Richard B. Frank delivers the keynote address at The National WWII Museum's 2011 International Conference on WWII in New Orleans. www.ww2conference.com
An Australian here - their was absolutely no bad feelings towards the USA over the sinking of the Canberra over here. This happened soon after the battle of the Coral Sea where the US Navy saved Australia's bacon from the Japanese, and for us, that's the main point in time where Australia became one of the USA's firmest friends given the enormous sacrifices the USA made in that battle.
Sorry ignorant American here. What did we have to do with the sinking of the Canberra? I understand it was sunk at one of the first battle of Guadalcanal, but what did we have to do with that?
@@donaldgrant9067 I assume it would be due to the night battle learning curve for the Allies. Honestly, it would be unfair to place the blame of her loss solely in the hands of the USN, considering that the Royal Australian Navy despite my encouragement of Aussie things, like British/Australian English, it wasn't that much better. Especially since the Japanese were well trained and equipped for night fights- the destroyer force making themselves known as a threat throughout Guadalcanal to Horaniu.
@@n00btotale But what did we have to do with the Canberra sinking. The Japanese snuck up on all of us that night. We hadn't learned how to use radar to hit the enemy yet, so I want to know how the Canberra was America's fault. Did we hit it with friendly fire?
@@donaldgrant9067 That's exactly why I say it is unfair to place the blame of her loss upon the USN, considering that the Royal Australian Navy despite my "encouragement of Aussie things" like British/Australian English, wasn't that much better.
My father in law fought there between September’42 until February’43. He was with the 8th Marines, 2nd Battalion. No one will ever begin to understand just how bad the conditions were on that island! Semper Fidelis!
@@Zerox_Prime I have no mercy or sorrow for them. They were a ruthless, non compassionate vermin, who tortured, and dismembered our military personnel. They choose to attack us without warning, slaughtered innocent Chinese citizens, so as I see it they got what they deserved! 🇺🇸
Rich Frank is "The Man" when it comes to the Asia-Pacific War. His book on Guadalcanal is the definitive work on this campaign. He is also a great speaker.
When I first went to Guadalcanal (in 1975) there were small stakes placed here and there (throughout Honiara) identifying the various battles and the US units involved. The Henderson airfield still had the war time observation tower, which at that time could still be climbed.
My Father was among the first Marines to fight the battle at Guadalcanal. He never talked about his service until the end of his life when he mentioned how warm the water was as he jumped off the landing vehicle, never talked about the fighting.
As a young guy I worked with a Marine veteran of Guadalcanal. He said no movies showed how bad it really was. When they were attempting to take the airfield he said they were taking cover in a slit trench along one side of the airfield. Japanese troops and artillery were on the other side of the airfield. The Marines were to move across the airfield with covering fire. When he boosted his friend out the trench a Japanese artillery or mortar shell landed just outside the trench. He said he was left just holding his friend's boot.
Mr. Frank is among the few who has done the research to present the matter factually and completely and is also a writer of such skill as to make reading his prose truly enjoyable. Disregarding writers dealing with wider issues, some have delt with specifics with such expertise that if you chose to comment on the issue and have not read those books, you really are not qualified to do so. Frank's "Guadalcanal" and "Downfall" qualify, as do Parshall/Tulley's "Shattered Sword" and Tooze's "Wages of Destruction".
Am reading it now and having a hard time putting it down ( even though I have read countless other books on the subject. It appears very well put together.
His book DOWNFALL, on the planning and preparations for the invasion of Japan, is also excellent - probably the best insight into Japanese decision-making in the final months of the war, at least in English.
As a side note to the campaign anybody curious about how Mikawa managed to come all the way down the slot from Rabaul, sneak between pickets into Savo Sound at night and capitalize on some incredible failures of competence in communication at every level, to hand us a tactical beating that unknowingly passed the opportunity to turn the Guadalcanal campaign to a stillborn disaster, you might want to check out a pretty concise RUclips account of:: The Battle of Savo Island by Montemayor. If he didn't set the standard in the animations style of presentations of Pacific Naval Battles then he certainly exploits the format well for an informative watchable piece for this sub-battle of surface fleets. But if you can't bear seeing us on a really bad night you might want to pass this one for more edifying fare.
Great lecture. Did you notice, in the film that he showed at the end of his talk, there were those grimy boys with "the stare"...straight out of the bush. And then there were those who were supposed to be pulling out, on landing craft after extended action on Guadalcanal. They had clean uniforms, bedrolls, sun helmets, and all had Springfield '03 rifles. Looked like earlier stock footage of an exercise.
In my opinion Guadalcanal was a great test of strength. If we could take it it was the beginning of there end. As we took one island after another leading up to Okinawa Took I believe about 6 months to take it. God bless the marine Corp they slugged it out toe to toe with the Japanese our marine Corp is the finest in the world. They got every dirty job and were victorious
as1313 wrote: ".... Okinawa took I believe about 6 months to take it .... the Marine Corp[s] .... slugged it out toe to toe with the Japanese." ...... Okinawa began on April Fool's day in 1945. It was a joint Army/Marine operation, and it took 81 days to secure the island; just under three months.
Our company had a Doctor, Charles Crandall, who worked as the company physician. Dr. Crandall was a frogman at Guadalcanal who had done some early reconointering. Very nice guy, I had lunch with him often and he was also a student of US naval history. When I was introduced to him, he asked about my name sake, who was a Captain in the French Indian war. He was the only person I met who actually knew this ancester of mine. He passed in 2017, and I regret not asking him more in detail about his Guadalcanal experiences. As a doctor he talked in a booming voice like a marine seargent. One time I was taking the annual company physical, they left me half naked in the examination room for about half an hour. When I finally peeked out he was arguing with the nurse, the nurse was trying to get him to read me the riot act, and make some lifestyle changes. He looked up toward me and said in a big booming voice "I can't tell him to lose weight - he's the healthiest fat guy I ever saw, hell from behind he doesn't even look fat".
Richard Frank is the best with his Pacific War collaborative lectures. I totally agree about defective Mk series of American torpedoes hitting Canberra. Learning War.
His book is THE book on Guadalcanal. He had the fortune to write after the criminally delayed declassification of so much held quiet for so long to protect the stupid and careless
The 'conventional wisdom" is that the US defeated Japan due to its overwhelming industrial strength. Essentially it buried the Japan with an overwhelming number of planes and ships. Left unsaid is that the first year and a half of the war in the Pacific, including through the end of the Solomons' campaign, was fought with what was on the shelf as of Pearl Harbor. During this year and a half or so, the US Navy was generally outnumbered in all classes of ships by the IJN which had superior technology/equipment (examples: the Long Lance torpedo, the Zero), tactics, and unit cohesion. At the end of the Guadalcanal campaign the US Navy had essentially run out of carriers and heavy cruisers in the Pacific and actually had to borrow a carrier (HMS Victorious) from the royal Navy. It wasn't until late 1943 that the "fruits" of American industry began to appear in significant numbers in the Pacific. Yet during this period, the US Navy was able to stop the Japanese advance at Midway and seize the offensive from the Japanese despite inferior numbers and equipment. The US victory was due to superior intelligence, a unified and coordinated command structure and the American's forces superior initiative in actual combat.
Yes, this is basically true, and it is a testament to the prowess and brains of USN and USMC leadership in those first 18 months of the war. We could note three notable if not overwhelming advantages, too: 1) US radar (and complete IJN lack thereof), which played a significant role in more than one naval battle (not just Lee's); 2) superior logistics; and 3) a vastly better organized training program for pilots, which was already making itself felt in the war even at that point. I'm *tempted* to add better damage control, though this improved so vastly for the USN that it's really better to mention for the final two years of the war.
P.S. Having said all that, these advantages only qualify your observation at the margins. For that first year, especially, the US effort in the Pacific was an exercise in "making do" in difficult to extreme circumstances. It was also a tremendous learning experience - in tactics, in planning, and in figuring which officers were making the cut and which were not.
After watching this stuff l'm sure glad l wasn't called up for the Falklands, ok l was in the TA(aka national guard) l prefer watching war on TV,the partaking in such malarkey has no romance for me,l got a BSc,don't need yer medals,l prefer to retain my limbs... Pepperdog181@gmail.com
@@davidmaccormack7067 I understand your perspective. IMHO Americans enlisted in droves to fight Japan. That's who we declared war, not Germany. America was ridiculed by its allies, Britain and France. Their Prime Ministers belittled our President who presented his 14 point peace plan at Versailles. Instead, Europe got their punitive treaty which insured a Second World War. We wanted nothing to do with it, but that idiot, Hitler, declared war against us. At the time, Ameri a ranked somewhere between 11th and 17th in military power... behind Finland. So, Americans were thrown into the Nazi War to save the bacon of its false friends. What our servicemen showed was a willingness to fight and die for one another. That likely was why soldiers of other countries fought. Had you been in the Falklands, my guess is you would have been willing to sacrifice yourself for your comrades in arms.
Corresponded some years ago with Mackenzie Gregory, a deck officer (Lieutenant) on Canberra at the time of her sinking. As I recall, he believed she was struck by a U.S. torpedo from the disengaged side, though ultimately I do not believe he took this misfortune as anything other than the result of a very confused (on the allied side) night action. Further, whether or not Canberra was struck by a friendly torp, she was caught blind like the rest, and quickly pounded out of action by cruiser gunfire.
@45:48 - 1945 - My dad found himself on an aircraft carrier in the Philippines somewhere. He seldom ever talked of it. He told me this story when I was 10 or 11 and I wasn't smart enough to ask questions like 'what was the name of his ship?'...but he did tell me 2 stories. He was in charge of radar on aircraft. A young officer told him to take all the radar out of the airplanes. Again, I don't know which airplanes. My dad responded, "Aye-aye, sir." But, he wasn't about to take the radar out of those airplanes. If you get an order in the service that you think is B.S., my father's advice was to say, "Yes, Sir." and then not do it. The next day, that same officer came up to my dad, and that officer had come on the double. "Did you take the radar out of the airplanes?" The young officer was relieved that my dad hadn't 86ed the radars. This was a good lesson for me that came in handy when I was in the army, but that's another story. The 2nd story was about cards games on the ship. He told me that on the carrier, white guys played Cribbage, and black guys played Conquain (Cooncan). Sometimes he oversimplified. He taught me both games. Again, I was about 10 years old, and I knew that my dad was a racist. Hey, that was not rare for his generation. So, I doubted his story about Cooncan. Years later, I looked up Cooncan in Hoyle's, and it turned out that it was a black American game played in the Southern U.S.. And so, 35 years after my dad taught me Cooncan, I walked into a break room at Lockheed Missiles and Space Ships, and I saw two black guys playing Cooncan. "Is that Cooncan?" I asked. The older gentleman, with his weathered, bloodshot eyeballs looked up to me and asked with a smile, "Do you play Cooncan?" I answered "Yes". He was looking at me, eager to take my money. I'd have played him, but it wasn't in the cards, so to speak.
There is no significant grudge held by Australians re loss of the Canberra. Most of the crew survived. HMAS Sydney was sunk by a disguised German merchant raider with all hands lost. Some suspicion that survivors may have been shot. The HMAS Perth and USS Huston sunk in the battle of the Java Sea. HMAS Australia continued operations in support of the US Pacific fleet. Was damaged by kamikaze attacks late in the war. The Guadal canal operation led to the Japanese offensive over the Kokoda Trail stopped as resources were needed for the Guadalcanal campaign. Australian and US forces worked closely in the New Guinea campaign. Including Buna and Gona which saw terrible conditions.
The dead Admirals mission was to disrupt the IJN surface task force. The disparity of firepower made it a suicide mission. By driving the American ships into the middle of the Japanese ships the Americans completely disrupted the IJN task force.
Thanks, Fuzzy. I was just going to suggest to our friend, Mr. Sanchez, to read the book. The book makes this battle history very memorable. It’s simply a good book.
@JAG My Brother-In-Law (Toughest SOB I even knew) was there...and Saipan...Okinawa. I bought a Subaru once. Not only could i not park it in his driveway, I had to park it out of his sight. He never forgave Japan, to his dying day.
While it's true that the Marines may get into a "disagreement" with sailors or Army personnel from time to time, that generally is not the case when it comes to Marine aptitudes toward Seabees. We appreciate the hard work done by the Seabees and realize that without their contributions life in a combat zone would be a LOT harder. In WWII, because a lot of Seabees were recruited from experienced craftsmen, they tended to be older than most young Marines, so there was a saying; "Be nice to a Seabee, he might be your father."
The key to victory in the Guadalcanal campaign was that the marines captured massive stores of Japanese rations intact at the airfield construction site on the first day they landed. The beer and canned seafood was just what the doctor ordered.
USN was totally unprepared for night surface action whereas the IJN were experts. IJN perfected the use of destroyer and cruiser torpedo attacks. US Naval intelligence completely failed to account for the IJN Long Lance torpedo which outclassed all other such weapons. IJN torpedos worked and USN torpedos almost never did.
@@dustypendleton6694 The USN torpedo problem was quite the scandal with USN ordnance bureaucracy threatening courts marshall to anyone in the fleet testing or tampering with the devices. Turns out the Torpedo Station was not testing the devices with live or full weight warheads. Testing of the magnetic fuses did not take into account the difference in earth magnetic field near the equator. Depth and heading settings were not accurate. Less than half the 1941-1942 torpedos either did not ignite, run at the correct depth. some ran in circles and became a danger to the sub. 1943 Admiral Nimitz against orders from Washington tested torpedoes by drops from a crane. They did live testing on an island cliff. They found the firing pin was weak and would crush before igniting the warhead. Some subs had success by aiming for a hit at other than 90 degree angle. They disabled the magnetic fuse and corrected the problems in depth and heading settings. After that, the devices were pretty reliable. www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/02/08/fire_one_fire_ten_implications_of_the_torpedo_scandal_of_world_war_ii_113037.html
The resistance that Naval Ordnance did to prevent the correction of our poorly engineered torpedoes resulted in losses of many subs and crews. There should have been courts martial and executions for that incompetence. People died.
Hard now to think of the US as the underdog. That is one thing I find so interesting about the Pacific War. The US was undermanned, under trained, and mostly poorly equipped. I'm sure the fighting spirit shown in those early encounters surprised the Japanese. The Japanese counted on having a superior fighting spirit, that was big for them. Strategic. Their goal was just to get the US to want to quit fighting and negotiate terms. Not for the US to surrender but because the US got sick of fighting, that they would want to stop and let the Japanese keep their conquests. Huge strategic mistake.
You hear complaints that the USMC was 'abandoned' by the USN on Guadalcanal. I think the 1769 land fatalities vs 4911 naval fatalities categorically demonstrates this was not true.
I don't think that there is anything about the war in the Pacific Richard Franks doesn't know about. Ask him anything and he can talk about it for several minutes. Impressive!
John Wayne was worth a great deal to the propaganda morale of the country at a time when we really needed a morale boost he made many war pictures that helped a great deal. After Pearl Harbor disaster.
IceWater Slim Agreed. The meat grinder of Guadalcanal and the battle of attrition in the sky is what doomed Japan. The Battle Guadalcanal and not the Battle of Midway is where Japan lost the war.
@Jonny B Correct. The USN could have list Midway and It's three carriers there, but by mid 1943, all of its losses were replaced with more advanced, superior warships, planes, and technology. We had 15 new Lexington Class flat tops, many more light carriers, and jeep carriets. Japan's crushing defeat was inevitable.
Charles Burnham Chris is right, in this stage of the war the production disparity wasn’t as pronounced as it would be in 43-45. The regional forces were close to parity at the beginning and so this campaign was essentially the last even fight the IJN was going to get. The relative parity and the length of the campaign really make this the most interesting campaign and these the most interesting battles of the war.
To think I had nothing better to do that rework an old post: The American soldiers had what it takes but the American Staff Officers took what; almost everything but fortunately not all that it had. But I would have to listen to the whole video again to get the meaning meant.
Japan at pearl harbor made three critical mistakes, they missed the carriers, they ignored the sub pens, which were full of new front line subs and didn,t destroy fuel stores! Yamamoto knew the first two years would go well if pearl was a success but after that America would overwhelm them.
Mikawa withdrew from no relevant resistance and a plethora of targets with loads of his ordinance left onboard, just like the six carriers at Pearl Harbor, they deserted their targets of opportunity many untouched after achieving complete suprise.
The Solomon's Campaign proved that the Japanese could be defeated in the air, on the land, and at sea at the same time. The US could fight, survive, defeat, and overcome our bogeyman before the first anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
Puller led the 1st Battalion, Shoup the 3rd, and my father Robert Bowen the 2nd. Puller was a Lieutenant Colonel. The other two were Majors. Puller got most of the combat action and ended up as a Major General fired by Truman in 1953. I saw him briefly at Camp Pendleton after his return from Korea. Guadalcanal was decisive because for the first time the Japanese Army suffered humiliating defeat. A great boost to American morale. They lost every battle thereafter. Marines mowed them down during their Banzai charges against withering machine gun and rifle fire.
CHRISTOPHER BOWEN My dad, Master Sergeant Charles H Hull jr. was there was with First Div. also. He was then at Pelilu. He missed Okinawa due to hospitalization or probably wouldn't be here.
It is an eternal debate as to when was the turning point...meaning when was Japan's defeat inevitable? One could argue that the raid on Pearl was the turning point, since it was a strategic failure. The fuel depot and dry docks were untouched. That allowed America to recover quickly. For me, the bigger error was not occupying Hawaii, like they occupied Philippines, Wake, and Guam. If Japan had occupied Hawaii, the US Navy would have knocked all the way back to San Francisco and San Diego. Our subs would not have been able to inflict the damage that was so critical in defeating Japan. I wonder how many years it would added to the war? One year? Two years?? What would it have meant to Australia??
I would have loved to see the "string of lies" the guy before him supposedly told. At first that seemed lighthearted but I'm not so sure it was meant that way. EDIT: It's extremely strange that his reasoning for being "agnostic" about the Canberra is a joke. If he didn't believe it, he'd have said so, but if he does believe it why wouldn't he just say he does? A patriotic historian is fine, but it shouldn't get in the way of critical thinking. Friendly fire happens in war, it is reality, and at night it's bound to happen.
Someday we'll hear an American historian pronounce foreign names correctly.
7 лет назад+5
Charles Burnham Someday foreign combatants will pronounce American English properly. As well as decode Navajo? Dunno, I speak several languages and I understood him. Though his cadence was very choppy, as expected.
Why the fuck does it matter if "foreign combatants" pronounce "American English" correctly? They're not historians, this guy is an historian. Your come-back is fucking weak.
I am an historian. Sorry but I got my History PhD and not a CHinese, French, English, Rumenian, Russian etc etc phD. If you want 100% correct pronunciation go ask a LINGUIST, not an historian. You are a self centered person, you assume only americans mispronounce names from overseas, meanwhile EVERYONE does it, you just dont understand it because you don't know their languages. PS aand its always YOU french and German self centered kids whining about pronunciations, meanwhile YOUR pronunciations of other languages are as bad as Ameicans' pronunciation of French names. This is why everyone hates you.
The lecturer's inability to properly pronounce "Guadalcanal," ("Guada-canal)") added to the spelling error on one of the first handful of slides, (Operation "Pestilance" should be "Pestilence") ended this video for me. Too bad. The comments didn't help. My take on the Guadalcanal campaign: ultimately, about 25,000 Japanese troops fought on the island. About 10,000 were evacuated in February, 1943. Of the 15,000 left behind, all dead, 5,000 were combat deaths. 10,000 STARVED to death, or died of starvation-related disease. (Source, The Taste Of War, Lizzie Collingham, Penguin Books.) With Henderson Field in American hands, the Imperial Army and Navy simply had no way to transport, without prohibitive loss, the necessary infantry, heavy artillery, or armor, not to mention replacement troops, ammunition, medical supplies, and food stores, to the island. The troops that made it to the island were forced into suicidal charges against dug in Marines because if had they waited for heavy weapons and reinforcements, they would have starved to death. A thousand US Marines and Army troops died in the fighting, but not one starved. Yes, the fighting was brutal, on the ground, in the air and at sea, (more American men died in naval action then in land operations), but the will of the Allied forces was decisive. Secondly, by mid-1942, the Allies had a smoothly functioning intelligence system that would eventually be comprised of thousands of men and women, well controlled and effective. (Far, far more than just "breaking the Japanese secret codes".) (Source, "Combined Fleet Decoded", John Prados.) IJN and IJA had small, generally ignored intelligence units that bickered with each other and refused to cooperate, while the command refused to believe that any military could possibly defeat the superior "Sons of Heaven." Fatal hubris on steroids.
yellow jack fletcher spent his entire career looking for a gas station... everytime he had an opportunity to fight, he's fueling up, running for a fuel stop, or running away. fletcher clearly intended to abandon the USMC because he was reluctant to stay and fight. Admiral Ghormley Fletcher were examples of the "fine" US Naval Academy product, bumbling, incompetent, and indecisive.
Had Fletcher stayed another night, his carriers would have faced the same torpedo bombers that sank USS Jarvis with all hands. He was right to preserve his forces for the carrier battle that came, and which he won. Had that battle been lost, it would have been an epic disaster.
An Australian here - their was absolutely no bad feelings towards the USA over the sinking of the Canberra over here. This happened soon after the battle of the Coral Sea where the US Navy saved Australia's bacon from the Japanese, and for us, that's the main point in time where Australia became one of the USA's firmest friends given the enormous sacrifices the USA made in that battle.
Sorry ignorant American here. What did we have to do with the sinking of the Canberra? I understand it was sunk at one of the first battle of Guadalcanal, but what did we have to do with that?
@@donaldgrant9067 I assume it would be due to the night battle learning curve for the Allies. Honestly, it would be unfair to place the blame of her loss solely in the hands of the USN, considering that the Royal Australian Navy despite my encouragement of Aussie things, like British/Australian English, it wasn't that much better. Especially since the Japanese were well trained and equipped for night fights- the destroyer force making themselves known as a threat throughout Guadalcanal to Horaniu.
@@n00btotale But what did we have to do with the Canberra sinking. The Japanese snuck up on all of us that night. We hadn't learned how to use radar to hit the enemy yet, so I want to know how the Canberra was America's fault. Did we hit it with friendly fire?
@@donaldgrant9067 That's exactly why I say it is unfair to place the blame of her loss upon the USN, considering that the Royal Australian Navy despite my "encouragement of Aussie things" like British/Australian English, wasn't that much better.
@@n00btotale Ok I understand something happened. What the hell happened! I don't know the story behind the Canberra?
My father in law fought there between September’42 until February’43.
He was with the 8th Marines, 2nd Battalion.
No one will ever begin to understand just how bad the conditions were on that island!
Semper Fidelis!
And even worse for the Japanese soldier/marine.
@@Zerox_Prime I have no mercy or sorrow for them. They were a ruthless, non compassionate vermin, who tortured, and dismembered our military personnel.
They choose to attack us without warning, slaughtered innocent Chinese citizens, so as I see it they got what they deserved!
🇺🇸
@@Zerox_Prime Good
Rich Frank is "The Man" when it comes to the Asia-Pacific War. His book on Guadalcanal is the definitive work on this campaign. He is also a great speaker.
When I first went to Guadalcanal (in 1975) there were small stakes placed here and there (throughout Honiara) identifying the various battles and the US units involved. The Henderson airfield still had the war time observation tower, which at that time could still be climbed.
I bought and read his book on Guadalcanal back in 1995. Learned a lot about the Guadalcanal campaign from that book.
My Father was among the first Marines to fight the battle at Guadalcanal. He never talked about his service until the end of his life when he mentioned how warm the water was as he jumped off the landing vehicle, never talked about the fighting.
As a young guy I worked with a Marine veteran of Guadalcanal. He said no movies showed how bad it really was. When they were attempting to take the airfield he said they were taking cover in a slit trench along one side of the airfield. Japanese troops and artillery were on the other side of the airfield. The Marines were to move across the airfield with covering fire. When he boosted his friend out the trench a Japanese artillery or mortar shell landed just outside the trench. He said he was left just holding his friend's boot.
@Caleb Edwards You mean "The Pacific", also by HBO. They show airfield on Peleilu though
Mr. Frank is among the few who has done the research to present the matter factually and completely and is also a writer of such skill as to make reading his prose truly enjoyable.
Disregarding writers dealing with wider issues, some have delt with specifics with such expertise that if you chose to comment on the issue and have not read those books, you really are not qualified to do so. Frank's "Guadalcanal" and "Downfall" qualify, as do Parshall/Tulley's "Shattered Sword" and Tooze's "Wages of Destruction".
Mr. Frank's book on Guadalcanal is extremely good, informative and well-written.
Am reading it now and having a hard time putting it down ( even though I have read countless other books on the subject. It appears very well put together.
He had at least 3
His book DOWNFALL, on the planning and preparations for the invasion of Japan, is also excellent - probably the best insight into Japanese decision-making in the final months of the war, at least in English.
As a side note to the campaign anybody curious about how Mikawa managed to come all the way down the slot from Rabaul, sneak between pickets into Savo Sound at night and capitalize on some incredible failures of competence in communication at every level, to hand us a tactical beating that unknowingly passed the opportunity to turn the Guadalcanal campaign to a stillborn disaster, you might want to check out a pretty concise RUclips account of:: The Battle of Savo Island by Montemayor.
If he didn't set the standard in the animations style of presentations of Pacific Naval Battles then he certainly exploits the format well for an informative watchable piece for this sub-battle of surface fleets. But if you can't bear seeing us on a really bad night you might want to pass this one for more edifying fare.
I've watched this a 100 times ,
Great lecture. Did you notice, in the film that he showed at the end of his talk, there were those grimy boys with "the stare"...straight out of the bush. And then there were those who were supposed to be pulling out, on landing craft after extended action on Guadalcanal. They had clean uniforms, bedrolls, sun helmets, and all had Springfield '03 rifles. Looked like earlier stock footage of an exercise.
Next please!
In my opinion Guadalcanal was a great test of strength. If we could take it it was the beginning of there end. As we took one island after another leading up to Okinawa Took I believe about 6 months to take it. God bless the marine Corp they slugged it out toe to toe with the Japanese our marine Corp is the finest in the world. They got every dirty job and were victorious
as1313 wrote: ".... Okinawa took I believe about 6 months to take it .... the Marine Corp[s] .... slugged it out toe to toe with the Japanese." ...... Okinawa began on April Fool's day in 1945. It was a joint Army/Marine operation, and it took 81 days to secure the island; just under three months.
@michael boultinghouse I didn't see too many chicks with dicks when I deployed. May I ask for references? Who runs?
Like Frank say's........ It was Navy, Army and Marine Operation. Seabees, Coast Guard, Coast Watchers, Engineers....... Aussies
excellent. the spirit of the marines at guadalcanal is needed as much today as it was then. thank God for the USMC
Read one of his books and it kindled a life long interest in naval surface battles. Enjoyed this presentation just as much.
Our company had a Doctor, Charles Crandall, who worked as the company physician. Dr. Crandall was a frogman at Guadalcanal who had done some early reconointering. Very nice guy, I had lunch with him often and he was also a student of US naval history. When I was introduced to him, he asked about my name sake, who was a Captain in the French Indian war. He was the only person I met who actually knew this ancester of mine. He passed in 2017, and I regret not asking him more in detail about his Guadalcanal experiences. As a doctor he talked in a booming voice like a marine seargent. One time I was taking the annual company physical, they left me half naked in the examination room for about half an hour. When I finally peeked out he was arguing with the nurse, the nurse was trying to get him to read me the riot act, and make some lifestyle changes. He looked up toward me and said in a big booming voice "I can't tell him to lose weight - he's the healthiest fat guy I ever saw, hell from behind he doesn't even look fat".
Richard Frank is the best with his Pacific War collaborative lectures.
I totally agree about defective Mk series of American torpedoes hitting Canberra.
Learning War.
anyone know any videos from Rick Frank? Love his presentations.
Thank you for setting the record straight about Admiral Fletcher.
His book is THE book on Guadalcanal. He had the fortune to write after the criminally delayed declassification of so much held quiet for so long to protect the stupid and careless
Phenomenal Tutorial
Thank You. 🎯
God i love this speaker
I was born in 1957 and never understood what the old timers had gone through.
That was awesome.
The 'conventional wisdom" is that the US defeated Japan due to its overwhelming industrial strength. Essentially it buried the Japan with an overwhelming number of planes and ships. Left unsaid is that the first year and a half of the war in the Pacific, including through the end of the Solomons' campaign, was fought with what was on the shelf as of Pearl Harbor. During this year and a half or so, the US Navy was generally outnumbered in all classes of ships by the IJN which had superior technology/equipment (examples: the Long Lance torpedo, the Zero), tactics, and unit cohesion. At the end of the Guadalcanal campaign the US Navy had essentially run out of carriers and heavy cruisers in the Pacific and actually had to borrow a carrier (HMS Victorious) from the royal Navy. It wasn't until late 1943 that the "fruits" of American industry began to appear in significant numbers in the Pacific. Yet during this period, the US Navy was able to stop the Japanese advance at Midway and seize the offensive from the Japanese despite inferior numbers and equipment. The US victory was due to superior intelligence, a unified and coordinated command structure and the American's forces superior initiative in actual combat.
Yes, this is basically true, and it is a testament to the prowess and brains of USN and USMC leadership in those first 18 months of the war. We could note three notable if not overwhelming advantages, too: 1) US radar (and complete IJN lack thereof), which played a significant role in more than one naval battle (not just Lee's); 2) superior logistics; and 3) a vastly better organized training program for pilots, which was already making itself felt in the war even at that point. I'm *tempted* to add better damage control, though this improved so vastly for the USN that it's really better to mention for the final two years of the war.
P.S. Having said all that, these advantages only qualify your observation at the margins. For that first year, especially, the US effort in the Pacific was an exercise in "making do" in difficult to extreme circumstances. It was also a tremendous learning experience - in tactics, in planning, and in figuring which officers were making the cut and which were not.
Maybe them big bombs had sumat tae dae wi it...?
Pepperdog181@gmail.com
After watching this stuff l'm sure glad l wasn't called up for the Falklands, ok l was in the TA(aka national guard) l prefer watching war on TV,the partaking in such malarkey has no romance for me,l got a BSc,don't need yer medals,l prefer to retain my limbs...
Pepperdog181@gmail.com
@@davidmaccormack7067 I understand your perspective. IMHO Americans enlisted in droves to fight Japan. That's who we declared war, not Germany. America was ridiculed by its allies, Britain and France. Their Prime Ministers belittled our President who presented his 14 point peace plan at Versailles. Instead, Europe got their punitive treaty which insured a Second World War. We wanted nothing to do with it, but that idiot, Hitler, declared war against us. At the time, Ameri a ranked somewhere between 11th and 17th in military power... behind Finland. So, Americans were thrown into the Nazi War to save the bacon of its false friends. What our servicemen showed was a willingness to fight and die for one another. That likely was why soldiers of other countries fought. Had you been in the Falklands, my guess is you would have been willing to sacrifice yourself for your comrades in arms.
Corresponded some years ago with Mackenzie Gregory, a deck officer (Lieutenant) on Canberra at the time of her sinking. As I recall, he believed she was struck by a U.S. torpedo from the disengaged side, though ultimately I do not believe he took this misfortune as anything other than the result of a very confused (on the allied side) night action. Further, whether or not Canberra was struck by a friendly torp, she was caught blind like the rest, and quickly pounded out of action by cruiser gunfire.
@45:48 - 1945 - My dad found himself on an aircraft carrier in the Philippines somewhere. He seldom ever talked of it. He told me this story when I was 10 or 11 and I wasn't smart enough to ask questions like 'what was the name of his ship?'...but he did tell me 2 stories. He was in charge of radar on aircraft. A young officer told him to take all the radar out of the airplanes. Again, I don't know which airplanes. My dad responded, "Aye-aye, sir." But, he wasn't about to take the radar out of those airplanes. If you get an order in the service that you think is B.S., my father's advice was to say, "Yes, Sir." and then not do it. The next day, that same officer came up to my dad, and that officer had come on the double. "Did you take the radar out of the airplanes?" The young officer was relieved that my dad hadn't 86ed the radars. This was a good lesson for me that came in handy when I was in the army, but that's another story. The 2nd story was about cards games on the ship. He told me that on the carrier, white guys played Cribbage, and black guys played Conquain (Cooncan). Sometimes he oversimplified. He taught me both games. Again, I was about 10 years old, and I knew that my dad was a racist. Hey, that was not rare for his generation. So, I doubted his story about Cooncan. Years later, I looked up Cooncan in Hoyle's, and it turned out that it was a black American game played in the Southern U.S.. And so, 35 years after my dad taught me Cooncan, I walked into a break room at Lockheed Missiles and Space Ships, and I saw two black guys playing Cooncan. "Is that Cooncan?" I asked. The older gentleman, with his weathered, bloodshot eyeballs looked up to me and asked with a smile, "Do you play Cooncan?" I answered "Yes". He was looking at me, eager to take my money. I'd have played him, but it wasn't in the cards, so to speak.
Is the next video out there with Dr Millett?
This guy loves the truth. He changed his mind about Jack Fletcher. All respect.
An excellent summary of Guadalcanal.
Good-night Chesty, wherever you are...🇺🇸
G’NIGHT CHESTY!
Glory to the US Marines! Long live the memory of the allies and the sacrifices in Guadalcanal, Stalingrad, Kursk, Midway, Dieppe, El Alamein and more!
There is no significant grudge held by Australians re loss of the Canberra. Most of the crew survived. HMAS Sydney was sunk by a disguised German merchant raider with all hands lost. Some suspicion that survivors may have been shot. The HMAS Perth and USS Huston sunk in the battle of the Java Sea. HMAS Australia continued operations in support of the US Pacific fleet. Was damaged by kamikaze attacks late in the war. The Guadal canal operation led to the Japanese offensive over the Kokoda Trail stopped as resources were needed for the Guadalcanal campaign. Australian and US forces worked closely in the New Guinea campaign. Including Buna and Gona which saw terrible conditions.
It took about 6 more months for the Navy to quit tieing its destroyer groups to cruisers, which put an end to lopsided losses like Savo Island.
Someone give the man a slide clicker! Ha
Was gonna say haha
I think the title should be: Guadalcanal, the first Marine/Army offensive. By the summer of 1942, the Navy had initiated several offensives.
The first offensive operations carried out against Japan forces was by Australian troops in New Guinea - Milne Bay and Kokoda.
We had John Wayne, whereas they did not.
Mike Oren
Maxim comment!
and We had Chuck Norris
The dead Admirals mission was to disrupt the IJN surface task force. The disparity of firepower made it a suicide mission. By driving the American ships into the middle of the Japanese ships the Americans completely disrupted the IJN task force.
Did I miss something here? He seems to have failed to mention the smaller, but important first skirmish at Alligator Creek.
You did miss something. "Battle of Alligator Creek" and the "Battle of Tenaru" are the same battle.
Thanks, Fuzzy. I was just going to suggest to our friend, Mr. Sanchez, to read the book. The book makes this battle history very memorable. It’s simply a good book.
@@mathbrown9099 I would disagree with you W. It's a great book...probably the best book on the subject
There are no alligators in Guadalcanal.
Where is the mention of the Seabees?
@JAG
My Brother-In-Law (Toughest SOB I even knew) was there...and Saipan...Okinawa.
I bought a Subaru once. Not only could i not park it in his driveway, I had to park it out of his sight. He never forgave Japan, to his dying day.
While it's true that the Marines may get into a "disagreement" with sailors or Army personnel from time to time, that generally is not the case when it comes to Marine aptitudes toward Seabees. We appreciate the hard work done by the Seabees and realize that without their contributions life in a combat zone would be a LOT harder. In WWII, because a lot of Seabees were recruited from experienced craftsmen, they tended to be older than most young Marines, so there was a saying; "Be nice to a Seabee, he might be your father."
@@oldgysgt
Thumbs Up!!
The key to victory in the Guadalcanal campaign was that the marines captured massive stores of Japanese rations intact at the airfield construction site on the first day they landed. The beer and canned seafood was just what the doctor ordered.
very good but not enough details on naval battles,
Very interesting narrative. This is the reason I joined the USMC, I wanted to be like those Marines.
USN was totally unprepared for night surface action whereas the IJN were experts. IJN perfected the use of destroyer and cruiser torpedo attacks. US Naval intelligence completely failed to account for the IJN Long Lance torpedo which outclassed all other such weapons. IJN torpedos worked and USN torpedos almost never did.
Yet the number of Japanese vessels sunk by submarines was 1392 and from that number, it can be assumed that some of the torpedoes functioned properly
@@dustypendleton6694 The USN torpedo problem was quite the scandal with USN ordnance bureaucracy threatening courts marshall to anyone in the fleet testing or tampering with the devices. Turns out the Torpedo Station was not testing the devices with live or full weight warheads. Testing of the magnetic fuses did not take into account the difference in earth magnetic field near the equator. Depth and heading settings were not accurate. Less than half the 1941-1942 torpedos either did not ignite, run at the correct depth. some ran in circles and became a danger to the sub. 1943 Admiral Nimitz against orders from Washington tested torpedoes by drops from a crane. They did live testing on an island cliff. They found the firing pin was weak and would crush before igniting the warhead. Some subs had success by aiming for a hit at other than 90 degree angle. They disabled the magnetic fuse and corrected the problems in depth and heading settings. After that, the devices were pretty reliable.
www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/02/08/fire_one_fire_ten_implications_of_the_torpedo_scandal_of_world_war_ii_113037.html
The resistance that Naval Ordnance did to prevent the correction of our poorly engineered torpedoes resulted in losses of many subs and crews.
There should have been courts martial and executions for that incompetence.
People died.
The MK 14 is one of the greatest shames in US Naval History.
@@dustypendleton6694 US submarine attacks became more successful from 1944 to 1945.
Hard now to think of the US as the underdog. That is one thing I find so interesting about the Pacific War. The US was undermanned, under trained, and mostly poorly equipped.
I'm sure the fighting spirit shown in those early encounters surprised the Japanese. The Japanese counted on having a superior fighting spirit, that was big for them. Strategic. Their goal was just to get the US to want to quit fighting and negotiate terms. Not for the US to surrender but because the US got sick of fighting, that they would want to stop and let the Japanese keep their conquests. Huge strategic mistake.
My one wish in life is to have Mr. Frank sign my first edition copy of his book.........................................
You hear complaints that the USMC was 'abandoned' by the USN on Guadalcanal. I think the 1769 land fatalities vs 4911 naval fatalities categorically demonstrates this was not true.
I don't think that there is anything about the war in the Pacific Richard Franks doesn't know about. Ask him anything and he can talk about it for several minutes. Impressive!
John Wayne was worth a great deal to the propaganda morale of the country at a time when we really needed a morale boost he made many war pictures that helped a great deal. After Pearl Harbor disaster.
Were the carriers away on an exercise just by chance?
Where the Japanese lost most of their remaining best trained Naval pilots.
IceWater Slim Agreed. The meat grinder of Guadalcanal and the battle of attrition in the sky is what doomed Japan. The Battle Guadalcanal and not the Battle of Midway is where Japan lost the war.
@Jonny B Correct. The USN could have list Midway and It's three carriers there, but by mid 1943, all of its losses were replaced with more advanced, superior warships, planes, and technology. We had 15 new Lexington Class flat tops, many more light carriers, and jeep carriets. Japan's crushing defeat was inevitable.
I'm a brazilian who likes to watch this kind of stuff instead of soccer games.
Weeeird !!
Ultimately, the US could replace its losses, Japan could not.
That is the most obvious conclusion when you lose 25000 men to 1600 regardless of combatants.
Not at that time. In late 1942 most of the best USN assets were either on the bottom or in drydock.
Charles Burnham Chris is right, in this stage of the war the production disparity wasn’t as pronounced as it would be in 43-45. The regional forces were close to parity at the beginning and so this campaign was essentially the last even fight the IJN was going to get. The relative parity and the length of the campaign really make this the most interesting campaign and these the most interesting battles of the war.
He makes Edson's (Bloody) Ridge seem like not that big of a deal.
P.S. US Navy casualties were approximately twice that of the Marines.
Typical intel officer, plan for what they prognosticate prepare for the opposite.
I Do not know this speaker but is very talented
That was great information could listen to this all day
Guadalcanal Diaries "Where's Maa Helmoit? Where's Maa Helmoit?"
The greatest generation!
The American soldiers had what it takes but the American Staff Officers took what almost everything but fortunately not all that it had.
Michael McNeil what are you trying to say?
Think.
About how to compose a sentence.
To think I had nothing better to do that rework an old post:
The American soldiers had what it takes but the American Staff Officers took what; almost everything but fortunately not all that it had.
But I would have to listen to the whole video again to get the meaning meant.
Great talk, very poor AV presentation.
Easy to get around that by starting and stopping the video.
Japan at pearl harbor made three critical mistakes, they missed the carriers, they ignored the sub pens, which were full of new front line subs and didn,t destroy fuel stores! Yamamoto knew the first two years would go well if pearl was a success but after that America would overwhelm them.
He said six months to a year.
Mikawa withdrew from no relevant resistance and a plethora of targets with loads of his ordinance left onboard, just like the six carriers at Pearl Harbor, they deserted their targets of opportunity many untouched after achieving complete suprise.
He was afraid of the US carriers....that were't even there.
Japan's Navy had a tendency to quit fights they had been winning. That may have been on their need to preserve irreplaceable naval assets.
Not "seige" but "siege"
The Solomon's Campaign proved that the Japanese could be defeated in the air, on the land, and at sea at the same time. The US could fight, survive, defeat, and overcome our bogeyman before the first anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
ah, um, aah, ah, ah, ah
Puller led the 1st Battalion, Shoup the 3rd, and my father Robert Bowen the 2nd. Puller was a Lieutenant Colonel. The other two were Majors. Puller got most of the combat action and ended up as a Major General fired by Truman in 1953. I saw him briefly at Camp Pendleton after his return from Korea. Guadalcanal was decisive because for the first time the Japanese Army suffered humiliating defeat. A great boost to American morale. They lost every battle thereafter. Marines mowed them down during their Banzai charges against withering machine gun and rifle fire.
CHRISTOPHER BOWEN
My dad, Master Sergeant Charles H Hull jr. was there was with First Div. also. He was then at Pelilu. He missed Okinawa due to hospitalization or probably wouldn't be here.
Wrong .... The first humiliating defeat of the Japanese Army was done by Australian Troops at Milne Bay and Kokoda.
It is an eternal debate as to when was the turning point...meaning when was Japan's defeat inevitable?
One could argue that the raid on Pearl was the turning point, since it was a strategic failure.
The fuel depot and dry docks were untouched. That allowed America to recover quickly.
For me, the bigger error was not occupying Hawaii, like they occupied Philippines, Wake, and Guam.
If Japan had occupied Hawaii, the US Navy would have knocked all the way back to San Francisco and San Diego. Our subs would not have been able to inflict the damage that was so critical in defeating Japan. I wonder how many years it would added to the war? One year? Two years?? What would it have meant to Australia??
I would have loved to see the "string of lies" the guy before him supposedly told. At first that seemed lighthearted but I'm not so sure it was meant that way. EDIT: It's extremely strange that his reasoning for being "agnostic" about the Canberra is a joke. If he didn't believe it, he'd have said so, but if he does believe it why wouldn't he just say he does? A patriotic historian is fine, but it shouldn't get in the way of critical thinking. Friendly fire happens in war, it is reality, and at night it's bound to happen.
It was his intro of frank
He was referring to the flowery introduction he received, praising his expertise and accomplishments.
Uh
King never smiled at beautiful women...or any woman for that matter
Pestilence
nice rug LOL
Someday we'll hear an American historian pronounce foreign names correctly.
Charles Burnham Someday foreign combatants will pronounce American English properly. As well as decode Navajo? Dunno, I speak several languages and I understood him. Though his cadence was very choppy, as expected.
Why the fuck does it matter if "foreign combatants" pronounce "American English" correctly? They're not historians, this guy is an historian. Your come-back is fucking weak.
He is a historian, not a language specialist. He was able to convey who the characters were, that should be enough.
I could give rats ass about the US pronouncing name. We won the war we get to pronounce things the way we want.
I am an historian. Sorry but I got my History PhD and not a CHinese, French, English, Rumenian, Russian etc etc phD.
If you want 100% correct pronunciation go ask a LINGUIST, not an historian.
You are a self centered person, you assume only americans mispronounce names from overseas, meanwhile EVERYONE does it, you just dont understand it because you don't know their languages.
PS aand its always YOU french and German self centered kids whining about pronunciations, meanwhile YOUR pronunciations of other languages are as bad as Ameicans' pronunciation of French names.
This is why everyone hates you.
Great fiction 😄! Tenure protocol in..........form.....ation!
men fought and died he writes and make the money
The lecturer's inability to properly pronounce "Guadalcanal," ("Guada-canal)") added to the spelling error on one of the first handful of slides, (Operation "Pestilance" should be "Pestilence") ended this video for me. Too bad. The comments didn't help.
My take on the Guadalcanal campaign: ultimately, about 25,000 Japanese troops fought on the island. About 10,000 were evacuated in February, 1943. Of the 15,000 left behind, all dead, 5,000 were combat deaths. 10,000 STARVED to death, or died of starvation-related disease. (Source, The Taste Of War, Lizzie Collingham, Penguin Books.) With Henderson Field in American hands, the Imperial Army and Navy simply had no way to transport, without prohibitive loss, the necessary infantry, heavy artillery, or armor, not to mention replacement troops, ammunition, medical supplies, and food stores, to the island. The troops that made it to the island were forced into suicidal charges against dug in Marines because if had they waited for heavy weapons and reinforcements, they would have starved to death. A thousand US Marines and Army troops died in the fighting, but not one starved. Yes, the fighting was brutal, on the ground, in the air and at sea, (more American men died in naval action then in land operations), but the will of the Allied forces was decisive. Secondly, by mid-1942, the Allies had a smoothly functioning intelligence system that would eventually be comprised of thousands of men and women, well controlled and effective. (Far, far more than just "breaking the Japanese secret codes".) (Source, "Combined Fleet Decoded", John Prados.) IJN and IJA had small, generally ignored intelligence units that bickered with each other and refused to cooperate, while the command refused to believe that any military could possibly defeat the superior "Sons of Heaven." Fatal hubris on steroids.
Bad attitudes annoy me more than bad pronunciation and bad spelling.
yellow jack fletcher spent his entire career looking for a gas station... everytime he had an opportunity to fight, he's fueling up, running for a fuel stop, or running away. fletcher clearly intended to abandon the USMC because he was reluctant to stay and fight. Admiral Ghormley Fletcher were examples of the "fine" US Naval Academy product, bumbling, incompetent, and indecisive.
Bob Finkenbiner Really? Have you forgotten the battle of Midway? The battle of the Coral Sea?
prospectorrat@gmail.com what a stupid thing to say.
Had Fletcher stayed another night, his carriers would have faced the same torpedo bombers that sank USS Jarvis with all hands. He was right to preserve his forces for the carrier battle that came, and which he won. Had that battle been lost, it would have been an epic disaster.
Richard B. Frank needs to learn how to get his slides changed without barking at somebody out there.
It's really childish and dopey..