I phyllis describes him very well. He is the author of three works of naval history. The last stand of the tin can standards. Named by naval history magazine as one of a dozen alltime naval classics. His second book, ship the ghosts about the cruiser uss of houston usf houston was a mental action of the military book club and the winner in 2007 at the United States maritime literature award. His most recent book, negative positive inferno, published by bantam in 2011 is an account of the water canal naval campaign. He has handled a number of nonfiction bestsellers, including the number one new flagss bestseller of our fathers. He will serve as the moderator. Today, he will be speaking about his most recent book neptune possibly inferno. Neptunes inferno the u. S. Navy at guadalcanal. Model specter of the wall street journal praised it. Compellingnt, a narrative of naval combat. It is a New York TimesPublishers Weekly and boston globe bestseller. It is my very rate pleasure to hornfischer. Ames mccloughan thank you everybody for coming out. Craft s on the focuses on the craft of military achievement and hopefully it will guide policymakers through the experience of digesting our past. Today, we are going back a little bit deeper. I written three books about the navy. They say the navy and world war ii, you immediately turn to the pacific. Thats an positive burnout takes campaignmonth long thishink most people was the truly this chili was the turning point. The midway was crucial. The battle of midway was fought. It blunted the japanese push for hawaii. For japanese slick areas were sunk. With those losses, japan lost newability to undertake offense of operations and expand its massive pacific perimeter. What it did for us, or america is it opened ways to go onto the offensive. Staff, thehiefs of combined chiefs of staff in the british and high command faced another a number of options. All through 1942, there is much talk about the strategy, the Wildlife Strategy of europe first. President roosevelt committed himself to it to strengthen the alliance and maintain the confidence against russia. Of russia against nazi germany. The thing about the back channels is general marshall and admiral king and other american thatrship cap infirmed there is a consensus that we have to do something somewhere. There is a driving force in the discussions known as the wealth, ego and mind of one admirable ernest j king. He was a very willful individual. He was said to never have met anyone he considered his intellectual equal. I think his standard was to feel that ego coming at you. It was his achievement to recognize that with the victory at midway and the japanese , he had the means and the necessity to take offense of operation against imperial japan. He was able to convince that the Roosevelt Navy and marine corps would strike in the pacific. This went against everything president roosevelt was saying about europe first. It was going to be pacific crest. Was indeed with the construction of an air filled in guadalcanal. You can see here is hawaii. Here is guadalcanal and there is sydney. This is all within water guadalcanal. Of it would really split the alliance into. Australia would be cut off. This was the evidence on august 7 of 1942 or 14,000 marines under general are extended rest. Portedd and water canal by task forces. Supported by task forces. They held rehearsals and planted those marines on the guadalcanal shores. The story that neptunes inferno tells is what follows. It was a sixmonth campaign of attrition. Japan slowly came to grips with the magnitude of the situation. The imperial high command did not attach much importance to this until they realized what was supporting it. Until they realize what the larger ambitions of the South Pacific offensive work. Through august, september, november, october, the japanese, they were a serious bunch of hammer blows. Fought betweenre destroyers, crews, battleships, we are talking it inch main batteries. Inch main batteries. There was a battle of midway around while now. Guadalcanal navy sailors. S. Were killed. 5000 killed in action, three times the number of men in the fighting on the island itself. About whys a question i didnt know that. I think it is constantly obscured. Sacrifice of the navy is constantly obscured. They thought bravely for those outnumbered, undersupplied, under armed. They saved the day from the japanese assault. If the navy did not support them adequately, no amount of gallantry of any of the men would have saved them from the face of their brothers. And would have rolled up the navy would have failed to supply them. There is no chance for the marines to hold that island. This is a desperate struggle to resupply the garrison undertaken by both sides. It was run by c. This was a new mode of warfare than america never practiced before, we were learning it on the live. One of the themes is under preparation, rushed schedules. Asked to do things that they were never trained to do. New technologies coming into the field that were untested and unrehearsed. Debate i was coming into the fleet. The canal was this crucible guadalcanal was this crucible. The Japanese Navy to fight. They sent out a cruiser squadron under command of their admiral. Between two u. S. Cruisers were defending the waters of water canal. Guadalcanal. T was a defeat of first order there was nighttime close range engagements. We lost for cruisers, the hms canberra. They went down with about a thousand men. This was even worse than the pearl harbor attack. Was just a surprise attack. There is nothing you can say about the failure of u. S. Combat arms when they are bowing out of their bunks at 7 00. Rolling out of their bunks at 7 00. They are essentially in a nighttime patrol situation. They are sitting ducks going backandforth. It comes the very welltrained crews, he rigorously trained for night combat falling upon them. There a number of deficiencies in the u. S. Navys fighting spirit and their doctrine, all across the board. There is a lot to be said about all of that. The extent to which the u. S. Navy was not prepared to fight. The naval airport was a world beater at this point. It won the battle of midway. They were launching airstrikes. The service navy, the black shoe fleet. This terrible loss, for cruisers, sailors, scarcely a scratch on the japanese showed how far we had to go. Houses hidebound institution bound by the way of work . Nobody really has a handle on how we are going to conduct the operations as such. How do we get our feet under ourselves and fight the masters in the world as of 1942 . The question is through trial and error and the emergence of a particular type of combat leader, a type of commander that has that forward leaning approach. Combat is nothing really fancy. Especially at c, especially at night, when things can hit, things burn. When they illuminate, they get hit again. That is how the japanese one. That is how the americans learned to when when. Win. The book traces of curriculum that the navy bases. Faces. The first figure that really comes to the floor and shows the American Fleet had right in the context of surface action was a man who was sidelined on august 9. He had a small cruiser group that was patrolling away from where the fighting was taking place. As september rolled around and the american command regrouped, we realized how important it was to have a knife fighting squadron. Norman scott was the man of the moment. Their job was to intercept the Tokyo Express that these nighttime runs the japanese were what launching. Theres this little chain of islands here. The resupply runs would go at night. Their methods have the airfield canal guadalcanal. It was ready for action for a few weeks. By day, those aviators have a radius of control. A perimeter that reaches up to the slot. Down. Se ships will come they will be hit by donna stop theers, torpedo bombers, japanese operate at night. We had a changing of the watch. The the sun goes down, japanese are preeminent. They rest up for the coming days and the japanese come to rain down force. This is the peculiar dynamic that develops. Japanese realize that they have to get in and out. Scott comes to realize is that they need a straitjacket. They need ships that can get in and out suitably fast. Aty have to live there base a very predictable time. They have to arrive at guadalcanal. Then they high it to be two miles north of henderson field before the pilots fly. We have seen what happens when cruiser standby on a patrol force, seemingly in a box. The japanese see them first and opened fire and register first hits. We will do it differently. Says we will play defense and offense. We are going to sortie. We are going to be at battle speed and ready for action when they come. We are not going to be passively standing by. He adopts this new approach. This battle in a post to the task of defending against Tokyo Express. On the night of october 11, the japanese come down, attempting to bombard the airfield. This was by no means a rousing victory, scott executes his plan just as he wrote it up. There is some inevitable fog of war situations that pop up. It, by the close of the battle, the japanese lost every cruiser. You can say that the american black shoe fleet, they said we japanese. Licked the admiral scott had a real feather in his cap. Naturally, you would think that admiral scott would be would stand command and acquire more ships and task forces and expand his command. Upload from his level, they have a very powerful impact on how the campaign develops. The chain of command at the the commander of theth Pacific Force vice admiral was found wanting for a number of reasons. He had been brought into the the charge lead at the charge. The blitz was going on according to president roosevelt. He was a National Choice to serve as commander. It really became clear that he was not the kind of leader that fired up the troops. He may have been a bit of a panic there. A premier strategist, a marvelous diplomat. When the fighting started, he found himself obsessed with the detail. He never left his headquarters. Theever went forward to see brains of the guadalcanal. Aloof from fighting crime. It became clear to the admiral that he was in a very tough position. Nimitz realized that there was a breakdown in command on this crucial operation. They are all friends for years, very close friend. This is a conclusion that he reached very reluctantly. He thought it would be necessary to relieve his old friend from command. Shinglesdelined with prior to midway. This is where he makes his return in the midst of the guadalcanal campaign. If you ever wonder about effective leadership, i think relief is power. It produced an effect that was simply not just a change of lowliest marine grunt to the captains of ships, they thought they were going to get their chance. Hey had a new fighting spirit he took command from october 25 until he got it in the negative time. He got there in time to order his task force. What those on october 2556 is the battle of santa cruz. Halsey, ever the visible gambler throws all of his characters is into the fray. You can say the enterprise was damaged. This was a record gamble on the part of halsey. That was his style. At a time when japanese had generally held the initiative and held material superiority. You can make a case that a leader needed to turn the tide. To launch the stroke and change the vector if you will. Halsey was the kind of man. Visitediately guadalcanal. Witht down sat down general bandit with. Grift. Dr he said hes you to give me everything you have. Halsey looks him in the eye and says you got it. Your trust between commanders. Affected decisions that commanders make. All the never hesitated. Verymmitted himself to a rigorous resupply effort to bring crucially needed supplies guadalcanal. This is backing up. Prior to his arrival, there was a terrible state of relations between the marines and the navy. It is one of the first things that people will often say. If they wrote a book about the navy and guadalcanal. I mentioned that 5000 sailors were still in action, clearly that is not the case, the perception existed. The navy only agreed to standby with the carriers for two days. Out,the carriers hauled there goes the air cover, admiral turner who was in target landing area, there go because a man, he pulled them out. There is some bad blood going on, it really repairs a lot of that it will ill will. From that point forward, it is very much the case of two services who fought sidebyside and threw everything they had against the japanese. I hope im not losing you with all of these sub themes and ships and gears. In gears. Account for the changing of the guard, the coming and going of ships, officers and men of every rank. Every battle had a different order of battle. The story is one of the institution of the navy learning how to fight. I told you about norman scott and how he won this battle. The japanese dont quit. Two days after that battle is one, the effect of that battle was negligible. They were able to get down a couple of their largest battleships on general lcanal. Ift guada autoplay that in the annals of military history was there a on moret took bombardment. After the japanese were done, there were five working aircraft on guadalcanal. After santa cruz at the end of they may have been one left. Itortunately, the japanese, takes a tremendous enough of Resource Management to make a push they are making. They have to march all of their troops and the transports and the fuel. Basically, what emerges is the japanese are able to push once everydalcanal three or four weeks. There is a regrouping andriy gathering. They looked there was an plan for the next thing. Blunts the first major japanese attempt to take guadalcanal. The next one comes in november. Is no longer in command of the Cruiser Force when the japanese, knocking. Force 64f task dissolves. Callahan was not about to see his career go down. He says please give me see duty. I fighting sailor. Give me a command. Andcy goes along with it gives him demand of task force 67. They were already at rack over scott. Scott is removed from command because of the operation of the role of seniority. The socalled battle of front of the 13th was almost impossible to track. We have a japanese bombardment force. These are 42,000 time monsters. The americans have nothing like it. To it its guns and heavy cruisers. He had a couple of light cruisers and squads and destroyers. He knows what is coming and he realizes that theres only one way out of this. That is straight through it. If you does to engage, the japanese are going to overwhelm the air force and the party is over. If callahan engages, all of the ships will be lost. It is not a happy order of battle. Interviewed i callahan is coming in with lumps. He comes in for lumps because he didnt leave behind a nifty battle plan that admiral scott had prepared for his story. The last Technical Order that callahan gave was straight out of lord nelson as the forces are command wereless our ships fire toward port. The measure you are just instructed to fire toward starboard. The gore, the loss, the blood, the death that follows on both sides of this night, it is to the credit of neither commander. But what was the alternative . He knew he had one alternative, that was to sacrifice it. One of the great interviews i did for this book, the opportunist interview is diminishing rapidly. I feel this was a last grab. He was never going to go farther than captain scott. He was captain positive in the u. S. Of san francisco. He hears officers talking, here is admiral callahan saying Something Like i know we have no choice but we have to do it. There is a resigned sense of fatalism. There is also this younger officer that is with him. Callahan is a smart man. Clearly he knew what he was up against. He knew it was his job to go rcept most chips are designed to beat their equal, therapy counterpart. Aey are armored to protect battery. A battleship has similar protective schemes to defend against a 4062 inch main battery. They did you all the math, you realize there is no way that an eight inch cruiser takedown a 14 inch battleship at standard range. What if they get in close . This is what happens, this is the brilliant of callahan. It is frustrating to know that he had ships in his column. They had the very latest radar that could seek through the night and cast out there that microwaves and find contacts through smoke and fog and darkness. They are very precise ranges. Here, you have admiral callahan in san francisco. It is a very ineffective radar. The brandnew microwave said radar, the captain is transmitting to admiral callahan, contacts yards, every22,000 30 seconds is a new report. Callahan is hearing none of it. He is an old school fighting naval officer. If youre talking on the radio, youre not hearing anything else. What is he doing . He is clearing his stores in the lead. Butch parker was fighting the storm. Callahan had chest in his men. I interviewed a radar officer i wanted his destroyers. All it was good for, we were trained in its use that it was a black box behind pilothouse. It is really all we were able to use report in 1942. Callahan fails to use his radar. Criticizing him for not knowing how to use technology he had been trained to use. Is that fair . I will leave it to you to judge. What he did know is they had to get in close. Those exactly what he did. Rightilliance was in the simple fact of physics. Francisco column, san and the portland stern about 2000 euros apart from the the japanese body, flagship is more mortally wounded. This is the moment of truth. From the Japanese Point of view, americans were never supposed to fight like this. They didnt think we had this kind of savagery in us. That thenly appears japanese were stunned by this as a vision of American Fighting well. They didnt think we had it in us to sacrifice our ships. Admiral callahan is struck that on this bridge by a japanese salvo. Norman scott was in another ship. He was killed by friendly fire from san francisco. Oth admirals killed i think that may have been a first and last. We have this incredible battle wish once again stops a japanese bombardment force. Then been spared yet another embodiment, they fly out and and areanese transports circling in the northern part of the slot. Out for out of six large japanese transports. Night,sacrifice that guadalcanal is once again saved. Later, the japanese gather up the remnants of this massive multitask force. They try again, they circle back. Parishioner comes back karishima comes back. Callahans force has been rendered combat ineffective. , he is Admiral Halsey throws the di