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Office of Naval Intelligence Combat Narratives: Home

Publications

  "The Combat Narrative program originated in a directive issued in February 1942 by Admiral Ernest J. King, Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, that instructed the Office of Naval Intelligence to prepare and disseminate these studies. A small team composed of professionally trained writers and historians produced the narratives. The authors based their accounts on research and analysis of the available primary source material, including action reports and war diaries, augmented by interviews with individual participants. Since the narratives were classified Confidential during the war, only a few thousand copies were published at the time, and their distribution was primarily restricted to commissioned officers in the Navy."

Aleutians Campaign, June 1942--August 1943  Print  Online:   Hathi  Hyperwar

Battle of Guadalcanal, 11-15 November 1942  Print  Online

Battle of Tassafaronga, 30 November 1942

Battle of the Coral Sea

Battles of Savo Island, 9 August 1942 and the eastern Solomons, 23-25 August 1942    Print  Online:  Savo Island   Eastern Solomons

Battles of Cape Esperance, 11 October 1942 and Santa Cruz Islands, 26 October 1942   Print   Online: Cape Esperance  Santa Cruz Islands

Early Raids in the Pacific Ocean, 1 February--10 March 1942

Java Sea Campaign

Kolombangara and Vella Lavella, 6 August--7 October 1943

Landing in the Solomons, 7-8 August 1942  Print   Online

Landings in North Africa, November 1942    Print   Online

Sicilian Campaign, 10 July-17 August 1943