Empires in the Balance: Japanese and Allied Pacific Strategies to April 1942 (World War II) [Paperback]

H. P. Willmott (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1591149487 | ISBN-13: 978-1591149484 | Publication Date: October 15, 2008 | Edition: 2

The respected British military historian H. P. Willmott presents the first of a three-volume appraisal of the strategic policies of the countries involved in the Pacific War. Remarkable in its scope and depth of research, his thoughtful analysis covers the whole range of political, economic, military, and naval activity in the Pacific. This first volume comprehensively covers events between December 1941 and April 1942, concluding with the Doolittle Raid on April 18. When published in hardcover in 1982, the book was hailed as an eloquent portrayal of great empires on trial that no one should miss. Willmott's stimulating and original approach to the subject remains unmatched even today.

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: 511 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press; 2 edition (October 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591149487
• ISBN-13: 978-1591149484
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #372,635 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on the origins of the Pacific War, December 29, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: Empires in the Balance: Japanese and Allied Pacific Strategies to April 1942 (Hardcover)

Superbly well written book on how the Pacific War orginated and the basic thought pattern of the Japanese military thought prior to their attack on Pearl Harbor. I thought the author did an very good job in analyzing and thinking through the military, economic and political situation prior to the Pacific War. The book also goes into what the allies were thinking as well and their strategies in responding to the Japanese moves. The book covered the period up to April 1942. By then, allies strategic plans have gone down the wastebasket with Singapore and Bataan falling to the outnumbered Japanese. When I initially read this book, it was one of the first time I realized that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor may not have been a big as success as we Americans often thought it was. I realized now that Admiral Yamamoto's objective at Pearl Harbor should have been the naval base at Pearl Harbor instead of the ships. In many ways, the battleships were unimportant element in the overall scheme of thing. The base, was far more important then any group of ships! Interesting insight such as this can be found throughout this book which make it somewhat a necessary for any one interested in the Pacific War to read.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Readable, June 13, 2002

By 

Tom Munro "tomfrombrunswick" (Melbourne, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Empires in the Balance: Japanese and Allied Pacific Strategies to April 1942 (Hardcover)

This is basically a book which examines Japan's rise to Empire, its motives for attacking the United States and starting the Pacific War, and the first six months of the course of the conflict.

The book's author is a reasonably prolific writer whose style is easy to read and unlike some popularisers he has a good grasp of his topic.

Japan's history is interesting as it opened up to the West and modernised at the time that the European Powers had carved up most of Asia and Africa as their private fiefdoms. The gospel of the time was a book written by Admiral Mahan called the Importance of Sea Power in History. Japan caught up in the fashions of the time decided to embark on the quest of Empire. They built a large army and navy to assist them. The basic problem was that to gain an empire they would have to divest someone else of it as most of the known world had been carved up.

Japan initially attacked China and Russia. By allying with Britain and fighting in the First World War it was able to gain a number of pacific Islands. During the 30's it embarked on a series of wars with China which gave it a huge amount of territory. The problem was that this antagonised the United States who imposed an oil embargo to try to stop the Chinese war. Japan was a country which was totally dependant on imported oil to supply its war machine. The embargo meant that it had about one years oil for its ships and about six months aviation fuel. Faced with either giving in or attacking, Japan decided on the later.

In reality this was a stupid decision. The Japanese by declaring war immediately started to have problems. It was reliant on imported raw materials for its industry and it imported food. The basis of its trade system was the use of foreign ships as well as its own. By declaring war Japan immediately lost the ability to use foreign ships. With its existing merchant marine Japan was barely able to transport essentials. In addition it had to conquer the oil rich areas of Indonesia within six months to be able to keep its economy going. It did not have enough Tankers to move the oil from the conquered regions if it was successful.

The reality of course was that Japan had stopped operating as a state in the early 1920's. Since that time authority had fragmented so that the decision to invade China rather than being the result of some considered policy was undertaken by army units which did not recognisee the central civil authority. Japan limped along with the real power being located in the various armed services but in reality even this power was fragmented.

The miracle was of course that in the first six months the Japanese were victorious everywhere. Of course after that they never won a battle.

This book is interesting as it explains the process. It is strongest in talking about the Japanese history and motives prior to the war. The coverage of the early campaigns is very readable but falls into some traps of previous histories.

For example the Japanese invasion of Malaya was against numerically superior forces. The numbers in favour of the defence was 5:2. For the British to lose required massive incompetence. In this campaign the British command effectively was hopeless dispersing its armies allowing them to be defeated in detail. Even at the point of surrender the Japanese had run out of ammunition and were about to withdraw. The author however accepts that there was some inevitability to what happened.

In much the same way, although he is critical of MacArhur in the Philippines, he again seems to accept the inevitability of Japanese victory. This is despite the fact that the American forces again were about twice that of the invading army, that the defending forces had tanks and aircraft and that the Japanese were poorly supplied.

Despite these minor criticisms the book is well researched and readable.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best, March 9, 2009

By 

Philip Draper (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Empires in the Balance: Japanese and Allied Pacific Strategies to April 1942 (World War II) (Paperback)

Everyone who seriously studies the Pacific War should read this book. First, it is a great read as Willmott writes a narrative that flows ever so smoothly. Like others, I could not put it down. Not only does it read well, but Willmott provides invaluable insights into the making and execution of both Japanese and American strategy during the first phase of the Pacific War. His thoughts regarding the Japanese strategic paralysis following their opening offensives is worth the price itself. One of my favorite works of military history.