New Guinea 1942–43. Halting the last Japanese advance - Mark Stille;John Rogers;Jim Laurier

Lavishly illustrated, this book studies the role of airpower in the New Guinea battles of 1942–43, as the Allies checked and halted Japan's last significant offensives.

Mark Stille and John Rogers offer a new history of a previously neglected part of the South Pacific air war - the battles over New Guinea and the waters around it. The first of two books on the subject, drawing on Japanese, American and Australian sources, it details operations from February 1942 until April 1943, which saw the Allies stop the last Japanese efforts to expand their faltering empire.

Allied air operations focused on denying the Japanese the use of the sea to send reinforcements to New Guinea, during the battles for Buna and Gona, the unsuccessful and little-known Japanese invasion at Milne Bay, and the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in which a major Japanese effort to move troops to New Guinea was crushed by air power. While the Japanese had over-extended and lost operational focus, the Allies were successful in interdicting sea movement of Japanese forces to New Guinea. However, immature tactics meant air power was largely ineffective supporting their ground campaign.

Packed with photos, superb original battlescenes, 3D diagrams and maps, this book explains the roles of Japanese and Allied air power in the crucial battle of New Guinea.

Mark Stille is the author of numerous books on the Pacific War. He recently concluded a nearly 40-year career in intelligence, including tours on the faculty of the Naval War College, on the Joint Staff, and on US Navy ships.

John Rogers is a retired US Navy captain who saw operational service in the Mediterranean and Southwest Asia. He is also a retired senior intelligence analyst with the DoD.

Jim Laurier is a renowned aviation artist with paintings on permanent display at the Pentagon.

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHRONOLOGY
ATTACKER'S CAPABILITIES
- Commanders
- The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force
- IJNAF aircraft
- The Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
- Japanese air facilities
DEFENDER'S CAPABILITIES
- Command organization and leadership
- Allied aircraft
- Allied air facilities
CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES
- Japanese plans and objectives
- Operation Re
- Allied plans and objectives
THE CAMPAIGN
- Punch-counterpunch – New Guinea and New Britain
- Japan's foothold in New Guinea – Lae and Salamaua
- Upping the ante – Allied fighters appear
- The Japanese invasion of Buna
- Milne Bay – Japan's first defeat on the ground
- Allied airpower asserts itself - Kokoda and Buna
- Allied transports save Wau
- Prelude to the Battle of the Bismarck Sea
- The destruction of the March Lae convoy
- Operation I-Go
ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION
-An evaluation of Japanese airpower
-An evaluation of Allied airpower
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX