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i?ffii\&£r' iaasi .\.~. P TURNING POINTS OF WORLD WAR II MIDWAY ANft GUADALCANAL BY TOM McGOWEN Japan's surprise attack on December 7, on Pearl Harbor United 1941 left the States' military forces in the Pacific se- verely cnppled. With her main adversary temporarily incapable of offering serious retaliation, Japan lost ing her conquests. no time The in expand- Philippines, Hong Kong, British Malaya, Thailand, Guam, Burma, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies all fell in rapid succession before the weight of the seemingly invincible Japanese war machine. Despite their successes, the Japanese did not accomplish all they had set out to do. The American fleet, while badly damaged, was still causing trouble with "nui- — sance" raids. By luring the Americans to Midway Island, a strategic base, the Japanese were sure they could destroy the remainder of the Americans to heel. fleet and bring the On June 4, 1942, vastly outnumbered by Japanese forces and equipment, commanding Admiral Chester Nimitz used a brilliant, cunning strategy to defeat the determined Japanese. The decisive victory at Midway proved to be the turning point of the war m the Pacific, allowing the Americans offensive for the and first allies to go on the time since the w$g began. (CONTINUED ON BACK FLAP) WORLD TURNING POINTS or MIDWAY AND GUADAL- CANAL TOM McGOWEN FRANKLIN WATTS- 1984 NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO SYDNEY 880100 CATALINA H Photographs courtesy The National Archives: pp. of: 12, 35; 2, 6, Culver Pictures, Inc.: pp. 5, 46; Navy Department: pp. 21, 52; UPI: pp. 42, 49, 69, 74, 78, 84, 95; U.S. Marine Corps: pp. Maps courtesy of 62, 66. Vantage Art, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data McGowen, Tom. Midway and Guadalcanal. (Turning points of World Includes index. War II) Summary: Details the World War II battles between Americans and the Japanese at the Pacific islands of Midway and Guadalcanal. 1. Midway, Battle of, 1942 Juvenile literature. the — 2. Guadalcanal Island (Solomon 1943— Juvenile 2. literature. [1. Islands), Battle Midway, Battle of, of, 19421942. Guadalcanal Island (Solomon Islands), Battle of, 19421943. 3. World War, 1939-1945— Pacific Ocean] I. Series. 940.54'26 Title. II. D774.M5M35 1984 84-10398 ISBN 0-531-04866-7 Copyright © 1984 by Tom McGowen reserved United States of America All rights Printed in the 5 4 3 2 CONTENTS Prologue 1 CHAPTER ONE The Invincible Rising Sun CHAPTER 9 TWO The Attack on Midway 25 CHAPTER THREE The American Counterblow 39 CHAPTER FOUR America on the Offensive 55 CHAPTER FIVE Battling It Out CHAPTER First Step to 71 SIX Victory 87 For Further Reading 99 Index 101 ESPECIALLY FOR BROTHER, BILL MY PROLOGUE of the U.S. Navy and the empire of Japan, which played such a tremendously important part in the Pacific The warships