In late January 1944 a force of New Zealand soldiers and Allied specialists undertook a daring behind the lines reconnaissance of the Japanese-held Green Islands of Papua New Guinea. The New Zealand Army's largest amphibious operation of World War II followed two weeks later. The Japanese contested the invasion with air power and inflicted heavy damage on the American cruiser USS St. Louis. After landing, the New Zealanders pushed inland and encountered fanatical Japanese defenders entrenched in thick jungle. Allied engineers--including the famed Seabees--then built airfields, roads and shipping facilities. The seizure of the Green Islands completed the encirclement of the main Japanese base in the South Pacific at Rabaul. A memorable but overlooked action of the Pacific War, "Operation Squarepeg" involved a diverse force of Allied sailors, soldiers and airmen that included Charles Lindbergh and future U.S. president Richard Nixon.

In late January 1944 a force of New Zealand soldiers and Allied specialists undertook a daring behind the lines reconnaissance of the Japanese-held Green Islands of Papua New Guinea. The New Zealand Army's largest amphibious operation of World War II followed two weeks later. The Japanese contested the invasion with air power and inflicted heavy damage on the American cruiser USS St. Louis. After landing, the New Zealanders pushed inland and encountered fanatical Japanese defenders entrenched in thick jungle. Allied engineers--including the famed Seabees--then built airfields, roads and shipping facilities. The seizure of the Green Islands completed the encirclement of the main Japanese base in the South Pacific at Rabaul. A memorable but overlooked action of the Pacific War, "Operation Squarepeg" involved a diverse force of Allied sailors, soldiers and airmen that included Charles Lindbergh and future U.S. president Richard Nixon.

A force of New Zealanders and Americans invaded the Treasury Islands in the South Pacific on October 27, 1943, retaking them from their Japanese occupiers. Codenamed Operation Goodtime, the action marked the first time New Zealand forces took part in an opposed landing since Gallipoli in 1915. In an unusual allocation of troops in the American-dominated theater, New Zealand provided the fighting men and America the air, naval, and logistical support. Confronting extreme risks against a determined Japanese foe, the Allies nevertheless succeeded with relatively few casualties. Because of the need for operational security, Operation Goodtime received little publicity and has been relegated to a footnote in the history of the war in the Pacific. This is the first complete account of the Allied seizure of the Treasury Islands.

Bloodstained Sands tells the untold story of the men who stormed beaches around the globe during World War II, from the Sword and Juno Beaches on D-Day to the sands of Iwo Jima. For the men who served in America's Amphibious Forces during World War II, the conflict was an unceasing series of D-Days. They were responsible for putting men ashore in more than 200 landings throughout the conflict, most against well-entrenched enemy positions. Bloodstained Sands: US Amphibious Operations in World War II tells the story of these forgotten men for the first time, tracing their operational history from Guadalcanal to Casablanca, Sicily, Normandy, Iwo Jima and finally Okinawa. The men's stories are told in their own voices, with fascinating accounts from Underwater Demolition Teams, Attack Transport crews and many other unsung heroes of World War II. First-hand interviews, entries from personal diaries and Action Reports create a unique history, perfectly complemented by historic illustrations and detailed maps. These are timeless tales of determination, sacrifice, and triumph of the human spirit - tales of US Amphibious Forces that for too long have gone forgotten and untold.

Volume 12 covers all naval engagements during the first three months of 1944. In the Pacific, US Operation Cartwheel successfully isolates the strong Japanese force at Rabaul. US and Australian forces advance along the New Guinea coast toward the Philippines. The US Navy wages the air attack on Truk, then captures the Gilbert and Marshall Islands. Meanwhile in Europe, the Allies invade Italy at Anzio and prepare for their landing at Normandy, France.

The war in the South Pacific saw some of the most gruelling fighting of World War Two. Conditions were unpleasant – fetid heat, torrential downpours and hostile flora and fauna – while the Japanese enemy were ruthless and would often fight to the last man. Amphibious warfare, jungle warfare and the need to co-operate with our American ally all meant that new demands were made on New Zealand soldiers. Yet the war in the South Pacific came to be seen as an easy war, generally overlooked (with the exception of Guadalcanal) by historians. From ignorance of what the soldiers were called upon to endure, the notion arose that service in the South Pacific was somehow less worthy than the ‘real war’ in Europe against the Nazis. This attitude continued in the post-war world and today the soldiers of 3NZ Division are all but forgotten. Pacific Star sets the record straight, shedding new light on the sacrifices and tribulations which the soldiers of 3NZ Division had to endure in the service of the Allied cause. The book covers their initial deployment in Fiji and New Caledonia, and describes the major battles the division fought in the Solomons: Vella Lavella, the Treasury Islands and the Green Islands, as well as their sometimes strained relationship with the US military. Reg Newell has interviewed veterans for this book, which includes new maps and previously unpublished photographs.

“Award-winning author Alan Rems brilliantly tells of the campaigns in the South Pacific, a region long overlooked, offering both the big picture and the foxhole view” — Military Officer “A fitting tribute to the men who fought and died in an often overlooked theater of World War II. As such, it is a welcome addition to our knowledge of World War II in the Pacific Theater.” — On Point: The Journal of Army History While the Pacific War has been widely studied by military historians and venerated in popular culture through movies and other media, the fighting in the South Pacific Theater has, with few exceptions, been remarkably neglected. Authoritative yet written in a highly readable narrative style, South Pacific Cauldron is the first complete history embracing all land, sea, and air operations in this critically important sector of the oceanic conflict.