Leyte Gulf – A New History of the World’s Largest Sea Battle, Mark E. Stille.
An excellent account of the battle of Leyte Gulf, looking at the flaws in the basic Japanese plan, the background to the battle, then covering each of the individual battles that made up the overall fight seperatly, and including the fighting around Formosa in the days before the invasion of Leyte. A good history of this massive naval battle, with good detail on the overall Japanese plan and its many flaws, the divided US command structure and the four main battles and several subsidiary battles (Read Full Review)
Early Pacific Raids 1942 – The American Carriers Strike Back, Brian Lane Herder.
Looks at the early US carrier raids, small scale attacks on isolated Japanese garrisons that came while the Japanese were conquering the Philippines, Dutch East Indies, Malaya and Burma that nevertheless improved US morale, worried the Japanese and gave the US carrier force valuable experience before the bigger battles to come later in 1942. Covers each of these relatively small raids in great detail, filling a gap in most accounts of the Pacific War (Read Full Review)
Under the Southern Cross – The South Pacific Air Campaign against Rabaul, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver.
Looks at the Allied air campaign that helped neutralise the major Japanese base at Rabaul without a costly invasion, tracing the growth of Allied air power in the South Pacific from the desperate days on Guadalcanal to a position where the Allies had clear air superiority and were able to subject Rabaul to weeks of near constant attack, eventually forcing the Japanese to withdraw their last aircraft from the base, but not until they had attempted to use their elite carrier aviators to defeat the Allied attacks, thus reducing the effectiveness of their aircraft carriers for the rest of the war (Read Full Review)
Dark Waters, Starry Skies – The Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign, March-October 1943, Jeffrey R. Cox.
Looks at the fighting in the Solomons from the tail end of the Guadalcanal campaign to the end of the invasion of New George, along with the connected fighting on New Guinea and the naval and air campaigns associated with those campaigns. This was a period when the naval war was finally balanced, with the Americans in control in daylight and the Japanese at night, with both sides able to inflict heavy blows on the other, but against a background of growing American power and a series of Japanese setbacks (Read Full Review)
Nagasaki – The Forgotten Prisoners, John Willis.
Tells the stories of the Allied POWs who were imprisoned at Nagasaki when the second atomic bomb was dropped, from their capture, through their earlier POW experiences, on to the explosion of the bomb itself and its aftermath, their liberation, return home and the long term impact their experiences had on them (Read Full Review)
Z Special Unit, Gavin Mortimer.
Looks at three of the missions carried out by SOE and Special Operations Australia, two long range raids on Singapore (Operations Jaywick and Rimau) and their longer involvement on Japanese occupied Borneo. An excellent study of these daring missions, given a somewhat downbeat tone by the disastrous failure of Operation Rimau, the second raid on Singapore. However that shouldn’t distract from the impressive achievements of Operation Jaywick and the exploits of the teams on Borneo (Read Full Review)
When the Shooting Stopped – August 1945, Barrett Tillman.
Looks at the final weeks of the Second World War, from the initial rumours of a possible Japanese surrender, through all of the uncertainty caused by the different factions in Tokyo and on to the official surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay. Looks at the intercepted intelligence that guided American actions, the political debates within Japan, the confusion faced by the various fighting forces as peace got closer, the last military actions of the war, and the initial stages of the occupation of Japan and the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay (Read Full Review)
Japan’s Pacific War – Personal Accounts of the Emperor’s Warriors, Peter Williams.
A fascinating series of interviews with Japanese veterans who had been involved in the fighting against Australian forces during the Second World War, with a focus on the land battles, but also interviews with pilots and sailors. An invaluable series of accounts that give us some idea of what life was like in the Japanese armed forces during the war, as well as the veterans attitudes to the war in general, to their own superiors and to their opponents (Read Full Review)
The Netherlands East Indies Campaign 1941-42 – Japan’s Quest for Oil, Marc Lohnstein.
A look at one of the less familiar Japanese conquests of 1941-42, the complex but rapid conquest of the vast areas of the Netherlands East Indies, a skilful campaign marred by the sadly inevitable war crimes and massacres by the conquering Japanese. A good narrative of the battle that clears up the confusion that can come from shorter overviews, and shows the Japanese to have had a clear plan that they implemented successfully (Read Full Review)
Pacific Carrier War, Carrier Combat from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa, Mark E. Stille.
A look at the five main carrier battles of the Pacific War – Coral Sea, Midway, the Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz and the Philippine Sea – the five times that Japanese and American fleet carriers clashed during the war, with most coming in 1942 before the final destruction of the Japanese naval air arm in 1944. Looks at the state of both naval air forces before the war, how they performed in each battle, how they changed over time, and what gave the Americans the edge that saw them achieve their aim in five of the six battles (Read Full Review)
Battle of Manila – Nadir of Japanese Barbarism, 3 February-3 March 1945, Miguel Miranda.
An account of the brutal battle to liberate Manila, a battle that happened because the Naval forces holding Manila ignored the Japanese Army’s plans to withdraw from the city and fight elsewhere. The result was a month long battle that left large parts of the city devastated, and huge numbers of civilians dead, many as a result of Japanese massacres. Written by an inhabitant of Manila whose family were caught up in the events of the siege,so we get an unusually personal connection to the battle, combined with good research (Read Full Review)
Darwin 1942 – The Japanese Attack on Australia, Bob Alford.
Focuses on the Japanese air raids on Darwin on 19 February 1942, the first and by far the largest of the ninety seven Japanese air attack on the Australian mainland during the Second World War. A very detailed account of the air battle, with eyewitness accounts from both sides, and an excellent analysis of experiences of the airmen on both sides and their losses.
(Read Full Review)
Japan’s Asian Allies 1941-45, Philip Jowett.
Looks at the surprisingly numerous and varied forces raised by the Japanese across their short-lived Empire during the Second World War, ranging from the large, moderately well equipped forces of the Indian National Army to small occupation forces armed with spears or clubs. Includes a number of forces that were later remembered as part of post-war independence movements, and quite a few that changed sides as the war progressed
(Read Full Review)
Malaya and Singapore 1941-42, Mark Stille.
Looks at one of the most disastrous campaigns in British military history, from the Japanese landings in northern Malaya and southern Thailand to the failed attempt to defend Singapore. Starts with an examination of the justifiably criticised British commanders and their more experienced and capable Japanese opponents, and of the opposing forces, before moving on to a good clear account of the skilful Japanese advance and the often woeful British defence, which led to the eventual surrender of Singapore and over 130,000 POWs.
(Read Full Review)
US Navy Ships vs Kamikazes 1944-45, Mark Stille.
Looks at the reasons for the kamikaze attacks, the techniques used by them, the aircraft involved, the ships they targeted, the American response, and the effectiveness of the attacks. Includes a useful statistical analysis of the campaign, looking at if it was an effective use of resources. A good short account of the kamikaze campaign, looking at it from both sides
(Read Full Review)
Hong Kong 1941-45 - First strike in the Pacific War, Benjamin Lai.
Looks at the eighteen day long battle of Hong Kong, a gallant but doomed British and Commonwealth attempt to defend the colony against a larger Japanese army with powerful air support. Also covers the Chinese resistance, the fate of the POWs and the eventual liberation of Hong Kong. A good history of one of the earliest battles of the Pacific War. [ read full review]
The Pacific War Uncensored, Harold Guard with John Tring. The memoirs of a British war correspondent who covered the disastrous campaigns in Malaya, Singapore and Java, before escaping to Australia from where he reported on the Allied fight-back on New Guinea. An invaluable first-hand account of the British and Allied defeats in south-east Asia from someone who was caught up in them. [ read full review]
Rising Sun, John Toland. A well researched and compelling history of the Second World War in the Pacific, mainly told from the Japanese point of view. As a result we learn more about the Japanese strategy for the war, the reasons for each decision, and the political background in Japan. [ read full review]
The Pacific: Hell was an Ocean Away, Hugh Ambrose. Closely linked to the HBO TV series, this sizable book follows the experiences of five US servicemen (four Marines and a Navy aviator) during the four years of the Pacific War, tracing their experiences from the Japanese invasion of the Philippines to the preparations for the invasion of Japan, through the battles of Midway and Guadalcanal and the long island hopping campaign that followed. [ read full review]
Pacific: Hell on Earth (DVD). Eight documentaries looking at different battles of the Pacific War, from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa, with a bonus disc containing a biography of Eugene B. Sledge, author of 'With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa'. A good mix of interviews with surviving veterans, contemporary film and a nice use of wartime aerial reconnaissance photos overlaid onto a 3D map of the battlefields [ read full review]
World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics, Stephen Bull, Osprey Elite. The subject of jungle warfare tactics has fascinated many people and contains many myths. This book tries to cover a large subject in 64 pages, a mammoth task but one which it does remarkably well. The content is clear and very interesting de-bunking various myths such as Japanese superiority in jungle warfare but without throwing the baby out with the bath water and does highlight some of the Japanese strengths in this area. The book is an excellent introduction to the subject.
Eagle Against The Sun, Spector, Ronald, Cassell Military, London, 2001.
McMillan, George. The Old Breed: A History of the First Marine Division in World War II, Infantry Journal Press, Washington DC, 1949 (Battery Press Reprint available).
The Pacific Campaign , Vat, Dan van der, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1991.
Alexander, Joseph H. Storm Landings, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 1997. A detailed account of the major amphibious assaults of the Pacific War.
Wheeler, Richard. A Special Valor: The US Marines and the Pacific War, Harper & Row, 1983, New York.
Prisoners of War
The Real Tenko, Mark Felton. A grim account of the ordeals suffered by female prisoners of the Japanese during the Second World War, starting with a series of atrocities that took place during the initial conquests, and continuing throughout the war in the huge network on internment camps established across the new Japanese empire. [ read full review]
Darkness before the Dawn, Sgt. J.N. Farrow. This is the wartime diary of Sgt. J.N. Farrow, a prisoner of war in Changi for four years from the fall of Singapore to the end of the war. The book in provides an invaluable insight into the life of a P.O.W. in the Far East. [ see more]
Biographies
Pearl Harbor
Philippines
F6F Hellcat – Philippines 1944, Edward M. Young.
Looks at the massive air battles fought by the F6F over the Philippines, first against conventional opposition and later against the Kamikaze. Covers the background to the campaign, the development of the F6F, the status of the rival air forces at the end of 1944, how the US fighter pilots were trained (impressively) and finishes with a look at the combat itself, giving the book a nice balance between background information and the combat accounts (Read Full Review)
Leyte 1944 - The Soldiers' Battle, Nathan N. Prefer. A very detailed account of the land battle on Leyte, where the Japanese decided to make their main defensive stand in the Philippines and where the American victory ensured that the Japanese would be unable to hold on to the rest of the Philippines. This will stand as the definitive account of this little known but crucial battle in the Pacific War. [ read full review]
Battle of the Coral Sea
Tinian
The Battle for Tinian, Nathan N. Prefer. A study of an opposed landing on a Pacific island where the American worked nearly perfectly, Japanese opposition ended comparatively quickly and with a lower cost than on most of the island invasions. Prefer looks at the reasons for the American success, the course of the battle and the lessons that could have been learnt from the success on Tinian. [ read full review]
Wake Island
Wake Island 1941, Jim Moran. A well-illustrated look at the Japanese siege of Wake Island in 1941, which involved two amphibious assaults and repeated aerial assaults, and saw the only unsuccessful amphibious invasion of the Second World War when the first Japanese attack on the island was defeated. Well supported by some excellent maps, and with a clear, well written text. [ read full review]
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