Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions: May 1942-August 1942 (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II) (v. 4) [Hardcover]

Samuel Eliot Morison (Author)

Book Description

Series: History of United States Naval Operations in World War II | Publication Date: May 2001

This spectacular fifteen-volume series that charts the U.S. Naval operations during World War II with an insider's perspective. Morison, a Harvard professor, was given a special rank and writing post by FDR. He had active duty aboard eleven different ships, allowing him to witness many crucial battles in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Volume Four - the second in this series on the war in the Pacific-turns the corner from defeat to victory, beginning with the first of the great carrier actions of the war, the Battle of the Coral Sea. Filled with many maps and file photographs.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 440 pages
• Publisher: Castle Books (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785813055
• ISBN-13: 978-0785813057
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,031,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Turning of the Tide in the Pacific, December 20, 2002

By 

Jeffrey T. Munson (Dixon, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions: May 1942-August 1942 (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II) (v. 4) (Hardcover)

1942 was a bleak period for the Americans in the Pacific, but within the span of one month, the Americans smashed back at the Japanese in two decisive battles and turned the tide of the war. The first of these battles was fought in the Coral Sea. The Japanese wanted to invade Port Morseby and use that as a springboard for a futute invasion of Australia. However, the Americans, with their top-secret code breakers, already knew the composition of the Japanese forces and where they planned to strike. In early May, 1942, the two sides engaged each other. The Coral Sea battle was the first sea battle fought where the opposing ships never saw one another. This was a tactical victory for the Japanese due to the fact that the American carrier Lexington was sunk along with a destroyer and a tanker, but it was a strategic victory for the Americans, because the Japanese recalled their Port Morseby invasion force.

The most important battle of the Pacific campaign was fought less than a month after the Coral Sea battle at a tiny island known as Midway. The Japanese hoped to capture Midway and use it as a springboard for a possible invasion of Hawaii or even the west coast. Once again, Nimitz knew of the Japanese plan thanks to his wonderous code-breakers. The Japanese launched a massive air assault from four carriers against Midway but failed to destroy the airfields. Aircraft were left on the decks of the carriers waiting for a second strike against Midway when the American torpedo and dive bombers appeared. The torpedo planes were slaughtered by Japanese fighters, but they didn't die in vain. They pulled the Japanese fighters down to sea level and gave the dive bombers a clear shot at the carriers. In a matter of minutes, three Japanese carriers were turned into blazing infernoes by accurately placed bombs. The fourth enemy carrier was sunk the next day. The tide had now turned against the Japanese. Never again would they regain the offensive.

This book does a good job of explaining both of these important battles. Important charts and maps are also included which made reading and understanding the battles much easier. Also included are early submarine attacks against the Japanese, the story of the Aleutian campaign, which was designed by the Japanese in the hopes of luring the American forces away from Midway. Fortunately, Nimitz recognized this as a feint and didn't bite. The opening stages of the Guadalcanal campaign are also discussed. The following volume in this series deals exclusively with Guadalcanal. I recommend this fine work of naval history. It will help the reader understand these two important battles and the role that they played in changing the course of the war in the Pacific.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning reversal of fortune from May to June, 1942, November 10, 2008

By 

William S. Grass "Pacific War enthusiast" (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions: May 1942-August 1942 (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II) (v. 4) (Hardcover)

This is volume IV of Samuel E. Morison's History of United States Naval Operations in WWII, and the second of nine on the Pacific theater. It details the two important battles of the Coral Sea and of Midway, where Japanese expansion in the Pacific ended for good.

In the previous volume, Morison introduced a theme of sorts by stating that "Stupidity characterized the strategy by which the Japanese navy was directed..." He expands upon that theme here in the present volume by commenting that "Whenever the Japanese planners disposed of sufficient strength, they divided forces and drafted an elaborate plan, the successful execution of which required a technical competence rare at any time in any Navy..." It also didn't hurt the U.S.'s chances that on both occasions, Coral Sea and Midway, the U.S. had learned ahead of time about the Japanese intentions and plans due to lax security on the part of Japan and outstanding code breaking by the U.S.

Anyone well read on the Pacific theater knows the highlights of these two watershed carrier actions, the abandonment by the Japanese of their designs on Port Moresby in the wake of Coral Sea, and the crushing loss of the four big carriers at Midway, along with the cream of the Japanese naval air service, which they were never able to replace. All of this, starting with Coral Sea on May 7, 1942, Morison poignantly juxtaposes with the Wainwright surrender on Corregidor of May 6. The lowest point in the American Pacific experience happens only the day before the Coral Sea battle, to be followed a short month later by the stunning victory at Midway.

5.0 out of 5 stars Samuel Morison's Naval History of WWII, October 2, 2011

By 

Bruno J. Bischoff - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions: May 1942-August 1942 (History of United States Naval Operations in World War II) (v. 4) (Hardcover)

I've reviewed similiar books in the series, they are breathtaking in their scope, the author's writing is more like a fiction novel but all historically accurate, you start reading and you can't put it down.