5 points of interest from The Fleet at Flood Tide
The battle to wrest Europe from the grasp of Hitler and the Nazis is commonly regarded as the last noble war fought in the 20th century. Even before the chilling truth of the concentration camps emerged, Nazism represented an oppressive darkness that threatened too many lives. Yet battles were still fought more or less within the “rules” of combat practiced on European soil for centuries.
In the Pacific Arena, however, the game was rapidly changing, beginning to hint at the brutal guerrilla tactics later used in Korea and Vietnam. As the tide turned and Japan faced imminent defeat, its military turned to total war, suicide missions, and forced civilian deaths, most famously on the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
James D. Hornfischer’s newest history The Fleet at Flood Tide catches US naval forces on the path leading up to those deadly island encounters, highlighting key players and explaining the strategical decisions taken to combat Japan. Here are some of the key takeaways to consider from the book:
1. Admiral Raymond Spruance
He was the man largely responsible for many of the American victories following the Battle of Midway in 1942. He was famed for his foresight and calmness under pressure, as well as his ability to coordinate volatile personalities. His major victories after Midway included Truk, the Battle of the Philippines and taking the Marianas Islands.
2. Wartime industrial production
Between 1940 and 1945, America produced 4,500 ships to be used in combat. The San Francisco shipyards produced more than one ship a day, and many industries dropped their domestic pursuits and put all efforts into assembling what the military needed. This is what led to the outnumbered and outskilled American forces eventually overcoming the Japanese: the pace and scale of production.
3. Island hopping
The general strategy in the Pacific Arena was to island hop from air base to air base before eventually taking on mainland Japan, but there were initially two different approaches. General Douglas MacArthur’s was via the Philippines, while the Navy eyed the Marshall and Marianas Islands. In the end, both were made possible because of the scale of the industrial production.
4. The Battle of the Philippine Sea
From June 19 to 20, 1944, Admiral Spruance led the charge in the most important naval air battle of the war. Japan ended up losing 600-plus planes, which essentially put an end to any lingering hope of victory. Instead of pursuing retreating Japanese forces and stringing out his own, Spruance concentrated the Americans in preparation to attack Saipan, a key spot in the Marianas.
5. The debate continues
Once Japan turned to total war, American officials were forced to consider the possibility of a shocking increase in casualties, especially among civilians. The decision to drop the atomic bomb was therefore rationalized by the belief that more lives would be saved than lost. James D. Hornfischer supports this view in the book, but it is important to know that people have been arguing against that decision ever since, pointing to such factors as the Russian invasion of Manchuria having already decided Japan’s surrender at the time.
This past year marked the first time that an American president visited Hiroshima since 1945, followed by the first time that a Japanese prime minister visited the Pearl Harbor memorial. Both events make this new history more salient than ever.
Enjoy!
Sarah for Team Instaread
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