USMC, military-history, World-War-ll, Pacific-Theater-of-Operations, historical-research, historical-places-events

Eight months after the declaration of war on Japan by the United States, USMC green recruits, capable NCOs, and few officers were able to best determined Japanese forces on Guadalcanal in the Battle of Tenaru. This book is a detailed account of the events leading up to the battle and accounts obtained from records from each side and from survivors who were still alive at the time of research. The in depth meticulous research done by the author is clearly in evidence, and the value of the body of work to active duty military is clearly apparent.
Will I get in trouble if I mention its value to history buffs and RPG players?
I had to get an audio copy because my print copy was liberated by USMC grandson.
Bill Nevitt continues to be excellent as narrator for study subjects. ( )

In this close analysis of the Battle of the "Tenaru" River (actually the Ilu) Bartsch starts by examining how the 1st Marine Division and the Ichiki Detachment each came to be before their fateful encounter and then following the course of the battle in as granular a fashion as possible; much more being known about the Japanese side of the equation then you might imagine. The key question for Bartsch is just how Col. Kiyonao Ichiki could have handled his unit so poorly. What it comes down to Bartsch is that Ichiki was possibly concerned about conducting the battle before his very limited supply situation eroded, but mostly so held the U.S. Marines in such contempt that he felt there was no reason not to challenge them, though it meant charging into the teeth of superior firepower. ( )