North African Victory: The 8th Army from Alam Halfa to Tunis, 1942-43

History

STEWART, Adrian

Military

Penguin Uk

Stewart, Adrian, Battle Of Leyte Gulf, The

THE BATTLE OF LEYTE GULF

Asia

SCRIBNERS

The Battle of Leyte Gulf

Hale

Hurricane: the war exploits of the fighter aircraft

William Kimber

Guadalcanal, World War II's fiercest naval campaign

Kimber

During the five months from early December 1941 until early May 1942 the British suffered a series of defeats unequalled in their modern history. Unequalled partly because they occurred over a huge area and were suffered alike by all three of the armed services and partly because disaster followed disaster with scarcely a single ray of light to brighten the gloom. As Adrian Stewart comments, 'The onslaught was the more stunning because the British had long been convinced that Japan was not a foe to be feared.' In this admirable survey, the author traces what happened in those five months, giving not only the British but also the Japanese side of events, thus demonstrating how it was that, often with inferior numbers, the underrated enemy swept all before them. Covering the air force, military and naval actions, he shows how disasters such as the loss of 'Prince of Wales' and 'Repulse', the fall of Singapore, the Malayan Campaign, the fall of Rangoon and finally the retreat from Burma led to a loss of face and influence in erstwhile British colonies that was never to be rewon, even when two years later the British determinedly fought their way back to Burma. Unlike many previous writers, Adrian Stewart argues that the principal blame lay not with the British serviceman, nor his commanders, nor the disadvantages faced by the British fighting in the Far East. The main cause was the skill and determination of the Japanese forces - factors which had been underestimated before the war. Such complacency towards potential threats provides a lesson for the present - and a warning for the future.

The underrated enemy: Britain's war with Japan, December 1941-May 1942

Adrian Turner redresses the imbalance by describing the progress of this fighting force and describing the ferocity of such battles as that for the Mareth Line.

Alamein to Tunis: The Eighth Army's in North Africa

Turner, Adrian

PEN SWORD BOOKS

Kamikaze: Japan's Last Bid for Victory

Review\n"...an easy-to-read, well-written book..." 
Naval Historical Foundation\n"...an informative and enjoyable study of this aspect of the war in the Pacific theater." 
Naval War College Review\n"The author describes not only the action but the Japanese culture that made the kamikazes possible." 
Seapower\nIn this fascinating book the author examines the Japanese concept of Kamikaze, the deliberate self-sacrifice of life in the cause of victory. This attitude, while incomprehensible to their American and European enemies, has its roots in the samurai tradition of fighting for their master or nation regardless of personal safety.\nBy late 1944 the Japanese had already proved themselves fanatical but the actions of the Kamikaze Corps of pilots from the Leyte Gulf battle onwards took matters to a new level. Allied forces were shocked to find themselves the subject of widespread deliberate suicide attacks by pilots.\nThese continued during the invasion of the Philippines in early 1945 and reached a climax during the Battle of Okinawa from 1 April to June 1945. In total over 1000 kamikaze airmen perished.\nGraphic description of these suicide attacks and the resulting loss of life and ships litter this revealing and shocking book.\nThe author’s in depth study of the historic and cultural reasons for this seemingly reckless courage is important and illuminating.

Self-Help

Death & Grief

Pen and Sword Aviation

Monty's Greatest Battles 1942–1945

World

Pen and Sword Military

As the saying goes ‘it is darkest before the dawn’ and so it was for Churchill and the British people during the Second World War. During February 1942, bad news of disasters came in an unbroken and seemingly endless sequence from the Far East to the Home Front. Some such as the Fall of Singapore and the Royal Navy’s humiliation over the escape of the Scharhnhorst and Gneisenau are well known but always worth retelling. Others less written about such as the challenge to Churchill at home, heavily strained relations with Commonwealth allies, the Japanese raid on Darwin and Rommel’s return in North Africa were equally serious and full of foreboding for the future outcome of the War. February 1942 was in retrospect, the month in which many long-established beliefs were destroyed for ever. It was the month that confirmed that Britain no longer ruled the waves; that saw British prestige so damaged that it could never be fully restored; that foreshadowed and ensured the end of Britain’s Empire; that demonstrated the immense strain that could be put on Britain’s relations with the Commonwealth’s self-governing Dominions. In short it was the month that changed Britain’s world. It was also the month at the end of which Britain seemed likely to lose the War. Happily, this did not prove the case – so perhaps February 1942 further shows that a country can receive terrible blows but still survive and endure.

February 1942: Britain’s Darkest Days

Europe

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Books by STEWART, Adrian