"Drawing from previously unknown and unused sources, Holland paints a vivid picture of the desperate fights that broke the back of the Japanese forces ashore during that pivotal period of 1942. Holland’s ground-breaking account is vital to the understanding of the struggle to secure America’s first major land victory in the Pacific.” – Seth Paridon, Historian, Deputy Director, Mississippi Armed Forces Museum The Matanikau battles proved to be the critical turning points in the land campaign for Guadalcanal—the campaign's longest and bloodiest ground fight. A five-month conflict raged along the river and its basin. The real importance of this area has long remained unrecognized, yet the American and Japanese forces that fought over it knew that it was the key to the ultimate prize of Henderson Airfield. In this mile-long bloody tug-of-war from the river across to the hills and ravines were fought seven major battles and countless smaller skirmishes. While countless books have been published on the Guadalcanal Campaign; none have concentrated on the pivotal battles of the Matanikau basin. Extensively researched, this first in-depth study of these important battles, objectively showing all sides, fills in this crucial missing piece of the history of the Guadalcanal campaign. The well-known Guadalcanal battlefield guide Dave Holland spent three years walking the battlefields, researching, and documenting what he found. His unparalleled knowledge of the ground enables him to take the reader along with the men on the ground. Using his investigative skills and military background, he provides a fresh, detailed, and often completely new view of the land campaign, establishing previously unknown facts and specifically illustrating their significance as the campaign’s land turning points.