Operation Pacific: The Royal Navy’s War against Japan 1941–1945

Hollywood's version of the Naval War in the Pacific has led many people to believe that it was an all-American affair and that the Royal Navy took no part in it. But, as Edwin Gray shows in Operation Pacific, Such a scenario is a travesty of the truth. In fact, the Royal Navy and its Commonwealth partners played a very significant role in the Pacific War and waged a vigorous non-stop battle with the enemy, from the earliest days of defeat and disaster though to the ultimate triumph of Victory. And, indeed, it is not generally realised that Japanese troops actually landed in Malaya and opened hostilities in Britain a full ninety minutes before Nagumo's dive-bombers swept down on the unsuspecting American pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour to bring the United States into the war. Operation Pacific is the first book to provide a full and detailed account of Britain's Naval contribution tot he ultimate defeat of Japan – a saga that ranges from the darkest days pf December 1941, to the vast carrier operations and kamikaze attacks of the final battles in 1945. And, while in no way disparaging the heroic achievements and fighting courage of the US forces in the Pacific, Edwyn Gray reveals that the Royal Navy's cooperation was not always welcomed by her over-mighty Ally and that America's top brass, notably admiral Ernest King and General Douglas MacAuthur , were implacably opposed to British involvement in the Pacific for both practical and political reasons. Offering a clear, concise, and comprehensive picture of the part played by the Royal Navy and Commonwealth forces in the Far East War, Operation pacific is an absorbing story handled with all the skill which readers have come to expect from one of the leading popular naval historians of our day.