The Pacific War Papers

by Goldstein, Donald M.

• ISBN13: 9781574886337
• ISBN10: 1574886339
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-09-30
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc

Summary

The Pacific War Papersis an annotated collection of extremely rare Japanese primary-source documents, translated into English, that provides an invalu-able resource for historians and students of World War II. These naval and diplomatic documents come from the collection of the late Gordon Prange, the eminent scholar of Pearl Harbor, who obtained them from Japanese naval leaders while working for the Military History Section of the American forces that occupied Japan. Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon have assembled this collection so that these important documents are not lost to history. The editors also provide expert commentary to introduce and explain the importance of the materials. This book forms the companion volume to The Pearl Harbor Papers: Inside the Japanese Plans(Brassey's, Inc., 1993), which Goldstein and Dillon also edited. Most of the documents published here are not available anywhere else, with many translated for the first time. This edited collection covers three main topics: the Japanese navy before World War II, prewar diplomacy and politics, and Japanese naval operations and policy during the war. The documents include diary extracts and candid, short monographs written by high-ranking Japanese officers immediately after the war. They shed new light on the vast naval buildup before the war, the development of the navy's operational concepts for war with the United States, the organization and tactics of aircraft carrier forces, and the failure of Japanese submarine operations. No World War II library will be complete without this important volume.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Preface	xi
Part I The Japanese Navy before the Pacific War
Introduction	3	(1)
The Japanese Navy in 1941	4	(28)
Atsushi Oi
Ozawa Essays: Introduction	32	(2)
The Naval General Staff	34	(3)
Jisaburo Ozawa
Chihaya Essays: Introduction	37	(1)
Organization of the Naval General Staff Headquarters in Tokyo	38	(6)
Masataka Chihaya
Organization of the Japanese Naval Department	44	(4)
Masataka Chihaya
The Principal Propelling Power in the Former Japanese Naval Department	48	(6)
Masataka Chihaya
Short History of the Japanese Naval Bases in the Homeland	54	(3)
Masataka Chihaya
Importance of Japanese Naval Bases in the Homeland	57	(4)
Masataka Chihaya
Importance of Japanese Naval Bases Overseas	61	(6)
Masataka Chihaya
Importance of the Inland Sea	67	(3)
Masataka Chihaya
Ozawa Essays: Introduction	70	(1)
Development of the Japanese Navy's Operational Concept against America	71	(5)
Jisaburo Ozawa
Outline Development of Tactics and Organization of the Japanese Carrier Air Force	76	(6)
Jisaburo Ozawa
Fleet Organization	82	(3)
Jisaburo Ozawa
Chihaya Studies: Introduction	85	(1)
Concerning the Construction of Japanese Warships	86	(5)
Masataka Chihaya
General Characteristics of Yamato Class Battleships	91	(3)
Masataka Chihaya
Some Stories Concerning the Construction of the Yamato Class Battleships	94	(7)
Masataka Chihaya
Personnel Study	101	(12)
Toshikazu Ohmae
Part II Prewar Diplomacy and Politics
Introduction	113	(2)
Extracts from the Diary of Marquis Koichi Kido	115	(21)
Diary of Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura, June-December 1941	136	(89)
Part III Post-Pearl Harbor
Introduction	225	(1)
Japanese Monograph No. 102: Submarine Operations, December 1941-April 1942	226	(31)
Other Chihaya Studies: Introduction	257	(1)
The Movement of the Japanese Battleship Group at the Outbreak of the War	258	(8)
Masataka Chihaya
Essay Concerning the Book Battle Report	266	(6)
Masataka Chihaya
Account of the Battle of the Java Sea	272	(7)
Masataka Chihaya
Account of the Fiasco of Truk on 27 February 1944	279	(4)
Masataka Chihaya
Some Features Concerning Changes in the Japanese Fleet Organization during the War	283	(7)
Masataka Chihaya
Two-Part Report	290	(9)
Masataka Chihaya
Two-Part Report	299	(5)
Masataka Chihaya
Some Opinions Concerning the War	304	(15)
Nobutake Kondo
Index	319