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(More customer reviews)1942 was a bleak period for the Americans in the Pacific, but within the span of one month, the Americans smashed back at the Japanese in two decisive battles and turned the tide of the war. The first of these battles was fought in the Coral Sea. The Japanese wanted to invade Port Morseby and use that as a springboard for a futute invasion of Australia. However, the Americans, with their top-secret code breakers, already knew the composition of the Japanese forces and where they planned to strike. In early May, 1942, the two sides engaged each other. The Coral Sea battle was the first sea battle fought where the opposing ships never saw one another. This was a tactical victory for the Japanese due to the fact that the American carrier Lexington was sunk along with a destroyer and a tanker, but it was a strategic victory for the Americans, because the Japanese recalled their Port Morseby invasion force.
The most important battle of the Pacific campaign was fought less than a month after the Coral Sea battle at a tiny island known as Midway. The Japanese hoped to capture Midway and use it as a springboard for a possible invasion of Hawaii or even the west coast. Once again, Nimitz knew of the Japanese plan thanks to his wonderous code-breakers. The Japanese launched a massive air assault from four carriers against Midway but failed to destroy the airfields. Aircraft were left on the decks of the carriers waiting for a second strike against Midway when the American torpedo and dive bombers appeared. The torpedo planes were slaughtered by Japanese fighters, but they didn't die in vain. They pulled the Japanese fighters down to sea level and gave the dive bombers a clear shot at the carriers. In a matter of minutes, three Japanese carriers were turned into blazing infernoes by accurately placed bombs. The fourth enemy carrier was sunk the next day. The tide had now turned against the Japanese. Never again would they regain the offensive.
This book does a good job of explaining both of these important battles. Important charts and maps are also included which made reading and understanding the battles much easier. Also included are early submarine attacks against the Japanese, the story of the Aleutian campaign, which was designed by the Japanese in the hopes of luring the American forces away from Midway. Fortunately, Nimitz recognized this as a feint and didn't bite. The opening stages of the Guadalcanal campaign are also discussed. The following volume in this series deals exclusively with Guadalcanal. I recommend this fine work of naval history. It will help the reader understand these two important battles and the role that they played in changing the course of the war in the Pacific.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions: May 1942-August 1942 (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II) (v. 4)
Thisspectacular fifteen-volume series that charts the U.S. Naval operations during World War II with an insider's perspective. Morison, a Harvard professor, was given a special rank and writing post by FDR. He had active duty aboard eleven different ships, allowing him to witness many crucial battles in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Volume Four - the second in this series on the war in the Pacific-turns the corner from defeat to victory, beginning with the first of the great carrier actions of the war, the Battle of the Coral Sea. Filled with many maps and file photographs.
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