Michal A Piegzik

Gamble in the Coral Sea

Japan's Offensive, the Carrier Battle, and the Road to Midway

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The bold initiative of Japan’s Combined Fleet to conquer Port Moresby from the sea led to the first aircraft carrier clash in history, known better as the Battle of the Coral Sea. This engagement unexpectedly became one of the pivotal points of the Pacific War's early stage, slowing the Japanese advance and influencing further developments. After the naval offensive in the Indian Ocean, the Kidō Butai maintained its high combat readiness in preparation for the decisive quest in the Central Pacific. However, on the eve of the battle of Midway, the Japanese navy planners decided to advance from newly established positions in New Britain and New Guinea towards the Solomon Islands and Port Moresby to cut off Australia and New Zealand from American supplies and military support. Nippon Kaigun’s forces in this area were limited to the 4th Fleet of Vice-Admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue and the 11th Air Fleet of Vice-Admiral Nishizō Tsukahara. Combined Fleet’s command remained focused on the strategic initiative in the Central Pacific yet agreed to temporarily reinforce the 4th Fleet with the 5th Carrier Squadron comprising Shōkaku and Zuikaku. An outline of the Japanese plan was intercepted by American cryptanalysts, who helped to deploy the carrier task force of Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher in the South Pacific. At the beginning of May, the vast area of the Solomon Islands and the northern part of the Coral Sea became the stage of a fierce struggle between the US Navy and the Nippon Kaigun. The devious invasion of Tulagi, Yorktown’s raid on the enemy positions on the island, the desperate search for the enemy task force, strikes against secondary targets, and the central part of the battle between two carrier task forces turned out to be the first major Japanese strategic defeat in the Pacific War. The 4th Fleet cancelled Operation “MO” and postponed the seizure of Port Moresby. The battle of the Coral Sea not only proved the high determination of the Allied to check the Japanese advance but also significantly boosted the US Navy morale in the decisive week before the clash off Midway. This book, which presents Nippons Kaigun’s offensive in the South Pacific during the first days of May 1942 from the Japanese perspective whilst also including Allied sources, is a worthy contribution for all WWII book collections.  

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Naval Institute Press
• Seitenzahl: 344
• Erscheinungstermin: 18. November 2025
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781682479964
• ISBN-10: 168247996X
• Artikelnr.: 72867573

Autorenporträt

By Michal A. Piegzik

Inhaltsangabe

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
 
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