Gamble in the Coral Sea

Autorentext

Michał A. Piegzik is a lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University with a PhD in Japanese private law. He was awarded the Japanese Ministry of Education scholarship for exceptional research results. The Pacific War is his life’s passion. He has published in Poland, Japan, the UK, and the Netherlands. Gamble in the Coral Sea is his debut book in the United States. 

Klappentext

Driven by extensive Japanese primary sources, Gamble in the Coral Sea** offers an operational analysis of the first clash of aircraft carriers at the pivotal Battle of the Coral Sea from the Japanese perspective, including leadership, tactics, and errors that brought a numeric victory but a strategic loss for Japan that halted their bold advance into the South Pacific and ultimately set the stage for Midway. **

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 Michä 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 Sh kaku and Zuikaku, the Nippon Kaigun's 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 Japan's 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, history's 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 Navy's 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 Sh kaku 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. 

Inhalt

Contents
 
List of Abbreviations and Symbols
 
Introduction
 
Part One. September 1941 – 6 May 1942
Chapter 1. Japanese Navy Planning for Operation MO
Chapter 2. Intercepting Japanese Naval Messages and Responses to Operation MO
Chapter 3. The Invasion of Tulagi: First Japanese Move under Operation MO
Chapter 4. The Yorktown Strikes on Tulagi and Gavutu
Chapter 5. May 5 and 6 Searches by Each Side for Opposing Carrier Forces
 
Part Two. 7 May 1942    
Chapter 6. Morning Search Missions for American Carriers and Movements of MO Kidō Butai in Response
Chapter 7. Morning Reconnaissance Missions and Movements of Task Force 17
Chapter 8. Sinking of the Neosho and the Sims
Chapter 9. Sinking of the Shōhō
Chapter 10. The 25th Kōkū Sentai Enters the Fray
Chapter 11. “Let’s go for it!”—Dusk Attack by the 5th Kōkū Sentai on TF-17 Carriers
 
Part Three. 8 May 1942
Chapter 12. “We Will Guide You”—Kan’no’s Selfless Decision
Chapter 13. TF-17 Knocks the Shōkaku Out of Action
Chapter 14. “To To To, Zegun Totsugeki Seyo” (“All forces attack!”): The Lexington Mortally Wounded, the Yorktown Hit
Chapter 15. Aftermath: Damage Assessments, Recovery of Strike Aircraft, and Postponement of Operation MO Landing
 
Part Four. 8 May – 21 September 1942
Chapter 16. Final Movements in Operation MO
Chapter 17. Conflicting Japanese Statements of Outcome of the Battle of the Coral Sea
Chapter 18. What Failed on the Japanese Side? An Analysis
 
Appendices
Appendix 1. Order of Battle, Japanese Forces
Appendix 2. Order of Battle, Allied Forces
Appendix 3. Zuikaku and Shōkaku Air Group Rosters
Appendix 4. Shōhō Air Group Roster
Appendix 5. List of Japanese Aircraft
Appendix 6. Japanese Terminology Relating to the Battle of the Coral Sea

Notes
Bibliography
Index