Sjökrigföring

The inspiration behind the HBO series THE PACIFICThis was a brutish, primitive hatred, as characteristic of the horror of war in the Pacific as the palm trees and the islands...Landing on the beach at Peleliu in 1944 as a twenty-year-old new recruit to the US Marines, Eugene Sledge can only try desperately to survive. At Peleliu and Okinawa - two of the fiercest and filthiest Pacific battles of WWII - he witnesses the dehumanising brutality displayed by both sides and the animal hatred that each soldier has for his enemy.During temporary lapses in the fighting, conditions on the islands mean that the Marines often can't wash, stay dry, dig latrines, or even find time to eat. Suffering from constant fear, fatigue, and filth, the struggle of simply living in a combat zone is utterly debilitating.Yet despite horrendous conditions Sledge finds time to keep notes that he would later turn into a book. Described as one of the finest memoirs to emerge from any war, With the Old Breed tells with compassion and honesty of the cruelty, bravery and deaths of the men he fought alongside, and of his own journey from patriotic innocence to battle-scarred veteran.'Eugene Sledge became more than a legend with his memoir, With The Old Breed. He became a chronicler, a historian, a storyteller who turns the extremes of the war in the Pacific - the terror, the camaraderie, the banal and the extraordinary - into terms we mortals can grasp' Tom Hanks

The 2026 edition of Warship, the celebrated annual featuring original research on the history, development and service of the world's warships.For nearly 50 years, Warship has been providing scholars and enthusiasts with new information on the history of the world's combat ships. Featuring a broad range of articles from a select panel of distinguished international contributors, Warship combines original research, new book reviews, warship notes, an image gallery and much more, maintaining the impressive standards of scholarship and research with which the annual has become synonymous. Detailed and accurate information is the hallmark of all the articles, which are fully supported by plans, data tables, and photographs, many previously unpublished.This year's annual includes feature articles on the French 450-tonne destroyers of the early 20th century, the Soviet Novik-class destroyers, the Italian carrier Falco/Sparviero; a chronological account and assessment of Royal Navy carrier battle damage during World War II; a comparison of the US, British and Canadian escort naval construction programmes in the summer of 1942; and the next part of Warship's ground-breaking coverage of early German destroyers.

An illustrated study of RAF Coastal Command’s deployment of the Beaufighter against German supply lines in 1941 and the long-running ‘arms race’ with Kriegsmarine Flak ships that followed.Crucial German shipping lines faced a new threat in 1941 when RAF Coastal Command debuted the iconic long-range Beaufighter. The aircraft and its subsequent Mk VIC and Mk X versions gave the Allies a tough, relatively fast and very hard-hitting platform for air attack on German convoys, and so it became essential for the Kriegsmarine to fit ever-heavier anti-aircraft batteries to its escort vessels, and even to develop specialist Flak vessels. In this compelling study, naval aviation historian Matthew Willis chronicles the little-explored arms race that saw RAF Coastal Command and the Kriegsmarine engaged in a fierce battle of one-upmanship until war’s end. New artwork, rare archive photography and contemporary records of Beaufighter operations add depth to fascinating historical accounts, including the actions of the famous North Coates Strike Wing against shipping in the North Sea and the exploits of Beaufighter units tasked with severing Rommel’s all-important supply lines.

This is the 5th, revised and updated, edition of Seapower: A Guide for the Twenty-First Century.The sea has always provided the basis for mankind's prosperity and security. With the emergence of an increasingly globalised world trading system in the early part of the 21st century, this became ever more obvious. Contemporary conditions have therefore required navies to adapt and to expand the range of their interests, activities and responsibilities. The Houthi assault on international shipping in the Red Sea and the need to monitor sanctions and ‘dark fleet’ operations shows that these tasks are important and developing fast. Even so, and especially with the re-emergence of potentially de-stabilising great power competition, traditional hard power naval concerns still predominate. This book investigates the consequences of all this for the developing nature, composition and functions of the world's navies, and provides a guide for the changing but crucial role of seapower in the second quarter of the 21st century. This edition contains new material on the Russo-Ukraine and Gaza wars, tensions in the Indo-Pacific, the Arctic and North Atlantic, the emerging concept of ‘seabed control,’ as well as the extent that technological innovations and other recent strategic developments are challenging traditional concepts of maritime strategy and the roles of navies.This book is essential reading for students and practitioners of naval power, maritime security and naval history, and highly recommended for students of strategic studies, international security and International Relations.

The origins of 1/1250 and 1/200 scale models can be traced back to the first years of the twentieth century and their use as identification aids by the military during the First World War. When peace came the manufacturers aimed their increasingly sophisticated products at collectors, and ever since then acquiring, enhancing, modifying or scratch-building miniature ship models has been an avidly pursued hobby around the world.This new book focusses on models of the ships of the Second World War, probably the most popular subject for miniature model collectors, and the author, a well-known modeller himself, addresses all the practical issues that might confront those many collectors who like to enhance, convert, and modify their models, or even scratch-build models of ships not commercially available.The book covers both Allied and Axis warships, naval airplanes, merchant conversions and even an Italian armed schooner, and provides historic and technical information on the ships represented as well as practical advice on modelling them. The latter is extensive with twenty-five chapters covering everything from initial production techniques such as spin casting, silicon mould casting, resin casting, die-casting, plastic mould injection, and 3D printing through techniques for enhancing and modifying models to eventually researching and scratch-building an uncommon ship or type. The focus is always on particular vessels and the vast array covered by the author builds into a fascinating panorama of the vessels that fought across the world's oceans in that era.The combination of intriguing background and historical information, combined with detailed practical information and more than 300 stunning photographs will make this book irresistible to any collector or modeller and, indeed, to anyone with an interest in the navies of the Second World War.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A Times and Waterstones Book of the Year ‘The messy, dirty, bloody reality of Operation Overlord comes alive in Sword, Hastings’s portrait of the individual soldiers who risked their lives on the beaches of Normandy. He brings these men to life with sensitivity and beautiful prose' THE TIMES On 6 June 1944 when the Allied armies landed on D-Day, the Second World War had already lasted almost five years. Yet many of the British and American troops who invaded Normandy were virgin soldiers, never before committed to battle. They quit England in summertime to face within hours a storm of machine-gun and mortar fire. They witnessed scenes, above all of sudden death, such as no exercise had prepared them for.In Sword, veteran chronicler of war Max Hastings explores with extraordinary vividness the actions of the Commando brigade and Montgomery’s 3rd Infantry and 6th Airborne divisions on and around a single beach. He describes their frustrations, hopes, loves and fears through the apparently interminable years training and preparing in England, then their triumphs and tragedies on the beach and beyond. Here are the airborne assaults on the Caen Canal bridge and Merville Battery, the battles on the shoreline and against the German strongpoints inland, narrated and explained with all the insights that Hastings’ decades of study, veterans’ interviews and new archive research enable him to deploy.The book offers a searching analysis of why British troops did not reach Caen on 6 June, as Montgomery had promised Churchill that they would – and the story of the brigadier who was sacked for that failure. There is also a host of personal portraits of key figures from Commando leader Lord Lovat, famously brave but supremely arrogant, to Colonel Jim Eadie, whose tanks of the Staffordshire Yeomanry repulsed a panzer division in the last hours of 6 June, and some of the humbler participants to whom extraordinary things happened.This is the story of D-Day as you have never read it before, with the blend of narrative, analysis and human insight that made Max Hastings’ last book Operation Biting, like many of his earlier works, a Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller.

THE TOP 5 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2019THE TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEARFINALIST FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE 2020LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2019A FINANCIAL TIMES, OBSERVER, DAILY TELEGRAPH, WALL STREET JOURNAL AND TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR‘Dalrymple is a superb historian with a visceral understanding of India … A book of beauty’ – Gerard DeGroot, The TimesIn August 1765 the East India Company defeated the young Mughal emperor and forced him to establish a new administration in his richest provinces. Run by English merchants who collected taxes using a ruthless private army, this new regime saw the East India Company transform itself from an international trading corporation into something much more unusual: an aggressive colonial power in the guise of a multinational business.William Dalrymple tells the remarkable story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power.

This is a comprehensive study of every aircraft type ordered for the Royal Navy since 1908. It includes fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, rigid and non-rigid airships, unmanned aircraft and pilotless target aircraft. It also includes many designs that were ordered but not built so that the importance placed on them by the Naval Staff or their potential impact on aircraft carrier design and operations can be explained. Every type, even unsuccessful single prototypes, is described and the majority are illustrated by photographs, many of which come from the author’s own collection. The 50 most significant aircraft also have detailed 3-view drawings. The book describes over 400 different types of aircraft built by over 100 different manufacturers to offer the most detailed coverage of Royal Navy aircraft ever produced.Research for the book took over forty years and reference material included Admiralty Archives and an array of material in the public domain including manufacturer’s data, individual aircraft pilot’s notes and a wealth of published sources. David Hobbs is uniquely well placed to write this book having served as a pilot in the RN for thirty-three years and retired with the rank of Commander. He flew both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft and his log book contains 2300 flying hours with 807 day and night deck landings. He served in seven British aircraft carriers, flew over 20 of the aircraft types described in this book and spent four years in the RN Director General (Aircraft) Department where he was closely involved with Sea Harrier carrier trials, introduced new visual landing aids for night recoveries and liaised with the US Navy on carrier operating techniques. This is his eleventh book for Seaforth Publishing.

For the first two decades after the Cold War, Russian naval power hardly featured in the Euro-Atlantic community’s strategic thinking. This began to change in the mid-2010s, as the idea that the Russian navy poses a threat to NATO began to gain ground. That threat took shockingly real form in February 2022, when Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.The sea in Russian strategy is the first sustained examination of Russian maritime power in the period since the fall of the Soviet Union. It brings together leading specialists from public policy and academia to reflect on historical and contemporary aspects of Russia's naval strategy and capacities.At a time of mounting tensions, which some observers have named the ‘Fourth Battle of the Atlantic’, the book offers an informed and nuanced discussion, taking into account the view from Moscow and how this differs from western perspectives. It sketches a trajectory of Russia’s power at sea and reflects on current capabilities and problems, as well as Moscow’s strategic planning for the future.

The Imperial Japanese Navy was an early proponent of naval air power and commissioned the world’s first purpose-designed aircraft carrier, the Hosho, in 1922. There followed a series of one-off designs of widely different sizes, some converted from capital ships, some designed as such from scratch, but no two of them alike until the Shokaku class completed just before the outbreak of the Pacific War. As with much Japanese warship design in the 1930s, these ships often exhibited highly original thinking, with some unique experiments like placing the island on the port side in a couple of ships.Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese carrier forces dominated the naval war but the catastrophic losses at Midway in June 1942 forced the IJN into many makeshift measures to rebuild carrier numbers, including converting both naval auxiliaries and merchant ships, and producing an austere design of fleet carrier intended for series production.The technical characteristics of all these 29 ships are covered by individual chapters in this book, illustrated with plans, photos and colour artwork. There is a general introduction to naval aviation policy and a summary of the carrier actions in the Pacific War, with appendices on weaponry, radar, camouflage schemes and naval aircraft.Despite the importance of Japanese aircraft carriers, they are not well covered in English, so this book, with its wealth of detail in a concise format, fills a real need.

Stora nordiska kriget var nu inne på sitt fjortonde år. Efter den ödesdigra svenska förlusten vid Poltava 1709 har den ryske tsaren, Peter den store, inriktat sig på att tilltvinga sig makten över Östersjön. Finland har ockuperats och ryssarna söker nu en gynnsam uppgörelse med svenskarna. En mindre galärflotta ges i uppdrag att rekognosera farlederna på den svenska sidan. På Holmön, mitt i Norra Kvarken, tillfångatas sju män. Dagen därpå – klockan sex lördag morgon den 18 september 1714 – går ryssarna in i Umeälven. För att undvika massaker flyr svenskarna. Femton timmar senare står Umeå i lågor. I och med det ryska tillslaget mot Holmön och brandskattningen av Umeå inleds en dramatisk period i Västerbottens historia. Mot bakgrund av Stora nordiska krigets många blodiga slag kan denna händelse, jämförelsevis, anses som marginell. Men för befolkningen och dess landshövding får den nog så allvarliga följder. Trots detta har händelserna blivit styvmoderligt uppmärksammade – märkligt nog även i den lokala historieskrivningen. Det var inget mindre än en katastrof som drabbat umeborna. Praktiskt taget inget fanns kvar av stadens byggnader: bostäder, ladugårdar, stallar, bodarna nere vid älven och andra förrådsbyggnader innanför tullstaketet. Även stadens skolbyggnad var lagd i aska. Umeborna och deras inhysta österbottniska flyktingar blev nu husvilla. Två saker fanns dock att glädjas åt: Det gamla residenset och stadskyrkan hade undgått eldens lågor. För landshövding Anders Erik Ramse innebar händelserna dessutom en rent personlig katastrof, då han blev beskylld för att utan motstånd ha övergett staden. Några menade att det varit klokt av honom att undvika konfrontation med den överlägsna fienden, medan andra föredrog att definiera flykten som ett utslag av ren och skär feghet. Men hur skulle Umeås knappt fyra hundra dåligt beväpnade försvarare ha stått sig mot ett par tusen välmotiverade ryska anfallare? Att svenskarna dessutom handlat i enlighet med kungens påbud om att ”spara manskapet”, var inget som hans belackare ville ta till sig. Genom att ha lämnat staden öppen för fienden förstördes visserligen materiella tillgångar till stora värden. Och några personer blev tyvärr tillfångatagna och i fångenskap förda österut. Men ingen människa hade kommit till fysisk skada. Ramse beskylldes för att ha agerat i samråd med fienden och ställdes senare inför rätta anklagad för ämbetsmissbruk. Han avsattes från sin tjänst, placerades i häkte och dömdes senare skyldig till overksamhet. Efter Karl XIIs död kunde den nya drottningen, Ulrika Eleonora, frige Ramse.

This is the most comprehensive study yet in the English language of the German Imperial Navy's battlecruisers that served in the First World War. Known as Panzerkreuzer, literally 'armoured cruiser', the eight ships of the class were to be involved in several early North Sea skirmishes before the great pitched battle of Jutland where they inflicted devastating damage on the Royal Navy's battlecruiser fleet.In this comprehensive book the author details their design and construction, and traces the full service history of each ship, recounting their actions, largely from first-hand German sources and official documents, many previously unpublished in English. Detailed line drawings and maps augment the text throughout, as do a wealth of contemporary photos that depict the vessels at sea as well as in dock, where details of damage sustained in action and many aspects of their design can be viewed in close up. A superb series of full-colour, specially-commissioned computer graphics show full length profiles and top-down views of each ship in precise and clear detail.This stunning book is a major new contribution to German naval history in this country and will become a 'must-have' volume on the shelves of historians, enthusiasts and modellers and indeed for anyone interested in the navies of the First World War and steel warships in general. This new paperback edition will delight a new audience of historians, enthusiasts and modelmakers who missed the book when first published.'A 'must have' for all those interested in First World War battlecruisers. The book is beautifully produced, excellent value for money and contains much material that has never before been published in English.' Marine News

First developed in the final years of World War I, aircraft carriers have been the dominant technology in naval warfare since World War II, following the devastatingly effective carrier-borne air raid on the Italian base of Taranto by the British in 1940, and the even more infamous air attack by hundreds of Japanese bombers on the US base at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Today, the aircraft carrier is a key component of national navies around the world, offering a mobile aircraft platform that can be used to defend local waters as well as project power to every corner of the globe. Technical Guide: Aircraft Carriers features more than 50 of the most significant aircraft carriers from 1918 to the present, including the World War I-era converted battleship HMS Eagle, through the Japanese carriers Akagi and Kaga that were sunk at the famous Battle of Midway in 1942, to the great nuclear-powered supercarriers USS Enterprise and USS Nimitz of the Cold War era. The book comes up to date with the leading carriers of today, including the HMS Queen Elizabeth, Chinese Liaoning and Indian Vikrant. Illustrated with more than 80 vivid artworks and 40 photographs, Technical Guide: Aircraft Carriers is an essential reference guide for modellers and naval warfare enthusiasts.

A fascinating story of a key turning point in the War in the Mediterranean, as the island of Malta was thrown a vital lifeline. Since 1940, the island of Malta had been a thorn in the Axis' side. It sat astride the direct sea route between Italy and its North African colonies, and from 1941 the Royal Navy had used the island as a base for its attacks on Axis convoys. The island, though, relied on convoys to survive, and from early 1941 these came under increasingly heavy air and submarine attack. As the situation became critical in 1942, the decision was made to send through a heavily protected convoy, carrying fuel and supplies, in an effort to save the island. This mission was codenamed Operation Pedestal. This fascinating work describes how, after leaving Britain on 2 August 1942, the convoy was repeatedly pummeled by Axis air and submarine attacks as it ground its way towards Malta, with most of the merchant ships sunk during the passage, along with an aircraft carrier and two cruisers. It also explores how despite this grim toll, the sacrifice was worth it.The specially commissioned illustrations in this work cover the progress of the convoy step by step, the submarine and surface naval actions during Pedestal’s voyage, the Stuka attack on the carrier Indomitable and the air attacks against the convoy, and the broader strategic situation in the Western Mediterranean. The result is a unique visual exploration of one of the most famous episodes of the war in this theatre.

The first in a series of illustrated books exploring the longest and best-known naval campaign of World War II, focusing on the struggle between Allied naval and air forces and Hitler's U-boats.When fighting broke out in September 1939, neither the British Royal Navy nor the German Kriegsmarine were prepared for another war in the North Atlantic. Having defeated the U-boats in World War I, the Royal Navy was confident it would succeed again. This was quickly shown to be a delusion, as neither the scale of forces available nor their tactics were sufficient. The Germans were even less prepared, having only a small number of U-boats and fewer still that were large enough for operations in the Atlantic. The Germans attempted to win a tonnage war against Allied shipping, with well-trained and bold U-boat commanders enjoying some brilliant successes. However, torpedo problems and the shortage of U-boats prevented the Germans from inflicting crippling losses, even though the British found it impossible to protect all shipping, primarily because of a lack of convoy escorts and inadequate air cover.Respected naval historian Mark Stille examines the struggle between Allied naval and air forces and German U-boats in the first 15 months of World War II. Featuring maps, diagrams, photographs and stunning battlescene artworks, this book vividly brings to life the weapons, personalities and tactics of the opposing sides.

The latest edition of Red Star over the Pacific explores how China’s growing sea power—shaped by both Western and Chinese strategic thought—threatens U.S. maritime dominance in Asia and demands urgent adaptation by American sea services.In this third edition of Red Star over the Pacific, authors Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes assess how the rise of Chinese sea power challenges American primacy in maritime Asia. Drawing on Alfred Thayer Mahan’s sea-power theories, now popular with Chinese practitioners and thinkers, along with Chinese theorists such as Sun Tzu and Mao Zedong, they consider how strategic thought about the sea shapes Beijing’s deliberations and examine how the Chinese navy has translated strategic ideas into operational concepts, tactics, and capabilities. It pays great attention to the missile threat while acknowledging the disruptive potential of emerging technologies like drones, AI, and orbital capabilities. The authors conclude that an age of strategic competition is upon Asia and that America must adapt quickly to prevail. The third edition updates the narrative, adds substantial new material, and shows just how much the world has changed around the American sea services in a such a short time.

A comprehensive view of World War Two in the Asia Pacific.In early 1942, the Japanese Army and Navy were advancing on all fronts, humiliating their US, British and Dutch foes throughout the Asia Pacific. In a matter of just months, the soldiers and sailors of the Rising Sun conquered an area even bigger than Hitler’s empire at its largest extent. They seemed invincible. Hawaiians and Australians were fearing a future under Hirohito. For half of mankind, fate was hanging in the balance.Fast forward to the end of 1943, and the tables had been turned entirely. A reinvigorated American-led military machine had kicked into gear, and the Japanese were fighting a defensive battle along a frontline that crossed thousands of miles of land and ocean. Japan Runs Wild, 1942-1943 by acclaimed author Peter Harmsen details the astonishing transformation that took place in that period, setting the Allies on a path to final victory against Japan.The middle installment in the trilogy, Japan Runs Wild, 1942–1943 picks up the story where its predecessor volume Storm Clouds over the Pacific, 1931-1941 left off. The common theme of the series is a comprehensive view of World War Two in the Asia Pacific, giving due emphasis to the central Japanese-American struggle, but also encompassing the other nations that were engulfed in the vast showdown: British, Australians, Soviets, Filipinos, Indians and Koreans. Above all, the central importance of China is highlighted in a way that no previous general history of the war against Japan has achieved.

The battleships of the _Dunkerque_ and _Richelieu_ classes were the most radical and influential designs of the interwar period, and were coveted by the British, the Germans and the Italians following the Armistice of June 1940\. After an extensive refit in the USA, _Richelieu_ went on to serve alongside the Royal Navy during 1943-45.Using a wealth of primary-source material, some of which has only recently been made available, John Jordan and Robert Dumas have embarked on a completely new study of these important and technically interesting ships. A full account of their development is followed by a detailed analysis of their design characteristics, profusely illustrated by inboard profiles and schematic drawings. The technical chapters are interspersed with operational histories of the ships, with a particular focus on the operations in which they engaged other heavy units: Mers el-Kebir, Dakar and Casablanca. These accounts include a detailed analysis of their performance in action and the damage sustained, and are supported by specially-drawn maps and by the logs of _Strasbourg_ and _Richelieu_.Twenty-two colour profile and plan views illustrate the ships' appearance at the various stages of their careers.

This illustrated study explores the detail of the Royal Navy’s huge operation on D-Day and in the weeks after, as the fleet went into action to support history’s biggest amphibious landings. Although D-Day is perhaps the most written-about event in military history, little has been published on the detail of the sea power that Overlord relied upon. In this book, critically acclaimed historian Nick Hewitt examines the fleet that secured the British Assault Area from the eve of D-Day until the end of the assault phase of operations on 30 June 1944. While led and dominated by the Royal Navy, it was multinational, including forces from Canada, Norway, and the Free French.The invasion had many moving parts and proved there is more to a successful assault than simply putting soldiers ashore on a beach. This book explains the minesweeping that allowed the landings to take place, and the various naval operations that brought British and Canadian troops to the beaches. It also explores how the fleet defended the British Assault Area from counterattacks by enemy destroyers, coastal forces, mining, and special attack units, and how it sustained the build-up that fed resources to the growing Allied forces.Illustrated with archive photos, original artwork and 3D diagrams and maps, and drawing upon primary documentation that has previously gone largely unused, this book offers a fresh exploration of the sea power behind D-Day.

A vivid and visceral portrayal of the most famous naval battle in history, focusing on the human cost of war, by a brilliant military historian'A striking success' The Times'Fresh, original and brilliantly vivid' Telegraph'The best all-round book on the subject yet' SpectatorAt about 1.15 in the afternoon of 21 October 1805, Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson was struck by a 15-millimetre French musket round fired from of the Redoutable, a distance of some 70 feet to HMS Victory’s quarter deck. It fractured his left shoulder, pierced his lung and emerged to sever the spine.In this fresh and vibrant retelling of the battle of Trafalgar, Paul O’Keeffe traces the course of events both prior and subsequent to that fatal shot: from 6.30 in the morning, as the British ships began their approach towards the enemy fleet, until the cessation of firing that followed the apocalyptic destruction of the French 74-gun Achille at 5.45 in the afternoon.We also learn about the battle’s dramatic aftermath: how a violent storm destroyed the surviving French and Spanish ships; how news of victory travelled and was celebrated in London; how Nelson’s body was brought home and given a spectacular funeral.Paying meticulous attention to little explored details, O’Keeffe gives us a front-row view of events. Gripping and immersive, this is a unique account of Trafalgar for a new generation of readers.‘A gripping read, full of fascinating insights … deeply moving … Brilliant’ Adam Zamoyski‘If you think you know it all about the battle of Trafalgar, think again. Paul O’Keeffe’s new book is full of fascinating information … His book is a must’ Nicholas Best

A narrative of brief compass yet immense force, Yoshida Mitsuru's work makes a singular contribution to the literature of the Pacific War. Long a favourite in Japan, it was not fully translated into English until 1985 when the hardcover edition was first published in the United States to rave reviews. In April 1945 the fabled battleship Yamato was the centrepiece of a last desperate sortie by the Japanese Navy. A young ensign on the bridge during the climactic battle against American airplanes, Yoshida writes in prose that is at once terse and evocative, spare and eloquent, raising his experience on the doomed ship to the level of existential tragedy.Translator Richard Minear gives us a Requiem faithful to the original, its language vigorous and idiomatic. His informative introduction describes the work's historic and political context and Yoshida's difficulties with occupation censors. Minear comments on matters of form and style and quotes extensively from Yoshida's postwar essays, which trace the author's avid and continual search for the meaning of peace beyond "the crucible of nothingness we call battle."Like other great war stories, the book transcends the particulars of disaster and the divisiveness of war. In the words of the translator, Yoshida's "ultimate concern is less bombs and bullets than human nature, less death than life." His remarkable insights will stir the memories of others who served and help those who did not reach a new level of understanding.

The British Merchant Navy dominated the world trade routes in the years leading up to the Second World War. The star players of the fleet were the cargo liners, faster and larger than the tramps and offering limited passenger accommodation. On the outbreak of war these cargo liners became crucial to the nation's survival using their speed and expertise to evade Nazi warships, raiders and U-boats.Initially operating alone, but increasingly relying on Royal Navy protected convoys, these key elements of the Merchant Navy plied the oceans and seas despite mounting losses, throughout the war years.This superbly researched book describes numerous dramatic incidents. Some ended in disaster such as the New Zealand Shipping Company's Turakina which was sunk after a running battle with the German raider Orion. Others were triumphs for example Operation Substance when six fast cargo liners succeeded against all the odds in reaching besieged Malta with vital supplies.The common denominations in all these historic voyages were the courage and skilled seamanship of the Merchant Navy crews. As Running The Gauntlet vividly illustrates, their contribution to victory, too long overlooked, cannot be overstated.

An in-depth look at the battles at Kokoda, Milne Bay and Buna-Gona, which saw the Japanese battle the Australians and Americans on Papua.The Japanese invasion of, and ejection from, the Territory of Papua was a six-month long campaign. From July to September 1942, the Japanese, having landed at Buna, advanced towards Port Moresby along the Kokoda Trail (or Track). They were opposed, at first, by Australian militia and later by Australian veterans of the war in North Africa. In September, a Japanese operation intended to support the advance was defeated at Milne Bay. By November, the Japanese had been driven back to their starting point, where, in a two-month siege, American troops joined the Australians to eliminate the Japanese beachhead at Buna. With detailed maps, colourful artwork and period images, historian and Kokoda expert Dr Peter Williams examines the strategies and tactics of both sides, along with the limitations terrain, disease and weather imposed on the armies. It also covers the struggles of the American–Australian alliance, both at high command and on the battlefield. Along with Guadalcanal, the Papuan campaign marks the end of the Japanese advance in the Pacific, and the beginning of the Allied counter-offensive.