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Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 (The Pacific War Trilogy #1)
by Ian W. Toll"Both a serious work of history . . . and a marvelously readable dramatic narrative."--San Francisco Chronicle On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss, a blow that destroyed the offensive power of their fleet. Pacific Crucible tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history and seized the strategic initiative. This dramatic narrative, relying predominantly on eyewitness accounts and primary sources, is laced with riveting details of heroism and sacrifice on the stricken ships and planes of both navies. At the war's outset, Japan's pilots and planes enjoyed a clear-cut superiority to their American counterparts, but there was a price to be paid. Japanese pilots endured a lengthy and grueling training in which they were disciplined with baseball bats, often suffering broken bones; and the production line of the Zero-- Japan's superbly maneuverable fighter plane--ended not at a highway or railhead but at a rice paddy, through which the planes were then hauled on ox carts. Combat losses, of either pilots or planes, could not be replaced in time to match the fully mobilized American war machine. Pacific Crucible also spotlights recent scholarship that revises our understanding of the conflict, including the Japanese decision to provoke a war that few in their highest circles thought they could win. Those doubters included the flamboyantly brilliant Admiral Isokoru Yamamoto, architect of the raid on Pearl and the Midway offensive. Once again, Ian W. Toll proves himself to be a simply magnificent writer. The result here is a page-turning history that does justice to the breadth and depth of a tremendous subject.
Pacific Glory: A Novel
by P. T. DeutermannMarsh Vincent, Mick McCarty, and Tommy Lewis were inseparable friends during their naval academy years, each man in love with the beautiful, unattainable Glory Hawthorne. Only Tommy wins her heart and marries Glory after graduation. Different skills set the three men on separate paths in the Navy, but they are all forever changed by the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7,1941. Glory, now Tommy's widow, is a tough Navy nurse still grieving her loss while trying to save lives at the Pearl Harbor naval hospital. Marsh, a surface ship officer, finds himself in the thick of terrifying sea combat from Guadalcanal, through the turning point at Midway, to a climactic showdown with the Japanese fleet at Leyte Gulf. Mick, a hotshot fighter pilot with a drinking problem and a chip on his shoulder, seeks redemption after a series of failures leaves him grounded and ashamed. Filled with wide-screen action, romance, and heroism tinged with the brutal reality of war, Pacific Glory is an old-fashioned military adventure of the first order.
Pacific Interlude: A Novel
by Sloan WilsonDuring the last days of World War II, a young officer braves enemy fire and a maverick crew on the open waters and in the steamy ports of the South Pacific Twenty-five-year-old Coast Guard lieutenant Sylvester Grant, a veteran of the Greenland Patrol, has just been given command of a small gas tanker, running shuttle and convoy duties for the US Army. Sally, his wife of three years, is eager for him to get back to Massachusetts and live a conventional suburban life selling insurance--but Syl longs for adventure and is bound to find it as the captain of a beat-up, unseaworthy vessel carrying extremely flammable cargo across dangerous stretches of the Pacific Ocean. As the Allies prepare to retake the Philippines, the only thing the sailors aboard the Y-18 want is for the war to be over. First, however, they must survive their mission to bring two hundred thousand gallons of high-octane aviation fuel to shore. From below-deck personality clashes to the terrifying possibility of an enemy attack, from combating illness and boredom to the constant stress of preventing an explosion that could blow their ship sky high, the crew of the Y-18 must learn to work together and trust their captain--otherwise, they might never make it home. Based on Sloan Wilson's own experiences, Pacific Interlude is a thrilling and realistic story of World War II and a moving portrait of a man looking toward the future while trying to survive a precarious present.
Pacific is my Beat
by Keith WheelerThe Pacific is My Beat, first published in 1943, is war correspondent Keith Wheeler's front-line account of his experiences with the U.S. Army and Navy during the Second World War following the attack on Pearl Harbor. After a brief stint in the Marshall Islands, Wheeler travels to the Aleutian Islands where he vividly describes an oft-forgotten slice of the war, but one characterized by extreme, difficult weather, sodden living conditions, and an enemy that had no plans to surrender, but instead chose to fight to their death or commit mass-suicide with grenades. Wheeler was a gifted writer whose stories appeared on newspapers nationwide. He painted an accurate picture of war-time life for American soldiers, sailors, and aviators. This new kindle edition includes 33 pages of maps and photographs.
The Pacific Naval War 1941–1945
by David WraggThis vividly detailed WWII history chronicles the bitter conflict at sea between Allied and Japanese naval forces. The Pacific War was primarily fought at sea. Naval power allowed the Japanese to mount their attack on Pearl Harbor and then advance westwards and southwards. It also enabled the Allies to strike back and even take the war to Japan itself. The tide turned very quickly, with the US victory at Midway in June of 1942 ending any Japanese hope of domination. The book begins with the decisions that led Japan into war, and the difficult situation faced by the Royal Navy elsewhere. It then describes how, within a couple of years, the Royal Navy was able to send the strongest and most balanced fleet in its history to severely disrupt Japanese operations. Historian David Wragg also covers how the Royal Australian Navy developed into a viable naval force ready to become a major fleet in the immediate postwar years. The progress of the war is supported by eyewitness accounts from those involved in the fighting at sea.
Pacific Onslaught: 7th Dec. 1941/7th Feb. 1943 (The\pan/ballantine Illustrated History Of World War 2 Ser.)
by Paul KennedyA look at the early years of the Pacific conflict in World War II, by the New York Times–bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Japan had mighty ambitions: to control the Western Pacific. The attack on Pearl Harbor devastated their primary obstacle—the American Pacific fleet—and they swept across the region. What ensued was a bitter struggle in which many thousands of soldiers lost their lives on both sides. This is the first book in Paul Kennedy&’s chronicle of the Pacific conflict in World War II, concluded in Pacific Victory. Featuring a new introduction by the author, this book provides a close, step-by-step narrative of the Japanese expansion into the Western Pacific during some of the most brutal years of World War II. Offering contemporary analysis of war strategy, it includes a riveting look at Japan&’s tightening grip on Hong Kong, New Guinea, the Philippines, and other key strategic locations—and the Allies&’ inexorable struggle against it.
Pacific Payback
by Stephen L. MooreSunday, December 7, 1941, dawned clear and bright over the Pacific.... But for the Dauntless dive-bomber crews of the USS Enterprise returning to their home base on Oahu, it was a morning from hell. Flying directly into the Japanese ambush at Pearl Harbor, they lost a third of their squadron and witnessed the heart of America's Navy broken and smoldering on the oil-slicked waters below. The next six months, from Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Midway--a dark time during which the Japanese scored victory after victory--this small band of aviators saw almost constant deployment, intense carrier combat, and fearsome casualties. Many were killed by enemy Zero fighters, antiaircraft fire, or deadly crash landings in the Pacific, while others were captured and spent years in POW camps. Yet the Enterprise's Dauntless crews would be the first to strike an offensive blow against Japanese installations in the Marshall Islands, would be the first to sink a Japanese warship, and would shepherd the Doolittle Raiders' bombing of Tokyo. Not until Midway, though, would Dauntless crews get the chance to settle the score. In June 1942, Japan mobilized the best of its Navy to draw out the smaller American carrier fleet for a final showdown designed to destroy the U.S. Navy once and for all. What they didn't anticipate was the gutsy dive-bombing pilots and gunners whose courage and skill would change the course of World War II. Drawing on dozens of new interviews and oral histories, author Stephen L. Moore brings to life inspiring stories of individual sacrifice and bravery--and the sweeping saga of one of America's greatest triumphs. INCLUDES PHOTOS
Pacific Siege (Seal Team Seven #8)
by Keith DouglassAction! Intrigue! Firepower! When a Japanese general goes ballistic and takes over a Russian island, the SEALs are sent in to restore justice. But between freeing Russian hostages and making sure not to step on the wrong toes, the SEALs find themselves stuck waist-deep in hell--and high water. Book Quality: Excellent
Pacific Skies: American Flyers in World War II
by Jerome KlinkowitzFrom 1941 to 1945 the skies over the Pacific Ocean afforded the broadest arena for battle and the fiercest action of air combat during World War II. It was in the air above the Pacific that America's involvement in the war began. It was in these skies that air power launched from carriers became a new form of engagement and where the war ultimately ended with kamikaze attacks and with atomic bombs dropped over Japan. Throughout the conflict American flyers felt a compelling call to supplement the official news and military reports. In vivid accounts written soon after combat and in reflective memoirs recorded in the years after peace came, both pilots and crew members detailed their stories of the action that occurred in the embattled skies. Their first-person testimonies describe a style of warfare invented at the moment of need and at a time when the outcome was anything but certain. Gathering more than a hundred personal narratives from Americans and from Japanese, Pacific Skies recounts a history of air combat in the Pacific theater. Included are the words of such famous aces and bomber pilots as Joe Foss, Pappy Boyington, Dick Bong, and Curtis Lemay, as well as the words of many rank-and-file airmen. Together their stories express fierce individualism and resourcefulness and convey the vast panorama of war that included the skies over Pearl Harbor, Wake, and Guadalcanal and missions from Saipan and Tinian. As Pacific Skies recounts the perilous lives of pilots in their own words, Jerome Klinkowitz weaves the individual stories into a gripping historical narrative that exposes the shades of truth and fiction that can become blurred over time. A book about experiencing and remembering, Pacific Skies also is a story of unique perspectives on the war.
Pacific Victory
by Paul KennedyA look at the events leading up to Japan&’s surrender in World War II, from the New York Times–bestselling author of Engineers of Victory. By the spring of 1943, Japan had a tight grip on the countries and territories of East Asia and the Western Pacific. But the Allies had won decisive victories at Midway and Guadalcanal, and they were coming for the rest of Japan&’s conquests. Now the empire of Japan would be on the defensive. Featuring a new introduction by the author, this book picks up where Pacific Onslaught left off, providing a detailed, step-by-step account of the Allies&’ unstoppable rally across territories annexed by the Japanese in a brutal two-pronged attack across New Guinea and the Philippines, and the islands of the central Pacific. Here you&’ll find detailed contemporary accounts and strategy, from the epic battles of the Gilberts and Marshalls to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan&’s final surrender on the decks of the USS Missouri.
The Pacific War: From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa
by Dale Dye Robert O'NeillOn December 7, 1941, Japanese fighter planes appeared from the clouds above Pearl Harbor and fundamentally changed the course of history; with this one surprise attack, the previously isolationist America was irrevocably thrown into the fray and World War II had begun in earnest.This definitive history reveals each of the major battles that America would fight in the ensuing struggle against Imperial Japan, from the naval clashes at Midway and Coral Sea to the desperate, bloody fighting on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Each chapter reveals both the horrors of the battle and the Allies' grim yet heroic determination to wrest victory from what often seemed to be certain defeat, offering a valuable guide to the long road to victory in the Pacific. It is the definitive guide to a unique conflict in history, documenting the rise of naval aviation, spectacular amphibious operations, co-ordinated suicide tactics, and the birth of the atomic age.
The Pacific War: The Strategy Politics and Players that Won the War
by William B. HopkinsThis book provides a fresh take on World War II in the Pacific that goes beyond the simple recounting of battles won and lost to synthesize the strategies, politics, and key players that shaped the conduct of the war. The author takes a regional approach to this multifaceted, often nonlinear war conducted on land, sea (and significantly by America undersea), and in the air across the immense reaches of the Pacific to effectively develop the major themes and causes of the battles.
The Pacific War: The Strategy, Politics, and Players That Won the War
by William B. HopkinsThis “important comprehensive study” of WWII in the Pacific examines the high-level decision-making and strategy that led to victory (Roanoke Times).Once the stories have been told of battles won and lost, most of what happens in a war remains a mystery. So it has been with accounts of World War II in the Pacific, a complex conflict whose nature is often obscured by simple chronological narratives. In The Pacific War, William B. Hopkins, a Marine Corps veteran of the Pacific war and respected military history author, opens the story of the Pacific campaign to a broader and deeper view.Hopkins investigates the strategies, politics, and personalities that shaped the fighting. His regional approach to this complex war conducted on land, sea, and air offers an insightful perspective on how this multifaceted conflict unfolded. As expansive as the immense reaches of the Pacific, and as focused as the most intensive pinpoint attack on a strategic island, Hopkins’ account offers a fresh way of understanding the hows—and more significantly, the whys—of the Pacific War.
The Pacific War
by Daniel MarstonA new paperback edition of one of the bestselling World War II Osprey titles, The Pacific War Companion brings together the perspectives and insights of world-renowned military historians. From the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor through the release of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the conflict in the Pacific was marked by amazing tactical innovations, such as those in amphibious warfare, and horrific battles that raged in the unforgiving climate of the island jungles. Each chapter in this book focuses on a different aspect of this conflict, from the planning of operations to the experiences of the men who were there.
The Pacific War: Aftermaths, Remembrance and Culture (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia)
by Christina Twomey Ernest KohThe Pacific War is an umbrella term that refers collectively to a disparate set of wars, however, this book presents a strong case for considering this assemblage of conflicts as a collective, singular war. It highlights the genuine thematic commonalities in the legacies of war that cohere across the Asia-Pacific and shows how the wars, both individually and collectively, wrought dramatic change to the geo-political makeup of the region. This book discusses the cultural, political and social implications of the Pacific War and engages with debates over the war’s impact, legacies, and continuing cultural resonances. Crucially, it examines the meanings and significance of the Second World War from a truly international perspective and the contributors present fascinating case studies that highlight the myriad of localised idiosyncrasies in how the Pacific War has been remembered and deployed in political contexts. The chapters trace the shared legacy that the individual wars had on demographics, culture and mobility across the Asia Pacific, and demonstrate how in the aftermath of the war political borders were transformed and new nation states emerged. The book also considers racial and sexual tensions which accompanied the arrival of both Allied and Axis personnel and their long lasting consequences, as well as the impact returning veterans and the war crime trials that followed the conflict had on societies in the region. In doing so, it succeeds in illuminating the events and issues that unfolded in the weeks, months, and indeed decades after the war. This interdisciplinary volume examines the aftermaths and legacies of war for individuals, communities, and institutions across South, Southeast, and East Asia, Oceania, and the Pacific world. As such, it will be welcomed by students and scholars of Asian history, modern history and cultural history, as well as by those interested in issues of memory and commemoration.
Pacific War, 1931-1945
by Saburo IenagaA portrayal of how and why Japan waged war from 1931-1945 and what life was like for the Japanese people in a society engaged in total war.From the Trade Paperback edition.
The Pacific War, 1931-1945: A Critical Perspective on Japan's Role in World War II
by Saburo Ienaga Frank BaldwinA portrayal of how and why Japan waged war from 1931-1945 and what life was like for the Japanese people in a society engaged in total war.
The Pacific War 1941-1943: Book 6 of the Ladybird Expert History of the Second World War (The Ladybird Expert Series #12)
by James HollandPart of the ALL-NEW LADYBIRD EXPERT SERIES- Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbour?- How did the Americans underestimate the Japanese?- What were 'banzai charges,' and how did the discipline of the Japanese lead to their downfall?FOLLOW the lethal turns of World War II through the theatre of the Pacific War. From the devastating attack on Pearl Harbour to the decisive triumph of the Allies at Guadalcanal, the entry of Japan and America to the fighting changed the course of World War II completely.JAPAN'S DEADLY OFFENSIVE, AMERICA'S DECISIVE VICTORYWritten by historian, author and broadcaster James Holland, THE PACIFIC WAR 1941-1943 is an essential, accessible introduction to the battles that defined Pacific conflict in World War II.
The Pacific War, 1941-1945
by John CostelloJohn Costello's The Pacific War has now established itself as the standard one-volume account of World War II in the Pacific. Never before have the separate stories of fighting in China, Malaya, Burma, the East Indies, the Phillipines, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Aleutians been so brilliantly woven together to provide a clear account of one of the most massive movements of men and arms in history. The complex social, political, and economic causes that underlay the war are here carefully analyzed, impelling the reader to see it as the inevitable conclusion to a series of historical events. And the bloody fighting that indelibly recorded names like Midway and Iwo Jima in the annals of human conflict is described in detail, through its ominous conclusion in the mushroom clouds of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Pacific War Remembered
by John T. Mason Jr.In this remarkable oral history collection, thirty-three participants in the turbulent epic that began with the day of infamy at Pearl Harbor and ended with the signing of the surrender documents in Tokyo Harbor tell their stories. Their remembrances of heartbreak, frustration, heroism, hope, and triumph were collected over a period of twenty-five years by John T. Mason. Their recollections reveal perspectives and facts not included in traditional works of history. Each selection, introduced with a preface that places it in the context of the Pacific War, takes the reader behind the scenes to present the personal, untold stories of naval history.Included are Admiral William S. Sullivan's account of the problems involved in clearing Manila Harbor of some five hundred wrecked vessels left by the departing Japanese and Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid's description of the communications breakdown at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. There are also the very personal recollections of humor and horror told by the unknown actors in the war: the hospital corpsman, the coxswain, and the machinist's mate. Originally published in 1986, this volume is an unusual and lasting tribute to the ingenuity and teamwork demonstrated by America's forces in the Pacific as well as a celebration of the human spirit
PACIFIC WAR STORIES: In The Words Of Those Who Survived
by Rex Alan Smith Gerald A. MeehlThe most extensive collection published to date of first-person oral histories on so many diverse aspects of the war in the Pacific-told in gripping, eyewitness accounts by more than seventy veterans from all branches of service.In this new book by the authors of Pacific Legacy: Image and Memory of World War II in the Pacific, the history of the War in the Pacific comes vividly to life in the words of those who witnessed it first hand. The editors create for the reader, as the veterans themselves recall it, what that war was like-how it looked, felt, smelled, and sounded. The stories collected here are a unique portrayal of the mundane, exotic, boring, terrifying, life-altering events that made up their wartime experiences in World War II in the Pacific, a war fought on countless far-flung islands over an area that constitutes about one-third of the globe. What the veterans saw and lived through has stayed with them their entire lives, and much of it comes to the surface again through their vivid memories.The narratives, grouped into fifteen thematic, chronologically arranged chapters, are stirring, first-hand accounts, from front-line combat at the epicenter of violence and death to restless, weary boredom on rear area islands thousands of miles from the fighting. While their experiences differed, all were changed by what happened to them in the Pacific. These are not the stories of sweeping strategies or bold moves by generals and admirals. Instead, we hear from men and women on the lower rungs, including ordinary seamen on vessels that encountered Japanese warships and planes and sometimes came out second best, rank-and-file Marines who were in amtracs churning toward bullet-swept tropical beaches and saw their buddies killed beside them, and astounded eyewitnesses to the war's sudden start on December 7, 1941. This is an important book for military buffs as well as for the survivors of World War II and their families.
The Pacific War Uncensored: A War Correspondent's Unvarnished Account of the Fight Against Japan
by Harold Guard John Tring“Spotlights the career of a fascinating modern warrior, while also shedding light on some of the conflicts that have raged throughout the world” (Tucson Citizen).A former South African Air Force pilot who saw action throughout the region from the 1970s on, Neall Ellis is the best-known mercenary combat aviator alive. Apart from flying Alouette helicopter gunships in Angola, he fought in the Balkan war for the Islamic forces, tried to resuscitate Mobutu’s ailing air force during his final days ruling the Congo, flew Mi-8s for Executive Outcomes, and piloted an Mi-8 fondly dubbed “Bokkie” for Colonel Tim Spicer in Sierra Leone. Finally, with a pair of aging Mi-24 Hinds, Ellis ran the Air Wing out of Aberdeen Barracks in the war against Sankoh’s vicious RUF rebels. As a “civilian contractor,” Ellis has also flown helicopter support missions in Afghanistan, where, he reckons, he had more close shaves than in his entire previous four decades.From single-handedly turning the enemy back from the gates of Freetown to helping rescue eleven British soldiers who’d been taken hostage, Ellis’s many missions earned him a price on his head, with reports of a million-dollar dead-or-alive reward. This book describes the full career of this storied aerial warrior, from the bush and jungles of Africa to the forests of the Balkans and the merciless mountains of Afghanistan. Along the way the reader encounters a multiethnic array of enemies ranging from ideological to cold-blooded to pure evil, as well as examples of incredible heroism for hire.
Pacification (Indochina Monographs #10)
by Brig. Gen. Tran Dinh ThoIncludes over 30 maps and illustrationsThis monograph forms part of the Indochina Monograph series written by senior military personnel from the former Army of the Republic of Vietnam who served against the northern communist invasion.Pacification is the military, political, economic, and social process of establishing or re-establishing local government responsive to and involving the participation of the people. It includes the provision of sustained, credible territorial security, the destruction of the enemy's underground government, the assertion or re-assertion of political control and involvement of the people in government, and the initiation of economic and social activity capable of self-sustenance and expansion.Defined as such, pacification is a broad and complex strategic concept which encompasses many fields of national endeavor. As a program implemented jointly with the U.S. military effort in South Vietnam, pacification appears to have involved every American serviceman and civilian who served there, many of whom indeed participated in conceiving the idea and helping put it to work.In the attempt to present every relevant aspect of the GVN pacification effort, I have mostly relied on my personal experience as one of the many architects who helped draw part of the blueprint and oversaw its progress, and complemented it by conducting interviews with responsible officials and studying available documentation.
El pacifista
by John BoyneJohn Boyne maneja los hilos del relato con gran destreza, hasta alcanzar un desenlace impactante, de los que permanecen en el recuerdo. Septiembre de 1919. Tristan Sadler, de veintiún años, coge un tren de Londres a Norwich para devolverle a Marian Bancroft las cartas que ésta escribió a su difunto hermano, Will, durante la Gran Guerra. Will y Tristan tuvieron una relación íntima, pero las cartas son sólo el pretexto de la visita. En realidad, Tristan guarda un doloroso secreto en lo más hondo de su ser, un secreto que está dispuesto a compartir con la hermana de su amigo, si finalmente consigue reunir el valor necesario. El pacifista es una novela de heroísmo, amor y traición en el universo moralmente nebuloso de la guerra. En un entorno donde imperan la crueldad y la sinrazón, dos jovencísimos soldados libran una amarga batalla contra la complejidad de sus emociones. Su amistad, primero en el campo de instrucción ydespués en las trincheras del norte de Francia, trae consigo la intensa luz del autoconocimiento y la felicidad, pero también las tinieblas del desconcierto y el dolor. La crítica ha dicho...«Una novela de una profunda melancolía [...]. John Boyne es muy, muy bueno en su retrato del poder destructivo de un secreto dolorosamente guardado.»John Irving «Una novela que se interroga con crudeza no sólo sobre qué significa ser hombre sino qué significa ser una persona en las circunstancias extremas de la guerra.»The Irish Times «Impactante, emotiva y hermosamente escrita. Se convertirá en un clásico de las novelas sobre la guerra.»The Bookseller «La deshonra y la culpa son dos enormes sombras en este libro, en el que Boyne conecta la deshonra sexual con la deshonra moral y la deshonra social.»Irish Independent
Pacifists in Chains: The Persecution of Hutterites during the Great War (Young Center Books in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies)
by Duane C. StoltzfusDocuments the disturbing history of four pacifists imprisoned for their refusal to serve during World War I.To Hutterites and members of other pacifist sects, serving the military in any way goes against the biblical commandment "thou shalt not kill" and Jesus’s admonition to turn the other cheek when confronted with violence. Pacifists in Chains tells the story of four young men—Joseph Hofer, Michael Hofer, David Hofer, and Jacob Wipf—who followed these beliefs and refused to perform military service in World War I. The men paid a steep price for their resistance, imprisoned in Alcatraz and Fort Leavenworth, where the two youngest died. The Hutterites buried the men as martyrs, citing mistreatment.Using archival material, letters from the four men and others imprisoned during the war, and interviews with their descendants, Duane C. S. Stoltzfus explores the tension between a country preparing to enter into a world war and a people whose history of martyrdom for their pacifist beliefs goes back to their sixteenth-century Reformation beginnings.