"A Magnificent Fight": The Battle for Wake Island (Hardcover)

by Robert J. Cressman (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 324 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557501408
• ISBN-13: 978-1557501400
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,633,159 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a magnificent fight indeed!, November 25, 2000

By	Daniel Ford (at danford dot net) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

On the opening day of the Pacific War, Wake was bombed and strafed by island-based planes of the Japanese navy. When the raiders left, seven Grumman F4F Wildcats were wrecked on the ground.

With five remaining fighters, U.S. Marine Corps pilots defended the atoll for two desperate weeks. They shot down two Mitsubishi G3M land-based bombers, two Nakajima B5N carrier bombers, and a Kawanishi flying boat--and sank a destroyer with a device intended for water-filled practice bombs. They cannibalized wrecked Wildcats and refilled oxygen bottles from tanks belonging to the welders who had been building the island defenses. And when their last Wildcat was shot down, they took up rifles and fought as infantrymen.

The defense of Wake is an old story, but Cressman uses Japanese accounts to freshen and inform the telling. He can get carried away with nomenclature--writing "a shotai of three kansen" when "a flight of three Zeros" would be easier and no less accurate--but in battle after battle he identifies the pilots in opposing aircraft, and confirms or denies 54-year-old victory claims. He makes good use of Japanese photos, too, including the B5N that darkens the sky on the dust jacket.

A relief force was dispatched from Hawaii, built around the carrier Saratoga with two fighter squadrons, including 14 Brewster F2A Buffaloes that were to land on Wake and replace the lost Wildcats. Their ETA was Christmas Eve. The Japanese got there first, and the Americans turned away without launching a plane or firing a shot. As so often in that winter of 1941-42, the United States was a day late and a carrier short.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good compilation of first hand accounts, June 9, 2000

By	Jon B. Nicholson "berndog" (usually between Hawaii and Guam) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book does a great job of providing the history and pre-1941 history of Wake Island. Focusing on the previous decade as well as the Navy and Marine Corp build-up in 1940-1941. Good insight into the Military politics involved in the Pacific during this time. Balanced view from the Japanese perspective with first hand accounts used were appropriate.

The actual battle sometimes becomes mired in use of real names (lists of involved personnel), and is sometimes hard to follow in a geographic sense. However, if you are familiar with, or have access to detailed maps of Wake during the invasion, this book walks you through almost every step.

Overall a good documentation of this little piece of the Pacific.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting and informative, September 17, 2000

By	martin kendrex (pacific, WA USA) - See all my reviews

From the point of view of a small time history buff, This book was hard for me to put down. It gives a play by play of the battle and events surounding it from both sides. I was able to picture the scenes and events that took place. The photographs scattered throughout the book lets one put a face to a name, or see what buildings and equipment looked like. I plan on reading other books from this author.