Operation Pacific

Book excerpt: A history of the United Kingdom’s contribution to the Pacific theater of the Second World War, by the author of Disasters of the Deep. Hollywood’s version of the World War II in the Pacific has led many people to believe that it was an all-American affair, and that Britain took no part in it. But, as Edwin Gray shows in Operation Pacific, that is false. The British Royal Navy and its Commonwealth partners played a very significant role in the Pacific War. They waged a vigorous, non-stop battle with the enemy from the earliest days to the ultimate triumph of victory. Japanese troops also landed in Malaya and opened hostilities in Britain a full ninety minutes before Nagumo’s dive-bombers swept down on the unsuspecting American pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor to bring the United States into the war. Operation Pacific is the first book to provide a full and detailed account of Britain’s Naval contribution to the ultimate defeat of Japan, a saga that ranges from the darkest days of December, 1941, to the carrier operations and kamikaze attacks of the final battles in 1945. While in no way disparaging the heroic achievements and fighting courage of the U.S. forces in the Pacific, Edwyn Gray reveals that the Royal Navy’s cooperation was not always welcomed by her over-mighty Ally, and that America’s top brass—notably admiral Ernest King and General Douglas MacAuthur—were opposed to British involvement in the Pacific for both practical and political reasons. Operation Pacific is an absorbing story, offering a comprehensive picture of the part played by the Royal Navy and Commonwealth forces in the Far East War.