Great Naval Battles of the Pacific War

Great Naval Battles of the Pacific War compiled by John Grehan and published

by Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 296

The key naval battles against Imperial Japan in the Pacific during the Second World War have

been described many times by numerous diligent and skilful historians. Such histories

are, of course, the products of many years, even decades, of accumulated knowledge,

but also of a received consensus of how the war played out to its, seemingly, inevitable

conclusion. That of course is not how it was perceived at the time. Hindsight, as we know,

gives us 20/20 vision. The accounts here, compiled for and on behalf of the Admiralty,

were written either during or immediately after the end of the war before historians had

begun to give their assessments of these momentous events.

These accounts were written for internal consumption, to guide and instruct naval officers. It was never intended that they would be released to the general public. As such, there was no jingoistic drum beating, no axes to grind, no new angles to try and find. The authors of these accounts relate each battle, move by move, as they unfolded, accurately and dispassionately.

This makes these accounts so invaluable. They read almost like a running commentary, as action follows action, minute follows minute. This sensation is magnified by the absolute impartiality of the authors, their sole attempt being to provide a thorough but very clear and comprehensible record so that others in the future could understand precisely how each battle was fought.

These accounts can never be superseded and never replaced. Written by naval officers of the time for naval officers of the future, they are the permanent record of the great victories, and the sobering defeat in the Java Sea, during the struggle for control of the Pacific which, for many months, hung precariously in the balance.

This book is a very formal book really to read, mainly because it wasn’t aimed at the general public consumption, they were written by naval officials for naval officials. The book covers official reports on the Midway, Coral Sea, Java Sea, Guadal Canal and the Leyte Gulf the key battles in the naval war of the Far East. Although the reports throughout the book are official ones, they are really good, detailed and comprehensive as you would expect. Some of them are a little dry, but then that is what you would expect. This has been a really good book to read and I have enjoyed the formal approach to normal as a change.