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History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. 6: Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier, 22 July 1942-1 May 1944
History of United States Naval Operations in World War II Vol 6 Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier 22 July 1942-1 May 1944 Author:Samuel Eliot Morison With this volume, Morison tracks the Allies' entrance into the offensive phase of the Pacific war. Having gained crucial victories at Midway and Guadalcanal, Allied forces committed substantially increased resources to breaking the Bismarcks barrier, a formidable net of Japanese air and naval bases stretching from the central Solomons to New Gui... more »nea, with the bastion of Rabual as linchpin. Morison traces the gradual turning of the conflict from the advantage of the overconfident Japanese to that of the dogged, undersupplied Allies, an international contingent of Australian, Dutch, and American forces. The narrative takes in land and air sorties as well as naval operations, covering the pivotal Papuan campaign of 1942-43, the Huan Gulf and Bougainville campaigns, and the spectacular conflicts that culminated in the Allies' taking of Rabual. Morison's genius for capturing the flash and fire, the suspense, and the pathos of combat infuses his history with an immense vitality, an almost swashbuckling brio. This is not an official history in the ordinary sense of that term, but "Morison's history," a gripping, face-to-face encounter with the human drama of war.« less