New Book on Air Campaign Against Rabaul
Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 9:50 pm
Fortress Rabaul: The Battle for the Southwest Pacific, January 1942-April 1943
Bruce Gamble
Zenith Press May 2010
"For most of World War II, the mention of Japan's island stronghold sent shudders through thousands of Allied airmen. Some called it "Fortress Rabaul," an apt name for the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese forces in the Southwest Pacific. Author Bruce Gamble chronicles Rabaul's crucial role in Japanese operations in the Southwest Pacific. Millions of square feet of housing and storage facilities supported a hundred thousand soldiers and naval personnel. Simpson Harbor and the airfields were the focus of hundreds of missions by American air forces. Fortress Rabaul details a critical and, until now, little understood chapter in the history of World War II.
Format: Hardbound
Pages: 448
Length: 6 x 9
ISBN-13: 9780760323502
Price: $28.00
http://www.zenithpress.com/Store/Produc ... ctID=43320
Bruce Gamble, a retired Naval Flight Officer and former historian with the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, is the author of two critically acclaimed nonfiction books about the Pacific War: Black Sheep One and The Black Sheep Squadron. He lives in Lynn Haven, Florida.
http://brucegamble.com/Fortress_Rabaul.html
“Continuing his theme of Rabaul opened in Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul, Bruce Gamble now continues the saga, moving forward with the Japanese occupation in January 1942 to the almost immediate start of the Allied counter air-offensives against Rabaul. Gamble sets the stage magnificently, with a compelling description of the geography, volcanic origin and cultural setting and development level of Rabaul at the time of the Japanese occupation. After an excellent description of the too little, too late attempts to prepare for the Japanese invasion and the futile attempts to repel the powerful Japanese carrier strikes, the focus shifts to the Japanese construction at Rabaul that will make it the famous fortress port of the Solomons campaign. The human drama, Allied and Japanese, is enriched by skillfully placed anecdotes, like a botched demolition of an ammo dump by the Allied garrison to Japanese carrier aircraft having embarrassing results in bombing runs, to behind-the-scenes bickering of officers and staffs. The narrative reads with all the vigor and imagery of a novel, while incorporating copious facts and detail…Not only does Fortress Rabaul fill an important gap in the coverage of the Southwest section of the Pacific War, it makes fine and engaging reading.”
—Anthony Tully, coauthor of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Bruce Gamble
Zenith Press May 2010
"For most of World War II, the mention of Japan's island stronghold sent shudders through thousands of Allied airmen. Some called it "Fortress Rabaul," an apt name for the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese forces in the Southwest Pacific. Author Bruce Gamble chronicles Rabaul's crucial role in Japanese operations in the Southwest Pacific. Millions of square feet of housing and storage facilities supported a hundred thousand soldiers and naval personnel. Simpson Harbor and the airfields were the focus of hundreds of missions by American air forces. Fortress Rabaul details a critical and, until now, little understood chapter in the history of World War II.
Format: Hardbound
Pages: 448
Length: 6 x 9
ISBN-13: 9780760323502
Price: $28.00
http://www.zenithpress.com/Store/Produc ... ctID=43320
Bruce Gamble, a retired Naval Flight Officer and former historian with the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, is the author of two critically acclaimed nonfiction books about the Pacific War: Black Sheep One and The Black Sheep Squadron. He lives in Lynn Haven, Florida.
http://brucegamble.com/Fortress_Rabaul.html
“Continuing his theme of Rabaul opened in Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul, Bruce Gamble now continues the saga, moving forward with the Japanese occupation in January 1942 to the almost immediate start of the Allied counter air-offensives against Rabaul. Gamble sets the stage magnificently, with a compelling description of the geography, volcanic origin and cultural setting and development level of Rabaul at the time of the Japanese occupation. After an excellent description of the too little, too late attempts to prepare for the Japanese invasion and the futile attempts to repel the powerful Japanese carrier strikes, the focus shifts to the Japanese construction at Rabaul that will make it the famous fortress port of the Solomons campaign. The human drama, Allied and Japanese, is enriched by skillfully placed anecdotes, like a botched demolition of an ammo dump by the Allied garrison to Japanese carrier aircraft having embarrassing results in bombing runs, to behind-the-scenes bickering of officers and staffs. The narrative reads with all the vigor and imagery of a novel, while incorporating copious facts and detail…Not only does Fortress Rabaul fill an important gap in the coverage of the Southwest section of the Pacific War, it makes fine and engaging reading.”
—Anthony Tully, coauthor of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway