The 1943 invasion of Bougainville--largest and northernmost of the Solomon Islands--provided the Allies with a strategic airbase site to destroy the Japanese air strength at Rabaul. Contributing heavily to Japanese defeat in the Pacific war, this vital campaign also was the first in which black American troops played a combat role. Harry A. Gailey presents the only comprehensive account of the long and bitter fighting that took place on this all-but-forgotten island.