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Summary: Don't overlook this battle's importance because of Midway!
Review: Divinations of the turning point of World War Two in East Asia and the Pacific gravitate very readily to the Battle of Midway. However, you may be suprised to know that for a time in late 1942 the U.S. Navy was down to a single operating fleet carrier in the theater, when a protracted naval battle centered about the Solomon Sea and the island of Guadalcanal was fought. This battle was mainly between the destroyers and cruisers of either side, supported by land-based aircraft by day. At night, it was a matter soley for the surface ships; with Japanese tactical proficiency, spotters with keen night vision, and awesome torpedoes set against American advantage in damage control and their possesion of radar. America won this one ugly, largely due to the surprisingly timid nature of the higher-ranking Japanese admirals who sent in forces in dribs and drabs rather than seeking a decisive blow. Failing to win naval superiority about Guadalcanal led to a protracted battle of attrition on the ground as Japanese soldiers were fed into the battle in small batches via destroyer transports at night (the "Tokyo Express").Faced with a war against Anglo-America and China that was already stretching Japan to its very logisitcal limits, precious cargo ships, destroyers, cruisers, battleships, sailors, airmen, and soldiers were lost for little rational purpose. One gets the sense this battle was largely fought the way it was by the Japanese for internal political reasons: neither the Army nor the Navy wanted to loose face to the other by calling for a pullback, yet neither wished to make a decisive commitment of resources to it. It became a fulminating ulcer upon their war effort. Hammel's narrative has visceral punch. The night battles come alive in the reader's mind, with the confusion and suprise of formations actually interpenetrating as they trade gunfire at point blank range. The visions of sailors who escaped sinking vessels only to choke on the copious amounts of fuel oil spilled upon the water or be keelhauled by the following friendly vessel in the battle line were very haunting.
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Summary: One of the best depictions of surface battle ever written
Review: Hammel does an absolutely amazing job of depicting the surface battles, better than any I've read anywhere before. Has a very intense, vivid writing style that makes the battle very clear to the reader. His descriptions of American destroyers pumping five-inch shell after five-inch shell into the crumbling bridgework of the battleship Hiei are really impressive stuff.
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Summary: One of the best depictions of surface battle ever written
Review: Hammel does an absolutely amazing job of depicting the surface battles, better than any I've read anywhere before. Has a very intense, vivid writing style that makes the battle very clear to the reader. His descriptions of American destroyers pumping five-inch shell after five-inch shell into the crumbling bridgework of the battleship Hiei are really impressive stuff.
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Summary: Important Book ABout an Important Battle
Review: November 13, 1942 was the turning point of the Pacific war, yet few historians have written extensively about it. Previous writers have merely described that combat as a general melee in which it is impossible to reconstruct the tracts of individual ships. That may be true due to the loss of records, logs, and witnesses, but Hammel has done a credible job of reconstructing plausible positions for the various ships as the battle progressed. Copyrighted in 1988, Hammel suggests in his Afterward that his reconstructions may be controversial. For example many writers agree that friendly fire from the US cruiser San Francisco hit the US cruiser Atlanta; Hammel is the first that I know of that says unequivocally that Atlanta was actually targeted. Other writers have said that Atlanta drifted into the line of fire. Interestingly enough, subsequent writers have reached the same conclusion as Hammel, or perhaps they have merely accepted Hammel's conclusion. Most of this book concerns itself with the battle of the night of Nov 13-14. There is also material on the battles of the next two nights that assured the result. Although this is an excellent book, I penalize it one star because it has only a single track-diagram of the first battle and there is no chronology. I especially miss the latter, because it appears that Hammel actually created a credible chronology yet did not share it. One hopes for a future release of that information. The book I read was from the library, but I will probably buy a copy for myself.
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Summary: Outstanding thorough account before & after the 2 battles
Review: The first 3 chapters are an outstanding expose on America's failure to adequately prepare for war. This is a HUGE lesson we MUST learn before it occurs again! Hammel has a remarkable writing style similar to a novelist, which grasps your attention. It is a page turner. Hammel conveys very well what it was like to be there. The battle text is sobering. The single aspect of this book that struck me was the discipline of the US Navy sailors to respond immediately to an order to fire or to abate. Also, notable is the tenacity of the Japaneses fleet, which did retire too soon from battle. They were a formidable foe! I have a tremendous respect for Imperial Japenese Navy in WW2.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding thorough account before & after the 2 battles
Review: The first 3 chapters are an outstanding expose on America's failure to adequately prepare for war. This is a HUGE lesson we MUST learn before it occurs again! Hammel has a remarkable writing style similar to a novelist, which grasps your attention. It is a page turner. Hammel conveys very well what it was like to be there. The battle text is sobering. The single aspect of this book that struck me was the discipline of the US Navy sailors to respond immediately to an order to fire or to abate. Also, notable is the tenacity of the Japaneses fleet, which did retire too soon from battle. They were a formidable foe! I have a tremendous respect for Imperial Japenese Navy in WW2.
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Summary: wrong book
Review: these reviews don't refer to the mentioned book " The carrier battles" , but to " Guadalcanal decision at sea" from the same writer Eric Hammel. Please check out.
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Summary: Habitual reading at its highest
Review: This is the first book that I have ever read by Eric Hammel. Originally I had checked it out from my local library, but it was so outstanding and difficult to put down, that I purchased this book just to have my own copy. I want to read this book again and again. In fact this book has led me to purchase the Guadalcanal triology authored by Mr. Hammel. All books are now in my possession and a reading adventure that I will enjoy for years to come. Mr. Hammel's writing style and the amount of detail he includes will keep you on the edge of your reading chair late into the night.
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Summary: Absolutely Superb Account of the Guadalcanal Sea Battle
Review: This is undoubtedly the best of the several books that have been written on the Naval Battle of Gaudalcanal. This gripping, fascinating page-turner is another masterful job by Eric Hammel. If I could only have one naval history book in my library, this would be it.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Superb Account of the Guadalcanal Sea Battle
Review: This is undoubtedly the best of the several books that have been written on the Naval Battle of Gaudalcanal. This gripping, fascinating page-turner is another masterful job by Eric Hammel. If I could only have one naval history book in my library, this would be it.
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