Hey guys!! I'm new here so I'm celebrating my 1st post along with asking a question . I was wondering if anyone has some details about the Solomon Islands Campaign. My WW2 book only has 2 paragraphs on it and they're about 4 sentences long . Thank you in advance for your assistance. ~eagleisflying~
Hi Eagleisflying, Firstly welcome to the forum you'll find us all a very friendly bunch and plenty of brains to pick. And now to your thread, I was just clearing out my garage today ready for the garage conversion and came across some old World War II magazine and having come across your thread thought of you, in this box there were: issue 62 The Struggle in the Pacific issue 63 Guadalcanal issue 64 Struggle for the Solomons I was only going to take them to the dump so your more than welcome to them. If you send me your address via email I will post them tomorrow. Regards Kieron
Wow! I have never been to a forum where the members were so kind to the new people. Thank you very much kieron hill - I could really use them. I PMed you my addy.
Eagleisflying, welcome aboard! Good sources on the Solomons also include "The Struggle for Guadalcanal" and "Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier," both by Samuel Eliot Morison. "Guadalcanal" by Richard Frank is outstanding, fairly definitive. "Guadalcanal: Starvation Island," "Guadalcanal: Decision At Sea," and "Guadalcanal: The Carrier Battles," by Eric Hammel are also excellent. "Lonely Vigil," by Walter Lord, will tell you everything you need to know about the Coastwatchers. "Munda Trail" and "The Glory of the Solomons" by Edwin Hoyt covers those battles. "PT 109," by Robert Donovan, is the best account of John F. Kennedy's ordeal in the Solomons. "Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Cdr. Tameichi Hara gives the Japanese view of the naval battles. "Get Yamamoto" by Burke Davis is a good source on the Yamamoto ambush. There is a newer book on it, though. The US Marines, US Army, and New Zealanders have all done official histories of the campaigns. The latter is now on a web page, the other two can be bought from the Corps, the Army, or on E-bay. The Army volumes are now on CD-Rom! "Touched by Fire" and "Fire in the Sky," by Eric Bergerud, are not to be missed. They are fantastic histories of the land fighting and air fighting in the Solomons, covering everything from rifle barrels to air tactics to terrain. They are "universal problem solvers" for the Solomons campaign. He is doing a book on the naval war. "How They Won the War in the Pacific," by Edwin Hoyt, is about the American naval leaders in the Pacific. "The Big E," by Cdr. Edward Stafford, is a history of USS Enterprise. For more books, check out my bibliography page at my web page, given in my address block. Kieron, if you're really taking those magazines to the dump, I'd be interested in them myself.
Matilda Tanks of the Austrailian 2nd/4th Armoured Regiment in the Solomon Islands 24-04-45 Privateletters.net
The Solomon Islands campaign was fought in the area previously called the British Solomon Island, now the Solomon Islands. Bougainville was part of the Australian Mandated Territory and therefore not part of the Solomon’s although called the North Solomon Campaign Australians took over the US bases on Bougainville in 1945 and fought there until the war’s end. The US forces had a largely “live and let live’ policy and when the Australians took over they re-commenced offensive action. These actions were often called the Forgotten Campaigns (including Borneo and Nth New Guinea) as the US re-directed their attention further north. Two VC’s were awarded on Bougainville to Australian soldiers: Cpl Reginald RATTEY 25th Batt, 3rd Div at Tokinotu on 22/03/1945 Pte Frank PARTRIDGE 8th Batt, II Australian Corp at Bonis Peninsula on 24/04/1945 Allied POW’s constructed the Japanese airstrip on Ballale Island in the Shortland Is (Solomon Islands) and the survivors were executed after completion in 1943. Ballale is still the airstrip for the Shortland’s and still in operation, a number of wrecked Japanese planes are on the edge of the airstrip. Japanese soldiers were held at Fauro Island in the Solomon Islands awaiting repatriation back to Japan and administered by Australian troops. Spider
Details of graves on Ballale quoted from the Pacific War Data Base. [FONT="]POW LABOUR[/FONT] A contingent of 517 British Royal Artillery Regiment POWs that surrendered in Singapore in February 1942. The contingent was selected from prisoners at Changi POW Camp and shipped to Rabaul where some remained on Watom Island. The remaining 517 were shipped to Ballale where they laboured for the Japanese, without medicine or air raid shelters. Many died from harsh treatment and allied bombing raids. The remainder were all killed around March 1943 when the Japanese feared an Allied landing in the area. In addition, Chinese and Solomon Island labourers were employed to work on the island. The island was bypassed by the Allies. After the war, the Australian Army 7th Infantry Battalion, including Lt. General V. A. H. Sturdee (1st Army) and Brigadier A. W. Potts (23 Infantry Brigade) toured the island on November 10, 1945. Australians immediately located the grave of 57 POWs buried in shallow trenches. An atrocities commission was carried out on the island, that led to the discovery of a mass grave of 436 bodies were exhumed with artefacts identifying them as British artillerymen. The remains were re-interred in individual graves at Bomama War Cemetery near Port Moresby. The remainder of the 517 British POWs have never been found. Visited the area when I was posted in the Solomon Islands. Spider
As a post script some of the Ballale men were from 35LAA Rgt 144Bty Royal Artillery. Bit off topic, however an interesting story to share. Spider
Japanese troops working at Kariki, Fauro Is in the Shortlands where they were detained by the Australians after hostilities. (They look pretty healthy) The majority of the Japanese troops were from the Bougainville. The camp was garrisoned by Australians from 2 Corp. I was there on an operation in 2005 and there are still remains of the vehicles and camp there. Spider
Australian War Memorial - Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 1 – Army - Volume VII The Australian official history of their forces' operations in the Solomons. Cheers BW
Some great information is to be found on the AWM website and it just keeps on coming. Well done to all those that contribute and make it happen.
Alone on Guadalcanal" by Martin Clements. who was the Coastwatcher on the island and the man who told the Americans about the airfield
