Bloody Ridge: The Battle That Saved Guadalcanal

This well-written, richly detailed book easily serves as the "definitive" guide to the Battle of Edson's Ridge, arguably the most crucial battle of the critical Guadalcanal Campaign and one of the most important land battles of the first year of the Pacific War. It was during this battle that the Japanese came the closest during the campaign to defeating the US Marines and retaking Henderson Airfield, around which the entire campaign revolved. US Marine Merritt Edson's leadership in this battle, in my opinion, saved the Guadalcanal Campaign for the Allies and stands as one of the finest examples of battalion-level combat leadership that I've ever studied. This book doesn't only document the battle, but actually comprehensively covers the first two months of the ground portion of Guadalcanal Campaign. Thus, the book also covers the Battles of the Tenaru and Matanikau. Smith has done an excellent job at obtaining Japanese records and thus both sides are represented equally well in this account. I've read somewhere between 20 to 30 books on the Guadalcanal Campaign and I would place this book in the top 3 along with Richard Frank's "Guadalcanal" and John Lundstrom's "First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign."

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN HISTORIES OF THE BATTLE THAT SAVED GUDALCANAL:BLOODY RIDGE. THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER INCLUDED STORIES WHICH ADD MUCH TO THE WORK. YET, THE RIDGE, THE KEYSTONE TO THE BOOK, WAS SLENDER, WINDING AND GRASS COVERED WITH THREE DISTINCT HILLOCKS---ONE AT EACH END AND ONE IN THE MIDDLE, [HILLS 1, 2 & 3]. THEY FORMED A HORSESHOE-SHAPED CREST. THIS DOMINANT RIDGE OVERLOOKED HENDERSON FIELD AND REPRESENTED THE ONLY CLEAR AVENUE WHICH THE HAWKISH KAWGUCHI BRIGADE COULD USE TO REACH THE AIRFIELD. ON THE RIDGE WERE 840 RAIDERS OF COLONEL EDSON'S 1ST RAIDERS AND 374 PARAMARINES. BOTH UNITS WERE BLOODIED IN EARLY AUGUST ON TULAGI AND GAVUTU;TWO ISLANDS 20 MILES FROM GUADALCANAL.THE PARATROOPERS OF THE 1ST MARINE PARACHUTE BATTALION HAD 40% CAUSALITIES. THEY WERE RETURNED TO GUADALCANAL FOR RELAXATION FROM THE RIGORS OF BATTLE. THEY WERE CAMPED ON THE RIDGE AS A "REST AREA." IT WAS NOT TO BE. THEY WERE SOON BOATED TO TASIMBOKO WHERE THEY RAIDED GENERAL KAWGUCHI SUPPLY BASE AND DESTROYED MUCH OF THE WAR MATERIALS. THEY WITHDREW, BUT LOST A FEW GOOD MARINES. THEY KNEW THE JAPANESE WERE COMING SO BACK IN THE "REST AREA" THEY DUG FOXHOLES (WITH CAPTURED JAPANESE SHOVELS) AND SET UP FIRELANES.SHORTLY AFTER NIGHTFALL OF SEPTEMBER 13TH SOME ELEMENTS OF THE KAWGUCHI'S 35TH BRIGADE CAME RUSHING OUT OF THE UNDERBRUSH AND STRUCK THE CREST. THIS MOVEMENT WAS BY A VAN UNIT.IT WAS NOT UNTIL 2010 THAT MIXED FORCES BEGAN TO HIT THE MARINE LINES AND THE MAJOR BATTLE WAS ON. THE MARINE MUSCLE WAS ITS MACHINE GUNS, GRENADES,BARs AND PURE GUTS AND COURAGE THAT TOOK THE TOLL ON THE ADVANCING JAPANESE; THOSE WHO MADE IT HAD THEIR BAYONETS FIXED AS THEY MINGLED WITH THE DEFENDERS IN HAND TO HAND COMBAT. THE ORDERS WERE "DROP IT FIVE ZERO AND WALK IT BACK AND FORTH[LEFT TO RIGHT] ACROSS THE RIDGE." EDSON KNEW HOW HIGH THE STAKES WERE IN THIS DEADLY GAME. BEHIND HIM, ONLY A MILE FROM WHERE HE STOOD, WAS HENDERSON AIRFIELD. THE HILLS HAD TO BE HELD AT ALL COSTS, EDSON PICKED UP THE PHONE AND TOLD COLONEL THOMAS [1ST MARINE DIVISION CHEIF OF STAFF] "MY LOSSES HAVE BEEN HEAVY, I NEED MORE MEN."AT A DESPERATE POINT DURING THE NIGHT, HE [EDSON] WAS HEARD RALLYING, " RAIDERS, PARACHUTERS, ENGINEERS, ARTILLERYMEN, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHO YOU ARE. YOU ARE ALL MARINES, COME UP THIS HILL AND FIGHT." COL. MERRITT A. EDSON USMC RECEIVED THE MEDAL OF HONOR FOR HIS COMMAND PART AND A GREAT, NUMBER OF MARINES WHO WERE THERE RECEIVED THE NAVY CROSS, THE MARINE CORPS SECOND HIGHEST HONOR.SMITH HAS DETAILED THIS BATTLE BY BLENDING THE INVOLVEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL JAPANESE UNITS AND THEIR PARTICIANTS; SOMETHING FEW AUTHORS HAD ACCOMPLISHED. HE COVERS BEFORE THE ACTION AND THE AFTERMATH WITH A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE BATTERED JAPANESE CRAWLING BACK TO THE REFUGE OF THE MATANIKAU RIVER BASIN.Stanley C. Jersey, author,Hell's Islands: A Fresh Prospective on the Guadalcanal Campaign.

After reading Frank's work "Guadalcanal", this book should be next on your list in describing the most important battle in the Solomon's campaign. Done with great detail, and vivid first hand accounts (including the Japanese, bravo Mr. Smith), this book is to the history about Guadalcanal that "The Thin Red Line" is to the fiction of it. Mr. Smith has a keen eye for the naval movements that shaped the battle (as a Naval officer their is no doubt he is an expert), as well as the role of (or lack of) airpower played in the battle. Very quick and enjoyable.

Just finished reading this book -- it is quite good. My father fought at Guadalcanal, so it is something I have grown up with. Having read several descriptions of the battle for Bloody Ridge -- the most important battle in the six month's long campaign for Guadalcanal -- I consider this the most lucid account. The new, detailed maps and description of movements by both sides paint a clear picture (for the first time) of what went on; they show how the three day drama unfolded as "Red Mike" Edson held his tiny force together against the onslaught of more than three times his number.This book combines the detail of Richard B. Frank's "Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account" and the personal narrative style of Eric Hammel's "Starvation Island" to make a very readable version of the battle. The wide diversity of sources which have been used adds a lot to the perspective and context; much of this information has never been pulled together to my knowledge into a single coherent account. "Bloody Ridge: The Battle that Saved Guadalcanal" is rich in particulars, with plenty of detailed appendices and footnotes. Nor is the opponent's side of the battle neglected; the author's research includes many Japanese sources to tell what was going on at the other end of the island.I would love to see Mr. Smith's wonderful scholarship and clean narrative style applied to the closing months of 1942 and the final battle of the Matanikou in October which put the lid on any future Japanese offensive effort. Maybe Mr. Smith will write another book about that (hint, hint)!Thank goodness for Vandegrift, Edson and the USMC! They were tough, smart jungle fighters who were in just the right place at just the right time. The nation owes much to these largely forgotten heroes of the Pacific. Thank you Michael Smith for reminding us of the debt we owe to their memory.

As a military history enthusiast I am very glad to add this book to my library . I have always been interested in the Guadalcanal Campaign and this book adds new information to the volumes written about it .Michael has chosen the crucial battle of the struggle for the island , when the Japanese came closest to retaking the airfield . After setting the stage he takes us through the buildup to the Ridge - the landing and the battle of the Tenaru (Ilu) , while tracing the path of the Kawaguchi detachment and the Marine Raiders to the Ridge .All the way along he has included new pieces of information that I for one had not read before,plus veteran accounts I had not seen.His account of the 2 nights on the Ridge is one of the clearest I have read , aided in no small measure by the maps detailing the unit positions and the identification of the individual Japanese units and commanders .It this point I should say that I have visited Guadalcanal and walked over Edsons Ridge 4 times during 1995-99 . So reading his account I could really identify with the "lay of the land" and the Raider positions . Believe me , there are enough foxhole remains , barbed wire and other relics still lying about to bring home to you what took place here .Even though a lot of the 1942 jungle around the ridge has been cat back since the terrain is still not easy to negotiate in daylight,let alone darkness .It is only a 10 minute walk from Edsons position on Hill 123 to Henderson Field and so it really was a close thing that could easily have gone the other way , as Michael points out very well in his post battle comments ; What would have happened if the Raiders had been defeated AND Vandergrift and his HQ has been wiped out??I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone interested in the fight for Guadalcanal!