapointed by the lack of ANY Japanese sources on the battle. Such one-sided accounting 60 years after the battle is something that should, and easily can, be avoided. Gailey states that prior to landing "one cannot be sure how many Japanese were actually on the island." This is a very germane fact that can be checked and, granted that everyone cannot be a Japanese language expert (like Louis Allen), basic facts like these are surely in the Japanese archives -- I actually found them in Japanese secondary sources (A detailed order of battle).

There are also several spelling errors for Japanese Commander names -- also disapointing. When I see this I begin to wonder how well my historian really understands his subject ... and more importantly, how much he is really attempting to understand.

Having said that, I must say that I enjoyed the history tolerably well(... if not by virtue of the fact that there is so little written of this campaign). The initial landing and the spreading out of the perimeter was good, as was the last chapter on the sterling effort of our British Commonwealth allies -- the Australians and the Fiji Regiment. Although this island was made famous by the coastwatcher in WWII, there is surprisingly little about this, as there is nothing about the indigenous peoples, though Gailey rightly emphasises the importance of the small gardens and their role in supporting the Japanese troops and how their destruction eventually became a military objective.