Overview

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 Rabauls 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. Winner of the Gold Medal (Military Writers Society of America) and Editor's Choice Award (Stone & Stone Second World War Books), Fortress Rabaul details a critical and, until now, little understood chapter in the history of World War II.

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9780760323502

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Reviews

<p>Col. Walter Boyne, USAF (Ret.), author of Clash of Wings <br> This tour de force by Bruce Gamble is an absolute must for anyone interested in the true story of one of World War II's most interesting--and most overlooked--battles. The author rivals Stephen Ambrose with his detailed personal accounts of not only victory and defeat, but also of the more routine events that entail quiet pride or--sometimes--suppressed embarrassment. <p> <p>Eric Hammel, author of Islands of Hell: The U.S. Marines in the Western Pacific <br> Not for the first time, Bruce Gamble has done amazing work gathering a dazzling array of tiny, little facts, then arranging them in a big, dazzling story that amazes one's inner historian even as it breaks one's heart on its way to a triumphal conclusion. <br><br>

<p>Anthony Tully, coauthor of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway <p> 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.

Author Information

Normal0MicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } Bruce Gamble is a retired naval flight officer and former historian with the Naval Aviation Museum foundation. He is the author of three previous books about the Pacific war: The Black Sheep, a complete combat history of Marine Fighting Squadron 214; Black Sheep One, a definitive biography of Greg Pappy Boyington; and Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul, a detailed account of the Japanese invasion of New Britain. He lives in northwest Florida.

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