World Battlefronts: BATTLE OF THE PACIFIC: The Admiral's Show

The U.S. Navy at last had opened its chosen theater: the Central Pacific. Now, with Pearl Harbor 23 months, three weeks behind and history's biggest fleet on call, the Navy was confident. Airplane carriers and amphibious operations had altered tactics. But the basic strategy remained: to bring the Jap fleet to decisive, total action, or else to force it to surrender all by default.

In the Southwest Pacific, General Douglas MacArthur glowered, let a spokesman rumble his dissent, and edged restively toward Rabaul. In the Solomons, at Bougainville, Naval and Army forces technically in his command killed more Japs, expanded...

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