Customer Reviews

The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal: Night Action, 13 November 1942

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This is an excellent account of the Naval Battle off Guadalcanal in the early hours of 13 November 1942. The battle was one of three major disasters that overtook the U.S. Navy in World War II, the others being Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and Savo Island in August 1942. Grace provides a very well written account of the battle with excellent accounts of the men and ships in battle. Very highly recommended.

Author James Grace does a very good on describing the actions of the U.S. and Japanese forces during the naval battle of Guadalcanal, especially given that the action was a night-time slugging match. His coverage of the Japanese combatants is appreciated. He also covers the immediate aftermath of the battle, detailing some of the stories of damaged ships and overboard sailors. The author generally eschews dramatic writing, and doesn't spend a lot of ink second-guessing the commanders. He lets the story, especially the limited success of radar and the tragic episodes of "friendly fire," speak for themselves. A major weakness of the book is the overly-short discussion of the near-term effects of the battle on the Guadalcanal campaign. The author also assumes that the reader is familiar with the layout and design of surface warships. Nonetheless, highly recommended for those interested in the Solomons Campaign, naval operations in the Pacific during World War Two, or in naval surface warfare.

Actually not having read but a few brief passages from this fine effort, I believe that some additional background from & about the Japanese would better help the reader understand the materials proffered by the author & his conclusions. I make reference to one excellent volume by a Japanese naval officer, Captain Tameichi Hara, entitled "Japanese destroyer captain" as an outstanding source of background fact, personal experiences & strategic recollections of many facts relating to the Japanese overall conduct of their war effort & his witnessing of many of the major U.S./Japanese Guadalcanal naval engagements.

I have read this fine book & am impressed by Captain Hara's professionalism, insights into Japanese traditions & his command of the Japanese destroyer flotilla that the U. S. code named "The Tokyo express". He also details his flotillas personal activities during the great raid on Rabaul & his suggestions to his destroyer commanders maximizing the use of their anti aircraft batteries' withering fire in defense of the anchorage that made headline in the U.S. referencing the "heavy losses" encountered by the attackers. He also provides an eyewitness account of the destruction of the Japanese super dreadnaught, Yamato, on her last foray from Japan to Okinawa on her kamikaze sortie in the defense of this embattled island.

I heartily endorse this book as both an aid & companion volume on the Guadalcanal campaign.