Barrier and the Javelin: Japanese and Allied Strategies, February to June 1942 [Paperback]

H. P. Willmott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2008

The second part of H. P. Willmott's three-volume history of the war in the Pacific, this work tells how Japan arrived at a situation in which war with the United States was the only means of ensuring long-term security and resolving her immediate problems of access to raw materials and of an unwinnable war in China. Totally balanced in presentation, the book also explains the basis of Allied miscalculations and provides explanations of the defeats that overwhelmed American, British, and Dutch forces throughout Southeast Asia in a little more than three months. Willmott argues that it was Japan's concentration and economy of force that contributed to its success in that early campaign. It was a later decision to disperse forces over a large area, he says, that resulted in Japan's loss of the Coral Sea and Midway battles and ultimately the entire war. The book's stunning assessment of those battles offers insights and interpretations that continue to be discussed, twenty-five years after it was first published.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

H. P. WILLMOTT, a member of the Royal Historical Society, has written more than a dozen books on modern naval and military subjects, including the final work in his trilogy, Grave of a Dozen Schemes, and the critically acclaimed history of World War II, The Great Crusade. He holds a doctorate from London University and has taught military history at institutions in both Great Britain and the United States.

Product Details

• Paperback: 616 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (October 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591149495
• ISBN-13: 978-1591149491
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #353,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Period where the Pacific War was won...., June 15, 2004

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Barrier and the Javelin: Japanese and Allied Strategies, February to June 1942 (Hardcover)

The Barrier and the Javelin proves to be well written and well researched book which centered around Japanese and Allied strategies that led up the stalement battle at Coral Sea and total American victory at Midway.

The book revealed that Japanese naval forces, despite of all its abilities, superior ships and planes and its highly trained crew, could not defeat its outnumbered enemies due to poor strategy. It was clear that the Japanese have badly over extended themselves and try to be too clever with their strategies which backfired on them.

I agreed with the previous reviewer that the author, H.P. Willmott was bit too judgmental on the wrong sides at times. A good example would be those Japanese raids into the Indian Ocean which was a terrible waste of men and material, especially since the British navy in that area served as no threat and primary duty of the Imperial Navy was to chased down the American carriers. But on the other hand, I thought Willmott's condemnation of Admiral Yamamoto was right on the mark. Too long have this Japanese admiral been overrated by many historians based on one successful attack on Pearl Harbor. Yamamoto fumbled terribly at Midway. (Personally, I thought he fumbled badly at Pearl Harbor too.) The author also cites superior American military intelligence as well as a lot of luck to win a battle of Midway that the Japanese should have won hands down.

Anyone with any interest in this subject should be reading this very insightful book. Its not really for casual reader so I would recommended folks who already have a good background on the Pacific War to tackled this book. A good companion book to Willmot's earlier book, Empires in the Balance, both books, in my humble opinion, belong to any library of a military historian who got an interest in this field.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Battles of Coral Sea and Midway, December 16, 2002

By 

Smallchief - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Barrier and the Javelin: Japanese and Allied Strategies, February to June 1942 (Hardcover)

This book is about Japanese and American planning and strategy in the naval battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. At the Coral Sea in May 1942, the Americans scored their first semi-victory of World War II. At Midway in June 1942 the Americans stunned the over-confident Japanese by sinking four of their aircraft carriers at the loss of one of their own.

Willmott's theme is that Japan should have won both battles against an out-numbered and inexperienced American navy, but did not because of woolly strategy and poor planning. At Midway Japan had two objectives: conquer the island and destroy the American fleet. These objectives should have been reversed in priority. Moreover, Japan split its superior naval forces into three isolated groups and thus permitted the Americans to meet and fight one of these groups on equal terms. The Japanese also assumed that the Americans would always do exactly what Japan wanted them to do and were unprepared for surprises.

The Americans, on their part, had superior intelligence (based on breaking Japanese codes), more durable ships and planes, and good luck. Willmott illustrates luck in his minute-by-minute examination of the mishaps of the Japanese in locating the American fleet at Midway. First, mechanical problems delayed the dispatch of a scout plane for half an hour and, next, the pilot inexplicably lingered near the American fleet for an hour before he reported the presence of carriers, an oversight that paralyzed the Japanese when they should have been attacking. As a result, American bombers scored first -- and decisive -- strikes against the Japanese carriers. But, Midway was a very near thing! 41 American torpedo bombers attacked in the first wave -- and only five came home again.

Willmott, a Brit, is opinionated and in the course of 500 pages, he makes some judgments I found questionable. For example, he seems to think it would have been a good idea for the Japanese navy to invade the Indian ocean and expel the British. That seems like a very bad idea. In my opinion, after the fall of Singapore in February 1942, Japan's overwhelming priority should have been to destroy the American aircraft carriers in the Pacific- but Japan dithered with raids on Ceylon and Australia and invasions of New Guinea. The delay proved to be fatal.

This is a good book for those whose interests go toward detailed examination of the thought processes of military planners and the battlefield decisions of leaders in charge of ships, planes, and men. Willmott probes deeply and provocatively into the calculations and miscalculations of men at war.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books of analysis on the first year of the Pacific War, October 12, 2009

By 

Charles L. Ainsworth (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Barrier and the Javelin: Japanese and Allied Strategies, February to June 1942 (Paperback)

H. P. Willmott has written three books of analysis on the critical first two years of the war between Japan and the Allied powers, including "Empires in the Balance", this one, and "The War with Japan". Of the three I think this book is the best. The book covers the naval war between the Allies and Japan from Pearl Harbor to after Midway. Willmott provides accounts on the combat between the adversaries, focusing on the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, and does a great job of giving inside details on Japanese operations, something which is often, unfortunately, lacking in other books by western historians.

More importantly, however, Willmott gives in-depth analysis of the reasons why Japan basically lost the war during this time period. I think Willmott's arguments are sound. I have seen his reasoning quoted in many other books, including, for example, "Shattered Sword" the recent book by Jon Parshall and Anthony Tully about the Japanese at Midway. I see that some reviewers here take issue with Willmott's opinions of the Japanese campaign, or lack thereof, against the British in India. Having read "Empires in the Balance" I believe I understand that the point Willmott is trying to make is that, in the great scheme of things, Germany and Japan really had only one way to defeat the Allies, and that was by coordinating their efforts to completely destroy the British Empire.

I would say that this is probably one of the best books on the first year of the Pacific War. The book also gives a good account of the Battle of the Coral Sea, which oddly has yet to receive the treatment it deserves in a single book. For these reasons I recommend this book to anyone interested in studying the Pacific War, especially the first year.