Walter Karig (1898–1956)

Another dose of essential reading for anyone interested in the naval side of World War II.

What strikes one in this more than the other books is the sheer weight of men and munitions, and particularly the munitions and supply chain that delivered them, that the US was able to bring to bear at this late stage of the war. Then the British Pacific Fleet turns up with four carriers and two battleships, a fleet that'd have struck fear into anyone 18 months before, it is realistically almost a show more sideshow with the US fast carrier force numbering in the order of sixteen.

The eye-opened for me in this volume, having not read much serious literature about them, is the relative ineffectiveness of the Kamikazes. Yes when they got through they could be devastating, but it seems they needed to have multiple aircraft approaching from different angles to be able to penetrate the US defences at all. Raids of 100 Kamikaze might see one or two hits on ships, which isn't the popular perception at all. The other Kamikaze statistic was that some 6,000 aircraft and pilots were being hoarded in Japan to attack the landing craft of any invading fleet.

The land war for the Pacific islands, even where it involved Marines understandably plays second fiddle here, but the statistics for casualties on both sides, which included civilians on the Japanese side are horrific. Even without the massed Kamikazes it is clear that any invasion of the Japanese mainland would have been a bloodbath had the Japanese Army held sway in politics. Whatever one may think of the future use of atomic bombs and, indeed the use of a second, one can understand the decision to use one in the hope of avoiding the need for an invasion. show less

An interesting book full of little bits and pieces that even an avid reader of more modern accounts found new, it is nonetheless a somewhat strangely balanced book to European eyes. A significant part is devoted to operations around Greenland, for example, whereas there is relatively little about the invasion of Normandy, indeed Torch seems to figure more prominently, possibly as it was America's first such operation. Whilst acknowledging the maxim about logistics, it remains strange to read show more a book where the accounts of getting landing craft to assist in crossing the Rhine trained and in position take up more space than the "action". This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I sometimes found myself almost thinking "Is that it?" when the segment finished. show less

This series is essential reading for anyone interested in the naval aspects of the Second World War and the Pacific in particular as that was the US Navy's primary area of operation. What this book brings through is the massive weight of materiel the US was able to deploy and how it was able to support its frontline forces beyond the hope, indeed dreams, of the opposing Japanese.

In this book in particular I was struck not by the differential in land casualties, which is well known, but the show more kill ratio of the USN fighters against the "dreaded" Zero (and the other types of course). Yes I know the IJN's pilot training regime was abysmal, so that the later on in the war one looks the poorer the opposition the USN Pilots faced (and, indeed, the better trained they were) but the difference is frankly astonishing - indeed it seems to approach the ratios enjoyed by the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front (in the good times) and the Spanish Civil War. show less

A superb book for anyone interested in naval history. As this was written whilst the war was still raging the tone is understandably biased with the Japanese constantly referred to in derogatory terms and the US Navy has naught but the brave. This does limit its usefulness for anyone looking for a balanced view and there are some stylistic issues such as the lists of each ship and her captain as each episode begins. However, the diagrams/maps are interesting and help tell the story and some show more of the photographs of ships must be infrequently published.

If you have an interest in the subject matter, the book is a must. If not, it maybe isn't ideal for the casual reader. show less