The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal

Description

On August 29, 1942, Rear Admiral John S. McCain, Sr. messaged Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Chester W. Nimitz: "Cactus can be a sinkhole for enemy air power and can be consolidated, expanded, and exploited to [the] enemy's moral hurt. The reverse is true if we lose Cactus." In these two sentences, he described the crucial importance of the Guadalcanal campaign. Upon receiving orders to attack Pearl Harbor in November 1941, Japanese fleet commander Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto had replied, "In the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will run wild and win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success." He was off by four days, with Kido Butai's offensive power destroyed at Midway on June 4, 1942, four days short of six months from the Pearl Harbor attack. However, the Japanese were still strong, and were determined to force the United States to recognize their expansion by defeating our forces in battle before the inherent industrial superiority of the United States could be brought to bear on the outcome. Thus, the battle of Guadalcanal, the first offensive operation undertaken by the United States and her allies in the Pacific War, was a testing ground of which side would prevail. "Cactus," the code name for the island, did indeed become a sinkhole for enemy air and naval power, forces whose losses could never be made good by replacements of equal quality. The week following the Pacific War's first anniversary, Yamamoto informed the Japanese high command that the surviving troops on Guadalcanal must be evacuated if possible. After that he could only hope to delay the Allied reconquest of the Solomons and expulsion of Japanese forces from the South Pacific. The air battles during the three months between August 20, 1942, when the first Marine air unit arrived on the island, and November 15, when the last attempt by the enemy to send reinforcements to retake the island was defeated, were perhaps the most important three months of the Pacific War. After November 15, 1942, the United States never looked back as its forces moved across the Pacific to the war's inevitable conclusion, growing stronger every month as the enemy grew weaker.

Eric Hammel is recognized as one of the leading American military historians, with more than 40 well-received books that are considered authoritative on their subjects published over a 50-year career. His previous books on the Solomons campaign, Carrier Clash, Carrier Strike, Decision at Sea and Starvation Island are among the leading authoritative sources on the subject due to their extensive use of first-person testimony. During 40 years beginning in 1961, Hammel interviewed more than 150 American participants in the air campaign at Guadalcanal, none of whom are still alive. These interviews are the most comprehensive first-person accounts of the battle assembled by any historian and form THE Cactus Air Force. More importantly, Hammel's interviews involved the junior officers and enlisted men whose stories and memories were not part of the official history, thus providing a unique insight. Thus, Cactus Air Force will be unlike any other of the many histories that have been published over the years of this event. Co-author Thomas McKelvey Cleaver is one of Osprey's most successful authors and is also a recognized authority on the Pacific War with his best-selling books Pacific Thunder and Tidal Wave. Reviewers frequently cite his ability to "put the reader in the cockpit." The Guadalcanal campaign has interested him ever since he found his father's copy of "Guadalcanal Diary," and he brings a lifetime of study to the project. Hammel and Cleaver are close associates and friends; each brings their own strengths to produce a book that will set a new standard for this topic.

Hammel and Cleaver have once more brought Guadalcanal front and center. Theirs is a harrowing tale of unpreparedness, intelligence and leadership failures, of learning hard lessons in the furious crucible of war, of sacrifice and loss, of great courage, and, ultimately, of a great victory secured at a fearsome cost. * Richard P. Hallion, former Historian of the US Air Force * Overstating Eric Hammel's impact as a military historian is impossible. His focus on aviation-and Guadalcanal in particular-has seen few equals. Today, we benefit not only because Hammel had the foresight to capture the first-person accounts of thousands of veterans, but also because he possessed the knowledge to place them in the proper context. * Jay A. Stout, author of 'Jayhawk: Love, Loss, Liberation and Terror Over the Pacific' * Eric Hammel's research, done when no one else was interested in learning these stories, has allowed a story we all think we know well to be told anew, through the words of those whose stories were never told before. The Cactus Air Force is a vital contribution that provides new information about this crucial battle. * Barrett Tillman, author of 'Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan, 1942-1945' * Eric Hammel was outstanding among us in finding participants and conducting interviews. His best work glowed that way, notably in his Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima publications. * Richard B. Frank, author of 'Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle' * This superbly written description of the conflict in the Pacific chronicles these battles with reference to official records and, more importantly, personal accounts of the US participants taken from interviews and diaries. These graphic and moving accounts create a vivid narrative for the reader. * Flypast *