The Darkest Hour: Volume 2: The Japanese Offensive in the Indian Ocean 1942 - The Attack Against Ceylon and the Eastern Fleet

The Darkest Hour: Volume 2: The Japanese Offensive in the Indian Ocean 1942 - The Attack Against Ceylon and the Eastern Fleet PDF

Author: Michal A. Piegzik

Publisher: Asia@War

Published: 2022-08-25

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781804510230

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This book presents the Japanese navy offensive in the Indian Ocean area in March-April 1942. Its main goal was to destroy the Royal Navy in the Far East and achieve domination on the Eastern flank of the Pacific War on the eve of the battle of Midway.

ÒThe Most Dangerous Moment of the WarÓ

ÒThe Most Dangerous Moment of the WarÓ PDF

Author: John Clancy

Publisher: Casemate

Published: 2015-11-19

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1612003346

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In early April 1942, a little-known episode of World War II took place, said by Sir Winston Churchill to be Òthe most dangerous moment of the war,Ó when the Japanese made their only major offensive westwards into the Indian Ocean. Historian Sir Arthur Bryant said, ÒA Japanese naval victory in April 1942 would have given Japan total control of the Indian Ocean, isolated the Middle East and brought down the Churchill government.Ó War in the Far East had erupted with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, followed in succession by Japanese drives on the Philippines, Indochina, the Java Sea and Singapore. Seemingly unstoppable, the Japanese now had a vast new empire, and having crippled the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, turned their sights on the British Eastern Fleet based at Ceylon. Occupation of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) would not only provide the Japanese a springboard into India but control of the essential convoy routes to Europe and the Western Desert. And aside from the British Eastern Fleet, the Indian Ocean lay undefended. So far the Japanese had suffered no significant losses and the question on everyoneÕs lips was how soon the enemy would appear off India. In April 1942 a Japanese fleet led by six aircraft carriers, four battleships and 30 other ships sailed into the Bay of Bengal. After the war Churchill said that potential disaster was averted by the actions of one pilot, Squadron Leader L.J. Birchall, who in his Catalina flying boat spotted the Japanese warships massing some 350 miles from Ceylon. He was shot down by a Japanese Zero but not before sending a brief radio message back to his base. This gave the islandÕs defense forces time to prepare. In the ferocious battles that followed, the British lost a carrier, two heavy cruisers and many other ships; however, the Japanese eventually turned back, never to sail against India again. John Clancy, whose father survived the sinking of HMS Cornwall during the battle, tells the story of this dramatic but little known campaign in which a major Allied catastrophe was only narrowly averted.

The Darkest Hour: Volume 1 - The Japanese Offensive in the Indian Ocean

The Darkest Hour: Volume 1 - The Japanese Offensive in the Indian Ocean PDF

Author: Michal A. Piegzik

Publisher: Asia@War

Published: 2022-04-15

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13: 9781915070616

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The Darkest Hour presents the Imperial Japanese Navy offensive in the Indian Ocean area in March-April 1942, the main goal of which was to destroy the Royal Navy in the Far East and achieve domination on the eastern flank of the Pacific War on the eve of the Battle of Midway.The bold operation of two Japanese task forces (Kidō Butai and Malay Force) in the Indian Ocean could not be possible without the fall of Singapore in February and the Dutch East Indies in early March 1942. From the strategic point of view, the Japanese offensive in the Indian Ocean was the only moment in the Second World War when the Axis forces could coordinate their efforts to severely threaten the position of the British Empire in the crucial Middle East and India areas.The Darkest Hour describes the strategic planning of both sides in February-March 1942, including the Japanese navy projections on the last steps of the first stage of the Pacific War, and the Royal Navy's hopes to halt the enemy advance without taking any significant risks.The Japanese offensive in the Indian Ocean began in March 1942 with the invasion of the Andaman Islands and Christmas Island. By securing both vital positions, the Japanese navy planned to establish its advanced bases in the eastern part of the Bay of Bengal. In the next step, the invincible Kidō Butai consisting of five aircraft carriers and their escorts, was expected to crush the British bases on Ceylon and once and forever destroy the main core of the Eastern Fleet. The chaos provoked by the Kidō Butai would then become a great opportunity for the Malay Force to cut off the British shipping routes in the western part of the Bay of Bengal.The Darkest Hour is the first systematic attempt to describe the less-well known part of the Pacific War by researching both British and Japanese archive documents and other secondary sources published in many countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, and India.

Japan’s Indian Ocean Raid 1942

Japan’s Indian Ocean Raid 1942 PDF

Author: Mark Stille

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2023-12-21

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1472854179

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An detailed illustrated exploration of the Japanese raid into the Indian Ocean in April 1942 – one of the largest operations conducted by the Imperial Navy during the war. In the wake of Japan's conquest of Burma in early 1942, plans were formed by the Imperial high command to capture Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka) to consolidate Japan's defensive perimeter and disrupt British shipping lanes to India, Australia, and the Middle East. The Imperial Japanese Army, however, could not release sufficient troops for an invasion, and so in response the Japanese Navy developed Operation C, an aggressive raid by the Combined Fleet into the Indian Ocean. The key objective was to destroy the British Eastern Fleet in port. Expert naval historian Mark Stille documents the high point of Japanese naval air power as its carriers struck Ceylon – the heart of British naval power in the East – sinking several Allied ships. He describes the Allied air attempts to destroy Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's force, and the Japanese attacks against British shipping and the cities along the Indian coast. Specially commissioned battlescenes bring to life the sinking of British carrier Hermes, the Bristol Blenheim attacks on the Japanese carrier force, and a Zero vs Hurricane dogfight over Colombo on 5 April. Easy to follow maps and diagrams reveal the strategic situation at the start and end of the campaign, and track the movements of the Japanese carrier task force and the British Eastern Fleet throughout. Details of weaponry, equipment, personnel and the events of the fascinating battles that took place are revealed in over 60 photographs, many of which are from Japanese sources.

Sunk: The Story Of The Japanese Submarine Fleet 1941-1945

Sunk: The Story Of The Japanese Submarine Fleet 1941-1945 PDF

Author: Lt.-Com. Mochitsura Hashimoto

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2015-11-06

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 1786257300

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What happened to Japan’s submarines and what sort of fight did they put up? As far as Japan was concerned, the recent war was waged according to a rigid strategy. There was no detailed operational planning. It was a fight in which science had been ignored. In such circumstances the submarine, always highly vulnerable unless used intelligently, was inevitably sacrificed. Throughout the war the whole submarine fleet was in reality a special attack force in which, in the absence of scientific weapons, the crews were just so much human ammunition. Today we hear much about rearmament. If money is to be spent on armaments, it should be used for scientific development. Never again must we go to war with only a bamboo lance. The Japanese Submarine Fleet was entirely wiped out, but the martial spirits of its sailors are still with us on the far-flung oceans. In the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the Atlantic we remember the multitude of resentful sleeping warriors; in our ears we hear the whisper of the “voice from the bottom of the sea.” Thus, as one of the few submarine captains to survive, I have taken up my pen to try to record something of the unknown hardships and successes of our submarines. “Despite the gloomy conditions under which they worked, our submarines fought well, and the grim story of Japanese submarine units has been well recorded by former Lieutenant Commander Hashimoto. “It is certainly valuable material, and I wish to recommend it as an excellent history.”—S. Toyoda, Former C.-in-C., Combined Fleet, IJN

Backroom Briefings

Backroom Briefings PDF

Author: Frederick T. Smith

Publisher: National Library Australia

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 0642106886

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Backroom Briefings shows a Prime Minister acute in analysis, vigorous in language and confident of his decisions—a unique insight into the qualities and style of a man whose political career and prime ministership have, until now, been poorly documented.

American Airpower Comes Of Age—General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold’s World War II Diaries Vol. II [Illustrated Edition]

American Airpower Comes Of Age—General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold’s World War II Diaries Vol. II [Illustrated Edition] PDF

Author: Gen. Henry H. “Hap.” Arnold

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2015-11-06

Total Pages: 570

ISBN-13: 1786251523

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Includes the Aerial Warfare In Europe During World War II illustrations pack with over 180 maps, plans, and photos. Gen Henry H. “Hap.” Arnold, US Army Air Forces (AAF) Chief of Staff during World War II, maintained diaries for his several journeys to various meetings and conferences throughout the conflict. Volume 1 introduces Hap Arnold, the setting for five of his journeys, the diaries he kept, and evaluations of those journeys and their consequences. General Arnold’s travels brought him into strategy meetings and personal conversations with virtually all leaders of Allied forces as well as many AAF troops around the world. He recorded his impressions, feelings, and expectations in his diaries. Maj Gen John W. Huston, USAF, retired, has captured the essence of Henry H. Hap Arnold—the man, the officer, the AAF chief, and his mission. Volume 2 encompasses General Arnold’s final seven journeys and the diaries he kept therein.

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