Bloody Ridge: The Battle That Saved Guadalcanal by Michael S. Smith ISBN 9780743463218, 0743463218 instant download

Bloody Ridge: The Battle That Saved Guadalcanal by Michael S. Smith ISBN 9780743463218, 0743463218 instant download

September 1942: American forces landed on the island of Guadalcanal, engaging the entrenched Japanese in what would be remembered as some of the worst fighting of World War II. The key to victory lay in controlling the ridge overlooking Henderson Field, a vital airfield and the prize of the Guadalcanal campaign. This was the site of a savage, three-day clash that would test the mettle of both sides. Launching a series of vicious attacks on successive nights, a vastly superior force of battle-hardened Japanese somehow lost to a mongrel battalion of Col. "Red Mike" Edson's malnourished, sickly Marines in what became known as the Battle of Bloody Ridge. The surprising victory marked the first significant Japanese defeat in the war, saved the airfield, and gave the small, under-supplied American force time to receive supplies and reinforcements. This is the true story of that harrowing battle, when the fate of the war in the Pacific would rest with those who were tough enough to take Bloody Ridge. INCLUDES BATTLE MAPS AND HISTORICAL PHOTOS
Review
Veterans Voice One of the turning points of the Second World War is ably described. -- Review
About the Author
Michael S. Smith is an active duty naval officer and a life-long student of the Guadalcanal campaign. A communications expert, Smith has served in the U.S. Navy for more than twenty years and is currently stationed in Washington State, where he lives with his wife and four sons. Bloody Ridge is his first book.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter One: Marooned on Cactus
"We Are All Well and Happy"
A warm rain fell intermittently on Guadalcanal Island throughout the night of 8 August 1942. Restful sleep came to few Americans of the newly landed 1st Marine Division amidst the naval gunfire, mosquitoes, and moisture of the night. Soon after daybreak on the 9th, key officers of the division began to assemble at the division command post nestled along the shore near Block Four Riv