The Battle of Tassafaronga and the Guadalcanal Campaign Wrap Up-Episode 125

This week Bill and Seth put a "bow" on the Guadalcanal campaign, tying up loose ends, giving a brief overview of the naval Battle of Tassafaronga, while also giving the overall perspective of the tide-turning campaign in the Pacific war in this final episode of Season 1.

Bill and Seth also give a preview of what's coming up next in Season 2 as the podcast, and the Pacific War, progress into 1943.

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[thefoolscrusade]

Gentlemen, you’re doing a wonderful job. Your ability to weave personal, first-hand accounts from veterans into the conversation is the real strength of this podcast. Thank you for the work you’ve done so far and I’m looking forward to future episodes.

[wilfordjacobs]

I am LOVING THIS detailed breakdown of WWII in the Pacific. The back stories are absolutely amazing, keep up the good

[BFRandall]

"We've covered I venture to say more than any other World War 2 podcast probably has." Indeed. My grandpa was a gunner's mate on the USS Honolulu, from December 10, 1941 till the Battle of Leyte Gulf (including the slot, night actions, the Tokyo Express, the sinking of the USS Helena, Tassafaronga, etc). He told me lots of stories and anecdotes and I've studied WW2 extensively (I thought) but for the first time I see how all this fits together and what happened, why, who was calling the shots, etc. Thank you for putting this series together. 10 stars.
My wife's grandfather was a US Marine Sargent on Guadalcanal--a rough and hardscrable kind of man from Oklahoma. He had a rough go of it on Guadalcanal--lost nearly a whole platoon. It was magic when I got them together and they got to talking about the Canal. Travis Leo Milligan (the Marine) talked about sitting on the beach at night watching the night battles. It was horrific. He paused and said, with great emotion (almost in tears) said to Tom Adams (the gunner's mate): "You Navy boys saved our lives." His heartfelt gratitude was palpable.

[michaelwolf]

Seth & Bill. From an Australians point of view you have "Kicked many Goals" being factual, interesting and bloody accurate so on Macarthur. You cover and applaud the Aussie effort in New Guinea. Thank you both.

[MrFrikkenfrakken]

My only disappointment is I didn’t find this content sooner. The intelligence and eloquence of you and your guests brings depth and color to these events. Well done gentlemen.

[remcobontenbal]

Gentlemen, my family lived in the Dutch Indies when the Japanese army invaded. During the war they were forced (as all Europeans) to live in detentioncamps. Very harsh conditions; lot of cruelties, very little food and a lot of deaths. As a young kid my father was brought to the "hospital" (essentially to die) but somehow he survived.
Without the sacrifices of the Allied forces they would not one of them would have survived. So I'am gratefull of their efforts ánd of the way you guys tell the story for everone to remember. Thank you very much and keep up what is a huge job: making an episode every week.

[robertreaves]

A job well done gentlemen. I enjoyed the series and looking forward for the next season. These stories bring back memories of my early learning of Navy history. I grew up a Navy Brat. My dad was a corpsman on the Wahoo II out of Pearl back in 1960 to 62. From Pearl Harbor Kai elementary school second floor we could look down at “Destroyer Row”. We watched the Arizona Memorial being built and commissioned. We lived in Navy housing less than 100 yards from the main gate. Me and my pack of ruffians wandered all over Pearl Harbor base. Often chased by security guards and Marine MPs for being in off limits areas. The “Boat” luaus were fantastic, like a big family gathering. Much better than my Army experiences…(yeah, I went to the dark side…hooha.) The WestPac tours my dad went on dragged but greeting the sub returns were great. Some of my favorite childhood memories. I’m looking forward to the Submarine presentations because if they are as professionally done and deeply researched and presented it will be a joy to watch. See you soon.

[crazygame]

I love the history talks. Most people who I talk to have no clue about WWII. Bill and Seth do such an excellent job bringing it all to life. I was born to vets of WW2. Both parents: Mom in US 3rd army as a nurse in Europe; Pops was part of the Manhatten project and later US Army in 1945. I had the privilege to grow up with many many WW2 vets. Thanks again for bringing up the memories of those whom I knew. My extended family fought at Guadalcanal, one served and still does on the USS Wahoo. My cousin was with the 100 day Carlson Raider March at the Canal. Growing up with all these folks was amazing.

[BlitherVids]

I'm sure I speak for many here, but you guys have hands-down the best WWII podcast out there. Incredible job, guys. We can't wait for Season 2!

[AMacLeod]

Glad I caught this before I went to sleep! I’m going to take this opportunity to thank you, Seth and Bill, for your ongoing hard work putting together this channel (and the podcast as well). My maternal grandfather (I never met him, unfortunately, he passed away in an automobile accident long before I was born) saw combat as Marine in the Pacific. I’ve never known much at all about him, or his service history, but I’m trying to change that now, in large part thanks to you both. Thank you again for your efforts, your research, and your service. I’m sincerely looking forward to many, many more episodes.

[innovationsurvival]

This podcast series is stupendous. I never knew how important Guadacanal was and now I have a much more profound appreciation.

Thank you.

[frankbodenschatz]

Seth and Bill, along with your esteemed guests, have done a great job with exploring this. I just wish my uncle Pat had been here to see and hear this. He was a battle hardened Marine that served from Guadalcanal thru the end of the war. You've a great chemistry, keep it up for as long as u can!

[rcwagon]

Though Captain Rooks of the USS Houston (sunk in Bantam Bay off Java) wrote warning about the Japanese torpedos, US Navy senior staff didn't seem to get it as late as 1943. When Admiral Oldendorf was asked (pressed) by newspeople after the Battle of Surigao Strait why he didn't pursue the Japanese down the strait, he said "Tassafaronga". He did get it. I hope you will cover that battle and its myths exposed by Anthony Tully's recent book.

[blainedunlap]

We're okay with a Guadalacanal-only channel, you guys did a great job.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Another great episode -- thanks, guys! A couple of notes:

1) My son very recently inducted in the USMC hoping to be a combat engineer. As part of helping him understand what "adapt, improvise, overcome" means, I showed him pictures of the coconut-bowed US cruisers and explained to him that they had to sail like this at least 800 miles and in one case in reverse back to CONUS. His response was littered with four-letter words, so at least he's a fit with the Misguided Children that way, lol.

ETA: Some wise guy in the Pentagon thought it would be a good idea to give him the trigger to a 155mm howitzer. He's now in artillery at LeJeune.

2) Wright had no understanding or trust of radar. He also blew the belated torpedo attack not only by ordering it late, but then by opening fire before any torpedoes struck, thereby jettisoning surprise.

3) While the Japanese lost enormous amounts of aircrew in the 'Canal campaign, often overlooked is that they also lost a boatload of airedales. Given that their mechanization was quite behind American levels in that era, they didn't have farm-boys who could be retrained from working on a tractor to working on an aircraft engine. They had to have more intensive training for their mechanics. So at Midway they suffered deeply there, and somewhat in the Solomons carrier battles as well.

4) Just got Hornfischer's "Neptune's Inferno" in today, will start it after finishing ""The First Team" ... bated breath indeed.

[rohanwright]

I have loved every minute of season 1, truly grateful for the stories as well as the detail of the history that many popular channels gloss over. Thank you!

[ianwalker]

Great content. US Navy losses off Guadalcanal were shocking, reminiscent of the terrible sinkings and damage suffered by the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean 1941-3.

The shipyard capacity info mentioned by Captain Bob, glad to see him looking so well, is truly ominous. Wall St and the City of London have awakened the Dragon. Should never have happened, but that's where sheer short term greed and lack of patriotism in the financial sector has got the West

[danielsummey]

I look forward to this every week. Y’all are doing fantastic.

[keithdavis]

40:35 "for some people this may be a little too much detail..." Well, you can always get lost in the weeds of an endless succession of factoids, BUT history at the level of meaningful detail can relate the granularity back to the larger focus and show how that history came about, not just the outcomes. It reminds us how contingent and hard won those outcomes were. You do a very good job of this. Even anecdotes that don't contribute to this end help color the picture for us.

[timothyniesen]

These episodes are wonderful. I have learned so much about the Pacific War.