Customer Reviews

USN Cruiser vs IJN Cruiser: Guadacanal 1942 (Duel)

5 star:		(5)
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3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The latest volume in Osprey's Duel series covers the intense naval surface actions that occurred between the cruisers of the United States Navy (USN) and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the waters around Guadalcanal in late 1942. This is a very interesting and well written study that is particularly well-suited for the Duel format, since it contrasts the development and combat between two equivalent weapon systems in a discrete period of time. Furthermore, the volume is complemented by a number of absolutely stunning photos of these handsome warships, particularly rare photos from the Japanese Yamato museum. In a nutshell, the author walks the reader through how both the USN and IJN designed and developed their cruiser forces and then how they performed against each other in the crucible of combat around Guadalcanal. Overall, I wouldn't say that there is much new or original here that readers familiar with Samuel Elliott Morrison or Richard B Frank wouldn't have seen before, but it is coherent, graphically appealing and serves its purpose well.

The author begins with an 11-page section that discusses the design and development of USN and IJN cruisers in the interwar period. Clearly, the London and Washington Navy Treaties had a huge impact upon the evolution of this weapon system, by limiting cruisers to 10,000 tons displacement and 8-inch guns. Each sides' cruiser doctrine is also discussed in this section, with the Americans conceiving of their cruisers as a multi-purpose scouting force primarily reliant on daytime gunnery, while the IJN based its cruiser doctrine on night-time torpedo attacks. The photos in this section are amazingly good. The 3-page "strategic situation" section is a bit weak, without any map of the theater of operations or order of battle of cruisers involved. Readers lacking background in the Guadalcanal campaign will find this section insufficient. The following 17-page section on technical specifications, briefly describes the characteristics of the main Japanese and US cruisers and includes color plates of the USS San Francisco and the IJN Chokai, as well as color plates on the main weapons on each side. While it is useful to enumerate the basic data on each class of cruiser, this section really makes little effort to compare the salient characteristics of each sides cruisers in head-to-head fashion, which makes it difficult for readers to assess which side had better cruisers. This method has been used in several Duel titles and tends to take up a lot of space without saying very much. This is followed by an 8-page section on US and Japanese cruiser crews, including profiles of RADM Norman Scott and VADM Mikawa.

Unfortunately, this leaves barely 15 pages to cover combat, so the author focuses on only two actions: the Japanese victory at Savo Island on 9 August 1942 and the American tactical victory at Cape Esperance on 11 October 1942. Including maps for each action and the color battle scene, this leaves about 10 pages of text - just enough to get the main details. The author clinically dissects the American mistakes which led to near total disaster at Savo Island and identifies this battle as epitomizing the Japanese cruiser force at the height of its fighting prowess. On the other hand, the American cruisers achieved surprise at Cape Esperance and inflicted a minor defeat on the less well-led Japanese cruisers, indicating that USN performance was rapidly improving. The author makes some great points in this section about how the Japanese were actually better at spotting American warships at night, even though the USN cruisers had radar and the IJN ones didn't (i.e. superior training can defeat superior technology). Also, the US commander failed to appreciate the difference in capabilities between his early SC radars and the improved SG radar, partly due to security issues.

In the analysis section, the author notes that, "Japanese cruiser doctrine and weaponry, and their night fighting skill proved superior during the first part of the Pacific War. The Japanese decision to retain torpedoes aboard their cruisers was proven correct." However, these factors only gave the IJN a tactical advantage which they could not translate into a strategic victory because of eventual US superiority in force generation. The IJN could train great cruiser crews and built tough ships, but they could not do it in the numbers to sustain themselves through an attritional campaign like Guadalcanal. I wish that the author had included the Battle of the Komandorski Islands in March 1943, since it was another rare cruiser-on-cruiser action without airpower, but there was no space.

This book is fascinating. Its as much a Navy Cruiser guide as it is a campaign book of naval action near Guadalcanal in the last half of 1942. The author provides a history of the design, development and technical specifications for the different classes of cruisers for both the US and Japanese Navies. Many good photos of the different classes of ships provide an excellent visual reference guide. The similarities and differences of the two navies in regards to construction and doctrine are highlighted.

A history of the Naval Treaty Agreements, post WWI, between the US, England and Japan is given. Japan saw these treaties as unfair and discriminatory and pulled out in the 1930s to go their own way. This feeling of abuse to the Japanese by the other two participants is an early cause that would be added to other reasons why Japan became hostile to the US.
The author also sets the Southwest Pacific stage for 1942 by covering the key events since Pearl Harbor as well as noting the importance this region had for both countries. In addition to this history, Mr Stille also points out the waning importance of cruisers, especially after 1942, and the growing importance of air power and the growing dominance of the carrier fleet.

The main battle coverage concerns two engagements: The Battle of Savo Island which occurred just two days after the Guadalcanal landings in which the Allies suffered heavy casualties to the better prepared, better night trained Japanese. Despite having radar, the Japanese task force of 8 ships and led by Vice Adm Mikawa was able to ambush the US cruiser patrol off Savo Island. The other battle is the Battle of Cape Esperance which the US did better and was able to sink the cruiser Furutaka and a destroyer as well as damaging others. This occurred in the early hours of Oct 12th. Included in these battles is a listing of all ships as well as the outcome of battle action for each ship.The summary is good but can't compare to full length books on these battles. If your main concern is the battle action in this area then you may want to read books by Richard Frank, Eric Hammel which have greater detail.
Maps are provided to show courses taken during the fighting. The losses suffered in these battles will spur Nimitz to have his fleets better trained and prepared.
There are bios of two key commanders: Rear Adm Scott and Vice Adm Mikawa. Both admirals had distinguished careers going into the war. Adm Scott lost his life while on the Atlanta during battle on Nov13th. Adm Mikawa survived the war but fell out of favor in 1943 and especially after Leyte Gulf. The lives of several other key people could have been described but room was limited.

Mr Stille, a 30 year veteran closes with Analysis and Aftermath. In Analysis, the overall cost of these battles are mentioned as well as the performance of the two combatants. The differences in battle techniques and weaponry are highlighted as well war doctrine. In Aftermath, the other navy battles near the Solomons are covered. A Chronology is also provided that includes a time frame beginning in 1922 and stretches to the close of the war which will help the reader visualize the sequence of the events. In the period before the war, the author provides key dates for Treaty Agreements and the introduction of new classes of cruisers and the completion of some of the vessels that will play a role in the upcoming battles.
This book would be an ideal companion to the author's new book: "The Coral Sea 1942" giving the reader most of the action that occurred in 1942 in Southwest Pacific. It was quite a learning experience for me. If you need a reference book on cruisers or want a decent summary of cruiser action in 1942 then this book is a good choice.

This volume, slender as it is, is one more in the "Duel" series. Here, the focus is on Guadalcanal in 1942. The American troops have landed; they have warships nearby, to help protect them against a Japanese counteroffensive.

This book describes the naval conflicts that ensued, as the Imperial Japanese Navy advanced to attack the American fleet. The battles that took place focused on cruisers. Battleships and aircraft carriers were not major participants here. This was one of the few surface battles where ship-to-ship firepower was key.

The book begins with a chronology and a listing of key leaders for both sides. A chronology on Pages 8-9 provides some context on the development of cruiser forces after World War I. Following is a discussion of the various classes of cruisers developed by Japan and the United States. In addition, the doctrines of the two sides are addressed. One interesting difference: the Japanese relied much more on torpedo use by their cruisers. Another? Japanese were more inclined to carry out night battles.

Technical specifications for the various types of cruisers are provided, as is a discussion of the operational key leaders of the two fleets. Their differences are a part of the larger story. . . . Then, the specific battles themselves--Savo Island and Cape Esperance.

A short book, not long on detail. But a good introduction to the conflict at sea during the battle for Guadalcanal.

"USN Cruiser vs IJN Cruiser, Guadalcanal 1942 (Duel)", by Mark Stiles and illustrated by Howard Gerrard and Paul Wright, is a book in the Osprey Duel format that compares the American and Japanese cruisers that fought in the Guadalcanal campaign in 1942. The Osprey duel format is 80 pages long, and presents an analysis of the factors ... human, mechanical, and tactical ... of the two weapons systems being compared, describes how the weapons were developed and utilized, and includes maps, drawings, photographs, and illustrations.

The first (and largest) part of the book examines and analyzes the design and development of each sides cruisers (the size and total tonnages greatly prescribed by several Naval Conferences held in the 20's and 30's aimed at limiting warship construction), each side's doctrine and strategic situation, the general technical specifications for each class of cruiser that was built, and the combatants themselves. The second part of the book discusses two of the cruiser clashes around Guadalcanal ... the Battle of Savo Island and the Battle of Cape Esperance. The final part of the book provides some statistics and analysis of the fighting, as well the aftermath of the battles. The photos, illustrations, and drawings are top notch, and the two maps (one for each battle) are sufficient to cover the fighting.

In his descriptions and analysis of each side's cruisers and national perspectives, the author does a good job of laying the foundation for the battles. He provides the right level of detail to understand why each side performed as it did. I have two minor nits ... first, some of the information provided in the "Design and Development" section is duplicated a little in the "Technical Specifications" section. Second, the "Combat" section could be longer in my opinion. It's 16 pages long, and 7 of those are maps, illustrations, and pictures. It was good reading, mind you, but felt a little short.

Overall though, Mr Stiles does an outstanding job of setting the stage and presenting relevant data, anecdotes, and analysis of the cruisers and the ensuing actions within a limited page count. He provides an effective overview of the combatants, their strengths and weaknesses, and provides interesting and well developed analysis and conclusions.

Not sure this series actually has much point, but it details a couple of primarily cruiser battles of early WWII Pacific Theater. Well researched and written. Other battles are only briefly covered. Focuses on Savo and the battles around Guadalcanal. Good primer for cruiser warfare of the time.

I had previously purchased US Carriers vs. IJN Carriers & P-47 Thunderbolt vs. BF 109G/K. Both of those books are very good and USN Cruisers vs. IJN Cruisers is also. These books do not have some of the very low level detail found elsewhere but they are very well written, informative, and contain some interesting facts. The illustrations and photographs are also very good with some examples being rarely or never before seen (by me at least). One small knock is that this book does contain some minor editing errors.

Osprey's Duel Series is something of an interest, the comparison of systems used by different sides and trying to do it in a balanced environment; difficult at best. So far I've read two others in this series, Panther vs Sherman: Battle of the Bulge 1944 (Duel) and Fw 200 Condor vs Atlantic Convoy: 1941-43 (Duel) and it's been something of a hit and miss. Despite this, I decided to go ahead and pick this up to see if it complemented Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal.

This book follows the typical Osprey Duel series format; Introduction, describing the designs and technical specifications for the item being assessed, their crews training, the battles, and a summary. All sections have ample pictures.

Rating wise this one's worth three stars; while the author gives us some interesting pieces of knowledge about the cruisers and their crews, he failed to provide significant analysis showing how well either side's cruisers performed against each other. This is typified in the presentation of the different cruisers developed by the Japanese and Americans, a general description of each of the cruisers without performance characteristics (sorry, I'd have loved to have seen a simple table comparing the cruisers side by side, armor, weapons, weapon performance, speed, etc...). There's also a brief description of the three battles where USN and IJN treaty cruiser fought each other are provided but the analysis of ship performance is limited. The Battle of the Java Sea (USS Houston and other allied cruisers vs. IJN Nachi and Haguro) receives a brief mention with the Battle of Savo Island and the Battle of Cape Esperance each receiving having a general presentation that provides limited insight into the performance differences between USN treaty cruisers and IJN treaty cruisers. Because of the ambush nature of both of the battles (the Battle of Savo Island had the Japanese attacking unprepared American cruisers while Cape Esperance Admiral Scott used radar to surprise the Japanese while the fact that Captain Bode of the USS Chicago was a former battleship captain [USS Oklahoma] and not familiar with cruiser operations) it makes assessment between the American and Japanese cruisers more difficult in my opinion (without damage assessment on the ships and comparing how the US and Japanese cruisers "survived"). Because of these weaknesses I felt this one would have been better as a naval campaign book by Osprey. By doing this, Osprey might have delivered a book that would be comparable to Neptune's Inferno in knowledge readers could gain about the American and Japanese naval performance around Guadalcanal (Osprey could have limited this to a few of the battles if they'd wanted, however a better presentation of the combatants is a must).

While Osprey titles can be very hit and miss, Mark Stille has provided yet another great well written and to the point book within the breif format that Osprey provide.

Well work the small price.

Excellent technical information on the various classifications of heavy cruisers used by both sides in this famous campaign. Some really great photos and diagrams of the heavy cruisers. A very good technical manual for those studying this period of world war II.

This Osprey book arrived in good order, along with four other military books. Naval warfare, especially WWII in the Pacific, has been an interest of mine for a number of years. This book fits into that realm of providing the strengths and weaknesses of the various cruisers involved in that slugfest of battles around Guadalcanal. It will fit in well with the simulation naval games for the Pacific Theater. Overall, a very good book. Hats off to Amazon for the order and service. B.L.