Shots Fired in Anger

Shots Fired in Anger, first published in 1947, is a classic firsthand account of the U.S. Army on Guadalcanal in World War II, as well as one of the most thorough looks at the strengths and weaknesses of Japanese and American infantry weapons, training, and tactics used in the bitter jungle fighting. This is the story of the Guadalcanal campaign as only a rifleman can tell it. In Shots Fired in Anger, Lieutenant Colonel John B. George recounts his brutal experiences in frontline jungle warfare and examines the weapons, tactics, equipment, and combat mentalities that won and lost the fight. For George, marksmanship was always more than a hobby it was a preparation for national defense. When he is inducted into the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant, he's shocked to see that the military lacks the same enthusiasm: the troops have not been taught to shoot or to march, and they are commanded by men obsessed with obsolete tactics and eyewash. It is only by desperate negotiating that he is able to secure two days of rifle training for his platoon before they are shipped to the Pacific. On Guadalcanal, George leads from the front with a sniper's calm and a scientist's eye for detail, analyzing what works and what doesn't from the terrifying but suicidal Japanese Banzai charge to the reliable and effective M1 Garand in trial by fire. The author interviews his fellow soldiers, questions prisoners, disassembles captured and borrowed weapons, and uses, commands, and faces these strategies and implements of war on the battlefield. All of this comes together in a fascinating combination of personal memoir and combat dossier. Few other writers have ever been able to rival George's combination of field experience and excellent storytelling. Laced with informative illustrations and lightened by stories of hunting, drinking, and military jokes played in the face of death, Shots Fired in Anger is one of the most important and entertaining firsthand accounts to arise from WWII.