This review is identical for all three volumes of the Bloody Shambles series: Vol. 1: The Drift to War to the fall of Singapore, Vol. 2: From the Defence of Sumatra to the fall of Burma, and Air War for Burma: The Allied Air Forces Fight Back in South-East Asia 1942-1945. Note that the spelling of defence is correct (U.K. and Canada) and that the third volume doesn’t have Bloody Shambles in the title on the cover.
Mr. Shores has written numerous books on aviation in WW2. I read the Bloody Shambles series before starting A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940-1945, Vol. 1: North Africa, June 1940-January 1942 and I have also purchased both Volumes of Aces High. Mr. Shores has had numerous co-authors and has involved historians from most of the countries involved in the conflicts.
Much of the three volumes reviewed constitute a detailed operational history of the aerial war in the particular war zone. Each series covers a very specific area of operations. However, the initial conflict between the U.S. and Japan in the Philippines is covered in Volume 1 of Bloody Shambles. Mr. Shores does provide some context of the broader war (for example the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway) and how those event influenced the specific area of operations covered in his texts. However, his books are not conventional histories which attempt to provide a broad view of a war of battle – he does discuss ground operations and how those influenced or were influenced by the air war.
I found these books very interesting but difficult to read in that much of the text details the causalities suffered from both combat and non-combat operational losses to be almost overwhelming. Many of the U.K. and U.S. pilots also died as POWs. His books include details of fighter, bomber, transport, and reconnaissance aircraft.
The focus of much of Mr. Shores research is on reconciliation of the claims made by the various belligerents and the actually losses reported by the opposing force. Over claiming did occur and in some cases was probably deliberate. I have no reason to think that Mr. Shores’ research is unreliable. The resources he has access to include many Japanese unit records which are only available in Japanese and he had the assistance of Japanese researchers and authors. Over claiming appears to be no more of a problem in the “Far Eastern” campaigns than in other aerial campaigns. Overall, I recommend this series with the provisions that one must have some knowledge of the aircraft used in the conflict (or access to the internet or reference books) and a desire to read a great deal of detail. The photographs provided by the author include many that have probably never been available to the larger audience.
These books are a must have for anyone who attempts to build a campaign for a WW2 combat simulation (e.g., IL-2). They also teach that war is not glorious and that while skill is important, many pilots died as the result of random circumstances. I am in the process of reading and acquiring copies of all of Mr. Shores work but I have read hundreds if not thousands of books on WWII and aerial combat. My father flew liaison planes in WW2 and I am of the age where the WW2 pilots were my heroes. However, the truth is that many thousands of young men fought and died in a conflict of a magnitude that most of us cannot comprehend. Burma was a side show war and at the end of the pipeline. These men should not be forgotten. I would recommend reading Louis Allen’s Burma: The Longest War before tackling the Bloody Shambles series.
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