The War Against Japan, 1941-1945

An Annotated Bibliography

John J. Sbrega

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317431787
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Historia
• Subtopic: Segunda Guerra Mundial

With over 5, 200 entries, this volume remains one of the most extensive annotated bibliographies on the USA's fight against Japan in the Second World War. Including books, articles, and de-classified documents up to the end of 1987, the book is organized into six categories: Part 1 presents reference works, including encyclopedias, pictorial accounts, military histories, East Asian histories, hisotoriographies. Part 2 covers diplomatic-political aspects of the war against Japan. Part 3 contains sources on the economic and legal aspects of the war against Japan. Part 4 presents sources on the military apsects of the war – embracing land, air and sea forces. Religious aspects of the war are covered in Part 5 and Part 6 deals with the social and cultural aspects, including substantial sections on the treatment of Japanese minorities in the USA, Hawaii, Canada and Peru.

IV MILITARY ASPECTS OF THE WAR AGAINST JAPAN

A. GENERAL ACCOUNTS

1627. Adams, Bruce and Robert Howlett. BATTLEGROUND SOUTH PACIFIC. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, 1970. 233 pp.

The writer of the text, Howlett, provides a straightforward narrative. The photographs by Adams, all from the present day, fit into the “revisited” genre. Special chapters are included on the coastwatchers.

1628. Allen, Louis. THE END OF THE WAR IN ASIA. London: Hart-Davis, MacGibbon, 1976. 306 pp.

Allen examines the interplay in various Asian countries of Japanese occupation forces, native populations (especially nationalist movements and Japanese residents), and the United Nations forces (including the Western imperial powers seeking to reimpose their prewar colonial authority). His depth of research and interesting style of writing combine to produce an informed perspective on the crucial final stages of the war.

1629. Argyle, Christopher J. JAPAN AT WAR, 1937–1945. London: A. Barker, 1976. 224 pp.

Here is a brief survey which examines the Japanese perspective.

1630. Bahrenburg, Bruce. THE PACIFIC: THEN AND NOW. New York: Putnam, 1971. 318 pp.

Bahrenburg, a correspondent, reports on his visits to Pacific battlefields of the war. This “travelogue” approach carries limited value but does offer the reactions to the war of present-day inhabitants. The accompanying photographs are interesting.

1631. Baldwin, Hanson W. “America at War: Victory in the Pacific.” FOR AFFS, 24 (October 1945), 26–39.

Here is a survey of military and diplomatic events by an expert reporter in military affairs. Baldwin includes a useful table of air, land, and sea commanders. Of special interest is his treatment of LeMay’s announcements beforehand of the names of cities about to be bombed.

1632. Bateson, Charles. THE WAR WITH JAPAN: A CONCISE HISTORY. Sydney, Aus.: Ure Smith, 1968. 417 pp.

Although generally avoiding political issues in this straightforward narrative, Bateson feels that the war might have ended sooner if the United States had made clear that Japan’s emperor system would be retained and that Emperor Hirohito would not be considered a war criminal. Under such circumstances, the author argues, there would have been no need for the atomic bombings. A few notes and some suggestions for further reading follow each chapter. The book contains some excellent photographs, particularly those selected from the Australian War Museum.

1633. Bhargava, K.D. and K.N.V. Sastri. CAMPAIGNS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA, 1941–1942. Bombay: Orient Longmans, 1960. 416 pp.

The authors use careful research to build this detailed overview of the Japanese successes early in the war.

1634. Broek, J.O.M. “Weather and the War.” FE SURVEY, 13 (March 22, 1944), 49–52.

Broek describes the continuing heat and high humidity that foster parasites and bacteria which, in turn, nurture diseases. He also points to problems that monsoons create for combat units.

1635. California University, Southern Branch, Los Angeles. SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AND THE WAR. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1944. 168 pp.

Here is a collection of lectures by faculty at the University of California on the war against Japan. The various topics covered include geography, culture, diplomacy, and strategy.

1636. Cant, Gilbert. THE GREAT PACIFIC VICTORY: FROM THE SOLOMONS TO TOKYO. New York: The John Day Company, 1945. 422 pp.

This is a well-written contemporary account, without footnotes or a bibliography, which focuses primarily on naval operations. Cant suggests that no language among the peoples of the Pacific was stranger than the military jargon (“agglutinative speech”) spread by Americans there during the war.

1637. Caporale, Louis G. “The Pacific War–1941–1945.” MC GAZ, 69 (November 1985), 46–57.

Here is a sketchy outline of the major operations in the Pacific.

1638. Clausen, Walter B. BLOOD FOR THE EMPEROR: A NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE HUMAN SIDE OF THE WAR IN THE PACIFIC. New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1943. 341 pp.

The author, a war correspondent assigned to Nimitz’s headquarters, tries to focus on the human side of the war. According to Clausen, the Japanese remained convinced of their destiny to rule the world.

1639. Coffey, Thomas M. IMPERIAL TRAGEDY: JAPAN IN WORLD WAR II: THE FIRST DAYS AND THE LAST. New York: The World Publishing Company, 1970. 531 pp.

Coffey divides his work into two parts: December 1941 and August 1945. Although it has no footnotes, the book is well written and presents the human side of the war.

1640. Collier, Basil. JAPAN AT WAR: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE WAR IN THE FAR EAST, 1931–1945. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1975. 192 pp.

Here is a brief overview of the war which boasts a large number of excellent photographs. The coverage of the war in Southeast Asia is particularly good.

1641. Collier, Basil. THE WAR IN THE FAR EAST, 1941–1945: A MILITARY HISTORY. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1969. 539 pp.

Collier contends that both sides erred during the war, but the Japanese committed the more grievious errors. The rapid-fire pace of the book does not prevent Collier from including his assessments, such as criticism of Nagumo at Pearl Harbor, MacArthur’s misuse of air power, Fletcher’s failure to reinforce Wake Island, and Mountbatten’s organizational structure in South East Asia Command.

1642. Cooper, Dennis Glen. “Tales of Gallantry in the Southwest Pacific, 1942.” AEROSP H, 32 (Summer/June 1985), 107–116.

As Intelligence Officer of the 475 Fighter Group—the only one to be completely organized overseas (in Australia)–Cooper tells stories of the unit’s heroic officers and enlisted men. He adds postwar updates about the heroes.

1643. Coox, Alvin D. “The Pacific War Revisited.” PAC AFFS, 56 (Spring 1983), 106–112.

In this excellent review article of recent historiography, Coox measures-judiciously his praise and criticism.

1644. Costello, John. THE PACIFIC WAR. New York: Rawson, Wade Publishers, 1981. 742 pp.

This account is well written and heavily documented. Costello criticizes MacArthur’s misuse of air power in defending the Philippines and the decision to drop the atomic bombs (which he feels were unnecessary by mid-1945). The author claims that Roosevelt wanted the U.S. entry into the war and knew by November 1941 that war was coming. But Costello fails to discover the “smoking gun” that has eluded Roosevelt’s critics ever since the attack at Pearl Harbor. One strength of this book is its emphasis on the roles of the British, Chinese, and Dutch during the diplomacy of the prewar era.

1645. Daniels, Gordon, ed. PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR JAPANESE STUDIES. Vol. III: 1978. PART I: HISTORY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. Sheffield, U.K.: University of Sheffield Centre of Japanese Studies, 1978. 164 pp.

For essays on the war, see Ian Nish’s analysis of Yoshida’s early career (a liberal and a member of the Anglo-American group Ei-Beiha, but also an advocate for expansion in China), R. John Pritchard’s reassessment of Changkufeng as a Japanese military victory, as well as the articles by Yuichi Inoue on the Arita-Craigie economic discussions and Michael P. Hayes on the Japanese press and the Emperor, 1945–1946.

1646. Daniels, Gordon, ed. PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR JAPANESE STUDIES. Vol. IV: 1979. PART I: HISTORY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. Sheffield, U.K.: University of Sheffield Centre of Japanese Studies, 1979. 171 pp.

John W. M. Chapman argues in his essay, “German Signals Intelligence and the Pacific War,” that no real trust existed between the Japanese and German navies. Also, Ian Nish offers some personal recollections of his experience in the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Center during the early phase of the occupation of Japan.

1647. Day, David. “Anzacs on the Run: The View From Whitehall, 1941–42.” J IMP COMM HIST, 14 (May 1986), 187–202.

Focusing on the competition for British military resources among the theaters, Day asks why the British chose to ignore the Japanese. The answer, he feels, lies partly in the British view of the collapse of Australia’s fighting reputation. Using thorough research through British archival and private sources (but no Australian sources), Day finds uncritical acceptance in Britain of anti-Australian stories. Some of the reasons include military events in Greece, Crete, and Libya; Menzies’ political challenge; the Curtin-Churchill feud; the fall of Malaya and Singapore (where one British officer called the Australians “undisciplined swine”); and Australian rejection of the diversion of troops to Rangoon.

1648. DECISIVE BATTLES OF THE PACIFIC WAR. London: Hamlyn, 1979.

NE

1649. Driscoll, Joseph. PACIFIC VICTORY, 1945. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott, 1944. 297 pp.

Here is a contemporary account which expects victory over Japan in 1945–much sooner than most predictions. Driscoll believes that by then the United States and Britain will have won in Europe and will be able to direct their combined strength against Japan.

1650. Floherty, John J. THE COURAGE AND THE GLORY. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott, 1942. 189 pp.

The writing is blatant propaganda designed to stiffen morale in the face of bleak war news. MacArthur and other U.S. leaders appear larger than life.

1651. Fooks, H.E. “The War in the Pacific.” RUSI, Part I: “Guadalcanal to Leyte Gulf,” 95 (August 1950), 448–458; Part II: “Guadalcanal to Leyte Gulf” [con’t], 96 (February 1951), 81–92; Part III: “Leyte Island to Mindoro,” 96 (August 1951), 416–424; Part IV: “The Liberation of the Philippines,” 97 (August 1952), 392–401; Part V: “Towards Japan,” 97 (November 1952), 516–522; Part VI: “Conclusion: Okinawa,” 98 (August 1953), 389–400.

These articles comprise a convenient—and expert—summary of the war against Japan. Appendixes and sketch maps enhance Fooks’ analysis.

1652. Frank, Benis M. and Henry I. Shaw, Jr. HISTORY OF U.S. MARINE CORPS OPERATIONS IN WORLD WAR II: VOL. V: VICTORY AND OCCUPATION. Washing...