Up The Slot: Marines in the Central Solomons

In the sweltering jungles of the Central Solomons, American Marines faced a task as dangerous as any in the Pacific War: wresting a newly constructed airfield from entrenched Japanese forces. Operation Toenails, launched in June 1943, was the largest amphibious operation in the Solomon Islands campaign since Guadalcanal, and Munda Point on New Georgia was the prize. This definitive history follows the Marines through every phase of the campaign: the complex planning, the terrifying approach under fire, the brutal house-to-house and jungle fighting that stretched for weeks, and the final seizure of an airfield that would become a launching point for the push toward Tokyo. Melson draws on extensive primary sources, including after-action reports and survivor interviews, to reconstruct one of the Pacific War's most demanding operations with granular precision. The result is both a tactical manual of amphibious warfare and a tribute to the young men who fought through mosquito-infested swamps, artillery barrages, and desperate banzai charges to secure a foothold that would change the course of the war.