Bloody Ridge; The Battle That Saved Guadalcanal: A Memoir. . - Touch and Go - book review

Aerospace Power Journal, Spring, 2002

Bloody Ridge: The Battle That Saved Guadalcanal: A Memoir by Michael S. Smith. Presidio Press (http://www.presidiopress.com/catalog/new/BloodyRidge.htm), P.O. Box 1764, Novato, California 94948, 2000, 288 pages, $27.95 (hardcover).

In July 1942, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff decided to eject the Japanese from the Solomon Islands in an effort to turn the tide of Japanese expansion in the Pacific Ocean. The chosen target was Guadalcanal. Early on the morning of 7 August, Rear Adm Richmond K. Turner's Task Force 62, consisting of over 80 ships, executed Operation Watchtower. Maj Gen Alexander A. Vandegrift's First Marine Division took the Japanese garrison by surprise, overrunning Henderson Field, the island's landing strip. Outnumbered by at least three to one, the marines withstood a series of determined assaults on a ridge just one mile from the field. After battle reinforcements arrived, the process of slugging it out for the rest of the island began. Michael Smith's book is the tactical story of that battle, known as Bloody Ridge.

Bloody Ridge, which relies on many reports, letters, and previous books, is an adequate treatment of the subject but has several shortcomings. For one, there is very little discussion of Guadalcanal's strategic implications. Furthermore, the author's use of the word enemies in referring to US marines is awkward, especially for an American audience. The book lacks a bibliography and fails to substantiate such issues as the ignominious removal and discharge of Maj Charles A. Miller in the aftermath of the battle. Moreover, the author's use of the term Cactus Express rather than the established Tokyo Express as the nickname of the Japanese reinforcement effort is puzzling. Lastly, the book devotes more space to events preceding and following the battle than to the battle itself.

Although Bloody Ridge has flaws, it is a decent tactical study of the early days of the six-month-long Guadalcanal campaign. Readers looking for a muddy-boots version of the events will find Smith's book a good fit. Those looking for a more solidly written historical work may be disappointed.

Command Sgt Maj James H. Clifford, USA

Fort Gillem, Georgia