{"product_id":"guadalcanal-by-jon-diamond-9781036130961","title":"Guadalcanal","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the Pearl Harbor attack, the Japanese quickly captured Hong Kong, Guam, Wake Island, the Gilbert Islands and Rabaul. Japanese conquests of Malaya and Singapore, the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, and Burma followed into the spring of 1942. The Japanese juggernaut continued southwards with bases established at Salamaua and Lae in Northwest New Guinea followed by landings at Buna, Gona, and Sanananda along Papua's northern coast as a prelude to capturing Port Moresby over the Owen Stanley Range to threaten Australia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDespite a strategic American naval victory at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the sinking of four Japanese aircraft carriers at the Battle of Midway, the Allied situation remained desperate. Japanese naval troops invaded Tulagi Island and nearby islets off the coast of Florida Island on 3–4 May 1942 to construct a seaplane and naval base. Japan's goal of advancing through the southern Solomon Islands and beyond to New Caledonia, Fiji, and Samoa was to create a defensive buffer against an attack by a slowly-recovering American Navy and further isolate the Antipodes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn July 1942, Allied coast watchers and reconnaissance aircraft observed the construction of an airfield on Guadalcanal, 20 miles to the south of Tulagi and Florida Islands. On 23 July 1942, American military leaders prioritized securing the South Pacific's lines of communication and halting the Japanese advance. The American invasion of Guadalcanal and Tulagi became operational, entailing hellacious land, air, and sea battles from 7 August 1942 to 3 February 1943. \u003cem\u003eGuadalcanal\u003c\/em\u003e became the essential struggle between Allied and Japanese forces, with the victor to eventually control the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. The events of the campaign are expertly described here with contemporary images and detailed text.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Jon Diamond MD is a kidney specialist in the USA with a deep interest in the Second World War. He is a keen collector of photographs. His works, including \u003cem\u003eStilwell and the Chindits\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eWar in the South Pacific\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eInvasion of Sicily\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eInvasion of the Italian Mainland: Salerno to Gustav Line, 1943-1944\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eOnto Rome 1944; Anzio and Victory at Cassino\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eBeyond Rome to the Alps; Across the Arno and Gothic Line, 1944-1945\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eOp Plunder - The Rhine River Crossing\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eMacArthur's Papua New Guinea Campaign\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eHell in the Central Pacific\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLiberation of the Philippines\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eBurma Victory\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Fall of Malaya and Singapore\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe Battle of Okinawa 1945\u003c\/em\u003e, are all published by Pen and Sword in the Images of War series.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e200 b\/w illustrations\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Bookreps NZ Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47900370862316,"sku":"9781036130961","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781036130961-guadalcanal.jpg?v=1783403974","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/products\/guadalcanal-by-jon-diamond-9781036130961","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}