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Japanese Army in World War II: Conquest of the Pacific 1941-42 (Battle Orders)

Average customer rating:

Great content let down by some production problems
A Cornucopia of Information

Japanese Army in World War II: Conquest of the Pacific 1941-42 (Battle Orders)
Gordon Rottman
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1841767891
Release Date: 2005-01-01

Book Description

The Japanese conquest of the Pacific comprised of a complex series of widely scattered operations; their intent was to neutralize American, Commonwealth, and Dutch forces, seize regions rich in economic resources, and secure an outer defense line for their empire. Although their conquest was successful, the forces deployed from Japan and China were not always ideally trained, equipped and armed. The South Seas and tropics proved challenging to these soldiers who were used to milder climates, and they were a less lethal enemy on the Chinese mainland. This book examines the overall structure of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), the forces in existence at the beginning of World War II and the organization of the forces committed to the conquest of the Pacific.

Customer Reviews:

Great content let down by some production problems.......2005-11-05

This book is an excellent introduction to the tactics, structure and organisation of the Imperial Japanese Army in the early stages of the war in the Pacific. I purchased this book expecting that it would contain little more than order of battle information and was very pleasantly surprised to find that it also contained well informed and succinct summaries of the IJA's doctrine, tactics and weaponry which go a long way towards justifiying the relatively high cost of this thin (96 pages) book.

The core of the book is a detailed description of the organisation of the Japanese expeditionary forces involved in the conquest of the Philippines, Dutch East Indies and New Guinea in 1941-42. While there is almost no coverage of the Japanese forces involved in the Hong Kong, Malayan and Burmese campaigns I believe that they will be covered in a subsequent volume in this series. As well as outlining the structure of the Japanese forces involved in these campaigns (typically down to company level) Rottman also provides useful summaries of the campaigns amply illustrated by clear and well selected maps. In addition to covering the major Japanese campaigns, Rottman also provides detailed orders of battle and campaign summaries for minor campaigns such as the Japanese conquest of the eastern Netherlands East Indies and the Australian possessions in and around New Guinea. All up, his coverage of the string of Japanese campaigns in 1941-42 is admirably comprehensive and this book is completely successful as a resource on the organisation of the Japanese Army during this period.

While the content of the book is first rate, the same cannot, unfortunately, be said for its production standards. In particular, it would seem that either Mr Rottman's editor or publisher dropped the ball as the book has gone to print containing typos and a few minor, but obvious, errors. Perhaps more seriously (though the existence of typos in a relatively expensive book is disappointing) I have doubts about the value of including both organisational charts and textual orders of battle for many formations - as the information contained in the charts and text is identical surely one or the other should have been selected, freeing up space in the process. While these glitches are annoying they are, however, generally of a minor nature and don't detract greatly from the overall value of the book.

In summary, this book is an excellent resource for anyone with an interest in the Pacific Theatre of WW2 and I'm looking forward to the subsequent books in the series. However, I do hope that Mr Rottman and his editor ensure that they are free of the glitches contained in this volume.

A Cornucopia of Information.......2005-03-17

After completing his three-volume effort on US marine Corps operations in the Pacific in the Second World War, military specialist author Gordon L. Rottman has turned his attention to the first of several volumes for Osprey covering Japanese forces in the Pacific War. Osprey's Battle Orders #9, Japanese Army in World War II: Conquest of the Pacific covers the Philippine, Dutch East Indies, New Guinea, Wake, Guam and Rabaul invasions; subsequent volumes will cover Japanese operations in other theaters. As usual with Rottman, this volume is jam-packed with useful military data, including numerous orders of battle and unit organization charts. This volume and its companion volumes are going to be the standard references on the forces that fought the Pacific War for many years to come.

Rottman begins the volume with a short section detailing the background of Japan's Imperial Army, followed by sections on doctrine, unit organization, tactics, weapons and C3I. The final section summarizes the main combat operations of the Southern Army in the period December 1941 - July 1942. One of the most attractive features of this volume is the 16 full-color maps: Southern Army's pre-invasion deployment, December 1941; the Southern operations plan; Japanese landings at Lae, New Guinea, 8 March 1942; the Port Moresby invasion plan; the main Philippine landings; Luzon operations; the Lingayen Bay landing; Bataan operations, Phase I and II; the assault on Corregidor; Borneo operations; Timor operations; Sumatra operations; Java operations; South sea operations, January - July 1942; and the Battle for the Kokoda Trail. Normally, most histories combine this plethora of operations into one or two over-crowded maps, but Rottman gives each operational phase its own map, much to the benefit of students of these campaigns.

Rottman's grasp of military detail is magnificent, with a veritable cornucopia of information which should delight most military readers. However, many civilian readers may find the dry litany of facts tedious and over-whelming at times. As usual, Rottman eschews personal accounts that might have added some humanity to his narrative. Aside from naming detachment commanders, only a handful of Japanese commanders are mentioned in this volume - and then primarily in passing in the orders of battle. The Japanese Army that Rottman presents is a collection of unit identifications, without personality or character. Without this human content, the Japanese Army as presented here appear more as ciphers than modern-day samurai. Nevertheless, the level of detail provided in this volume make it an essential reference for anyone attempting a serious study of the Pacific War.

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