Thomas F. (hardtack) -
There aren't many books which cover the war in New Guinea during World War II. This book corrects that problem. New Guinea was an horrendous campaign for both sides, but especially for the Japanese.
This was due to the conditions they had to endure. For example, malaria was rife, as were many other jungle diseases, with some Australian units having 5,000 cases per year for every 1,000 men. This sounds impossible until you realize these are recurring cases.
In fact, it was said early in the campaign, for every division MacArthur had fighting, he had one in the hospital and one recovering from malaria. It wasn't until medical entomologists got MacArthur's ear, and he then threatened to relive his commanders if they didn't follow insect control procedures that the situation changed. I know this based on my own research as an entomologist, plus my friendship with a medical entomologist who served in this campaign. The author states that in at least one landing, planes sprayed DDT on the swamps even before the troops landed. The Japanese didn't follow insect control procedures and lost more men to diseases than combat.
The author did a great job describing the campaign in all its aspects. I really enjoyed this book, except for one problem....the maps included were practically worthless. The print was small and many of the places named in the text were not shown on the maps. It's why I didn't give it 5 stars.
Some other comments about the book...
In one case, the author quotes MacArthur praising the Australian soldier. But at the end of the campaign, he made sure they were not to be part of the liberation of the Philippines. After New Guinea, Australian troops were kept in the rear, fighting Japanese forces which had been bypassed. There was no need for this and MacArthur, wanting all the glory of liberating the Philippines for himself, wasted these troops. And I have to admit I'm biased, as one of my uncles served in the 9th Australian Infantry Division, one of the units which held isolated Tobruk against Rommel's Africa Corps.
The author relates how MacArthur relieved his air force commander, Brigadier General Bret, due to his poor performance. A better reason might be because---on December 8, 1941---Brett tried twice to get MacArthur to allow him to bomb Japanese air forces on Taiwan which were fogged in. For reasons historians would still like to know, MacArthur wouldn't even discuss this with Brett. A golden opportunity was lost, as this might have changed the entire course of the war in the Pacific. The next day MacArthur's air force was caught on the ground and mostly destroyed, which guaranteed the loss of the Philippines. Brett was probably relieved so he would be disgraced and no one would listen to him about MacArthur's unbelievable blunder. Some historians believe this was deliberate on MacArthur's part for reasons I won't mention here, as this is not part of my review of the book.
Still, Brett was replaced by Major General George Kenney who did a magnificent job as the 5th Air Force commander. My own father served under Kenney and idolized him.
I need to explain something in the book which sounds like an error. On one landing, like all the others, The 5th Air Force really bombed the invasion site. The author states that in addition to the bombs, the planes used half-a-million machine shells. This sounds almost impossible. But the book "Indestructible," by John Bruning, is about Paul Gunn, who served as Kenney's troubleshooter. All you need to know here is that Gunn took the navigator out of the nose of Kenney's B-25s and replaced that man with multiple .50 caliber machine guns. As a result, the B-25s became extremely efficient strafing machines. When a B-25 strafed a Japanese ship, most on the antiaircraft gunners on that ship were killed or wounded.
This was due to the conditions they had to endure. For example, malaria was rife, as were many other jungle diseases, with some Australian units having 5,000 cases per year for every 1,000 men. This sounds impossible until you realize these are recurring cases.
In fact, it was said early in the campaign, for every division MacArthur had fighting, he had one in the hospital and one recovering from malaria. It wasn't until medical entomologists got MacArthur's ear, and he then threatened to relive his commanders if they didn't follow insect control procedures that the situation changed. I know this based on my own research as an entomologist, plus my friendship with a medical entomologist who served in this campaign. The author states that in at least one landing, planes sprayed DDT on the swamps even before the troops landed. The Japanese didn't follow insect control procedures and lost more men to diseases than combat.
The author did a great job describing the campaign in all its aspects. I really enjoyed this book, except for one problem....the maps included were practically worthless. The print was small and many of the places named in the text were not shown on the maps. It's why I didn't give it 5 stars.
Some other comments about the book...
In one case, the author quotes MacArthur praising the Australian soldier. But at the end of the campaign, he made sure they were not to be part of the liberation of the Philippines. After New Guinea, Australian troops were kept in the rear, fighting Japanese forces which had been bypassed. There was no need for this and MacArthur, wanting all the glory of liberating the Philippines for himself, wasted these troops. And I have to admit I'm biased, as one of my uncles served in the 9th Australian Infantry Division, one of the units which held isolated Tobruk against Rommel's Africa Corps.
The author relates how MacArthur relieved his air force commander, Brigadier General Bret, due to his poor performance. A better reason might be because---on December 8, 1941---Brett tried twice to get MacArthur to allow him to bomb Japanese air forces on Taiwan which were fogged in. For reasons historians would still like to know, MacArthur wouldn't even discuss this with Brett. A golden opportunity was lost, as this might have changed the entire course of the war in the Pacific. The next day MacArthur's air force was caught on the ground and mostly destroyed, which guaranteed the loss of the Philippines. Brett was probably relieved so he would be disgraced and no one would listen to him about MacArthur's unbelievable blunder. Some historians believe this was deliberate on MacArthur's part for reasons I won't mention here, as this is not part of my review of the book.
Still, Brett was replaced by Major General George Kenney who did a magnificent job as the 5th Air Force commander. My own father served under Kenney and idolized him.
I need to explain something in the book which sounds like an error. On one landing, like all the others, The 5th Air Force really bombed the invasion site. The author states that in addition to the bombs, the planes used half-a-million machine shells. This sounds almost impossible. But the book "Indestructible," by John Bruning, is about Paul Gunn, who served as Kenney's troubleshooter. All you need to know here is that Gunn took the navigator out of the nose of Kenney's B-25s and replaced that man with multiple .50 caliber machine guns. As a result, the B-25s became extremely efficient strafing machines. When a B-25 strafed a Japanese ship, most on the antiaircraft gunners on that ship were killed or wounded.
