An unprecedented account of the monumental Pacific War campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its strength and supremacy and established the foundation for America to become a dominant global superpower Here is the extraordinary story of the most consequential campaign of the Pacific War: the U.S. Fifth Fleet’s seizure of the Marianas, a relentless deployment of overwhelming force on … overwhelming force on air, land, and sea that opened the path to total victory over Japan and established a new state of the art in warfare: the first use of the forerunners of today’s SEALs; the emergence of massive cross-hemispheric expeditionary operations; the flowering of American naval aviation and carrier power; and the secret training of Marianas-based air crews who would first unleash nuclear fire.
From the epic seaborne invasion of Saipan, to the stunning aerial battles of the Marianas Turkey Shoot, to the grinding combat ashore—and the largest suicide attack of the war—to the devastating bombing campaign that culminated with Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Marianas were the fulcrum of the Pacific. Filled with memorable action set pieces and closely observed portraits of the naval, air, and ground-force warriors and commanders who revolutionized warfare, The Fleet at Flood Tide is the broadly encompassing story of the full materialization of America as a world-class military power.
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I’ve read many books on the naval war in the Pacific but none hit me so hard as this magisterial work by America’s finest naval historian. And how many amateur historians knew that Admiral Spruance, NOT Halsey, was the author of our greatest victories at sea against the mighty Japanese fleet. His portrayal of the events prior to, during and after the invasion of Saipan is simply spine-tingling. If you care anything about history, you won’t be able to put this great book down.
While note ground-breaking, it is a well-written and very interesting history of the last year or so of WWII in the Pacific.
A good account of the history of WWII in the Pacific. Not too much detail on the battles but enough to keep it interesting. A lot of effort spent on defining the relationships of the important Admirals and Generals with each other and how that affected the war effort. I learned more about the personalities than I have in other books that I have read. A well put together account and worth a read….
The personal stories are always a highlight of his books. Leaves you in awe of what they endured.
best I’ve read on WW2 navy
I thought I was knowledgeable about the war in the Pacific until I read this book! Definitively researched and exquisitely written, this book brings you behind the scenes as it were by using numerous primary sources to explain not just the war changing decisions that were made, but the thoughts and feelings of the persecution makers and participants in their own words.
Especially valuable is the reasoned examination of the decision making process in dropping the atomic bomb, adding to the work presented in Hell to Pay – Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan 1945-47 by D.M. Giangrego. Of note, I have researched this quite extensively as my father would have been an 18 year old radar man on a pocket destroyer in Operation Olympic, the invasion of Kyushu, and thus stood a good chance of being one of the estimated 250,000 American casualties.
A detailed account of the 1944-45 war in the Pacific containing little-known facts about the personalities, tactics, strategies and battles that ended the war. I was especially impressed by Spruance’s dogged adherence to the mission during the Marianas campaign when, despite pressure from subordinates like Mitscher, he refused to abandon the landing beaches at Saipan to chase the Japanese fleet and still commanded a stunning victory. The refusal to abandon the mission stands in sharp contrast to Halsey’s abandonment of the mission during the battle of Leyte Gulf when he left the Phillipine invasion beaches virtually unprotected in order to chase down a Japanese decoy fleet. It was only by amazing luck and the heroism of a small escort carrier force that the Japanese were thwarted and Halsey’s career left intact.
This is a magisterial view of the US Navy in the Pacific from 1944 to 1945. The author points out that were it not for the capture of Saipan, Tinian and Guam, the war would have gone on beyond 1945 with hundreds of thousands more lives, both US and Japanese, lost. The planes that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan took off from Tinian. The author gives a blow by blow account of the invasion of these three islands and of the naval strategy that led to the end of the war. He says that this book is along the lines of “How stuff works.”
At one point, he is talking about Navy officers guiding troops going ashore scouting channels for them. There were two officers, one short and one tall marking paths for short and taller men. “After and forevermore, these two officers were known as Low water and High water.”
He devotes considerable space to naval styles of two alternating fleet commanders, William Halsey and Raymond Spruance and makes a very good case that Spruance was a much better strategist.
He also addresses the revisionist theory that dropping the atomic bombs was not necessary. He proves this theory to be totally baseless. The idea that Soviet Union would act as a mediator in peace negotiations was “… richly Fanciful, as Moscow had already informed Tokyo that it would not renew the Russo-Japanese Neutrality Pact.”
Die hard Japanese militarists refused to surrender after both atom bombs were dropped, and it was only the intervention by the Emperor who agreed to peace terms by the Allies. The author believes that the impact of these bombs on Emperor Hirohito’s mind was the crucial element in the surrender of Japan.
I rate this book 4.5 stars out 5(rounded up to 5). Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC ebook.
Very detailed of the key persons involved in the war against Japan and the use of the Atomic bomb.
I found this book to be full of new facts about this theatre of operations in WW2.
A solid exposition of the final phases of the war in the Pacific. Well paced, informative and well worth reading.
Should be required reading in high school. Shows the terrible costs of war and the gut wrenching decisions that have to me made by the winners and losers.