By Bruce Gamble
Hardcover, 6 x 9
416 pages, 32 b/w photos, 5 maps
ISBN-13: 978-0-7603-2350-2
$28.00 / $30.00 CAN / £20.00
BUY NOW!
“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.”
Hardcover, 6 x 9
416 pages, 32 b/w photos, 5 maps
ISBN-13: 978-0-7603-2350-2
$28.00 / $30.00 CAN / £20.00
BUY NOW!
“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.”
—Eric Hammel, author of Islands of Hell: The U.S. Marines in the Western Pacific
When Japan invaded the Southwest Pacific island of New Britain in early 1942, Rabaul, on the northern tip of the island, was quickly developed into a major military complex. Rabaul served as a springboard for several new offensives and became the key to Japanese operations in the region. The mere mention of the island stronghold sent shudders through thousands of Allied airmen.
Millions of square feet of new construction provided housing and storage facilities for a hundred thousand soldiers and naval personnel, and by mid-1943 Rabaul’s air strength stood at six hundred planes. Some called it “Fortress Rabaul,” an apt name for Japan’s mightiest base in the Southwest Pacific and the headquarters of the 17th Army as well as the 8th Fleet and 11th Air Fleet.
In the beginning, only the Royal Australian Air Force stood against the amassing Japanese forces on New Britain, but an increasing presence of American squadrons in Australia soon joined the escalating air war over Rabaul. The virtually impregnable stronghold was the focus of Allied attacks from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945, a total of forty-four months, making it the longest battle of World War II.
In Fortress Rabaul, author Bruce Gamble describes the dramatic events that contributed to Rabaul’s increasing notoriety, detailing the island’s transformation into the ultimate twentieth-century fortification. Drawing upon an extensive array of Japanese and Allied sources, Gamble chronicles Rabaul’s crucial role during the first year and a half of the Pacific war, from the Japanese invasion through the shooting down of Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto in April 1943, a turning point in Japan’s offensive operations. A compelling story of military strategy and might, it is also a critical and, until now, little understood chapter in the history of World War II.
About the Author
A native of Central Pennsylvania, Bruce Gamble graduated from Penn State University in 1980 with a degree in Pre-Law. He reported to Naval Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida, earned his wings as a Naval Flight Officer in 1982, and specialized in electronic warfare during the closing years of the Cold War. Lieutenant Gamble logged nearly 1,000 hours as a navigator in EA-3B Skywarriors while completing two deployments aboard aircraft carriers in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Returning to Pensacola in 1985, Lt. Gamble instructed student naval flight officers for two years. Diagnosed with a malignant spinal cord tumor in 1988, he underwent a complicated surgery and was medically retired from the Navy the following year.
Starting over as a wheelchair user, Bruce began serving as a volunteer at the National Museum of Naval Aviation. He later worked as a part-time historian for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, collecting oral history interviews and writing numerous articles for Foundation magazine. Eventually he became a freelance writer, earning acclaim for his nonfiction books on World War II, including, Black Sheep One: The Life of Gregory “Pappy” Boyington and Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul—Australia’s Worst Military Disaster of World War II.
Bruce has appeared as the featured historian in documentaries produced by the Fox News Channel, the History Channel, and the Military Channel. He was recently named as the recipient of the 2010 Arthur W. Radford Award for excellence in naval aviation history and literature, presented by the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. Cancer-free for more than twenty years, he lives in Lynn Haven, Florida.
Reviews of Fortress Rabaul
“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.”
—Col. Walter Boyne, USAF (Ret.), author of Clash of Wings and former director of the National Air & Space Museum
“Following his theme of Rabaul opened in Darkest Hour, 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.”
—Anthony Tully, coauthor of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
“Gamble’s book is a wonderful tribute to these and all the other pilots and crews, both land-based and carrier airmen, who kept the pressure on the Japanese at Rabaul. By August 1943, the Allied were rapidly advancing through the Pacific. The defenders at Rabaul watched helplessly as their empire slowly began to erode, until the island finally surrendered in September 1945, without firing a shot.”
—WWII History
“…a detailed reference book that reads like a novel.”
—Air Classics
“To most of the reading public, the aerial siege of Rabaul remains one of the untold stories of the Pacific War. Nobody is better qualified than Bruce Gamble to relate that lengthy campaign, beginning with the first 15 months of the conflict. The depth and variety of his coverage is exceptional: not only the Allied and the Japanese perspectives, but the personalities and their attendant feuds; and ultimately the successful air blockade that released the unstoppable might of an industrialized America to take the war ever nearer Japan itself."
—Barrett Tillman, author of Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan, 1942-1945
“…Fortress Rabaul opens a broader vista on this under-studied campaign with its wide research, thoughtful analysis, and gifted story-teller’s panache.”
—World War II
"A former naval flight officer, Gamble understands aviation, and his expertise shows in his latest offering, a survey of Japanese and Allied air operations in the region through April 1943."
—Naval History
"Fortress Rabaul upholds Bruce Gamble's reputation as one of our best WWII writers. The book will captivate anyone who picks it up. Definitely one of the best new books we've seen so far in 2010, and probably destined to be one of the top books of the year."
—Stone & Stone Second World War Books
"If anyone were to ask me to recommend a good “first book” for the study of the war in the Pacific, I would be hard pressed to suggest a better selection than Gamble’s Fortress Rabaul. It offers context, insight, data and profoundly engaging story telling."
—Biblio Buffet
"...a compelling story of military strategy and might, a little told or understood chapter in the history of World War Two."
—Bookviews
"Gamble writes good history and a good story. His writing contains a lot of information (the history part), but reads like a novel."
—Collected Miscellany
"...a magnificent and important work on this often neglected part of World War II....It is a must read for any military or aviation history buff. It would make a great addition to any community or university library."
—Kepler's Military History Book Reviews
