Gamble in the Coral Sea : Japan's Offensive, The Carrier Battle, and the Road to Midway
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An outline of the Japanese plan was intercepted by American cryptanalysts, who helped to deploy the carrier task force of Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher in the South Pacific. At the beginning of May, the vast area of the Solomon Islands and the northern part of the Coral Sea became the stage of a fierce struggle between the US Navy and the Nippon Kaigun. The devious invasion of Tulagi, Yorktowns raid on the enemy positions on the island, the desperate search for the enemy task force, strikes against secondary targets, and the central part of the battle between two carrier task forces turned out to be the first major Japanese strategic defeat in the Pacific War. The 4th Fleet cancelled Operation MO and postponed the seizure of Port Moresby. The battle of the Coral Sea not only proved the high determination of the Allied to check the Japanese advance but also significantly boosted the US Navy morale in the decisive week before the clash off Midway. This book, which presents Nippons Kaiguns offensive in the South Pacific during the first days of May 1942 from the Japanese perspective whilst also including Allied sources, is a worthy contribution for all WWII book collections.
The opening salvos of the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first large-scale carrier clash in history, were fired one month before Midway. Gamble in the Coral Sea recounts, for the first time in English, the story of this battle from the Japanese point of view. Based on extensive Japanese-language sources, author Michal A. Piegzik forcefully challenges established Western narratives surrounding this critical engagement in the Pacific War.
Operation MO, the Japanese plan to seize Port Moresby, kicked off in early May 1942. By committing three carriers, including the famous Shokaku and Zuikaku, the Nippon Kaiguns command risked a critical part of their fleet just before the envisaged decisive battle at Midway in the Central Pacific, scheduled for early July. The operation was considered a vital part of Japanese strategy. Victory would isolate Australia and New Zealand and extend access to vital resources crucial to Japans war effort. Victory, however, would prove elusive after American codebreakers deciphered Japanese radio traffic that revealed their plans in the weeks leading up to the launch of Operation MO.
Using this intelligence to their advantage, U.S forces located elements of the Japanese navy as they steamed through the Coral Sea. Soon after, historys first carrier battle began. Piegzik combines expertise in military history with mastery of the Japanese language to provide a rare perspective on the Imperial Japanese Navys operational choices during the battle. His use of Japanese archival documents and personal testimonies from surviving Japanese crew members uncovers new dimensions to the battle. The clash proved to be a Pyrrhic victory for the Japanese, who sunk the Lexington and crippled the Yorktown but were forced to call off Operation MO due to the severe damage inflicted on Shokaku and the heavy losses among their aircrews.
Revealed here are the circumstances and actual reasons for the Japanese failure and the revised impact of the Battle of the Coral Sea on the Battle of Midway. Beyond tactical details, Piegzik offers insight into the broader consequences of the battle. He engages with sources previously underexplored and integrates them with Allied perspectives to ensure a well-rounded understanding of the events. A vital addition to any World War II collection, Gamble in the Coral Sea offers a nuanced and thorough exploration of a battle that significantly shaped the trajectory of the war in the Pacific.
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