Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941- 1945 | 
| Author: Paul S. Dull
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
Category: Book
List Price: $28.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 146218
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 420
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 6.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 1591142199
Dewey Decimal Number: 940
EAN: 9781591142195
ASIN: 1591142199
Publication Date: March 30, 2007
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Product Description
For almost 20 years, more than 200 reels of microfilmed Japanese naval records remained in the custody of the U.S. Naval History Division, virtually untouched. This unique book draws on those sources and others to tell the story of the Pacific War from the viewpoint of the Japanese. Former Marine Corps officer and Asian scholar Paul Dull focuses on the major surface engagements of the war--Coral Sea, Midway, the crucial Solomons campaign, and the last-ditch battles in the Marianas and Philippines. Also included are detailed track charts and a selection of Japanese photographs of major vessels and actions.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Bloodless October 20, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Of the four major navies in the twentieth century (Royal, U.S., Imperial German/Kriegsmarine, and the Imperial Japanese), the Imperial Japanese Navy is the least known of outside its own country. Paul S. Dull, a former Japanese-language officer in the Marine Corps turned academic, wrote this book in 1977, and it is a testimony to its importance and the small number of studies on the IJN that it is still in print. Dull based his account on official unit records and ship logs that the United States government seized during the occupation of Japan and the official Japanese histories of World War II.
Dull has produced a useful book that offers important insights and helps balance the English-language historical record of this conflict. He revisits a number of smaller battles that many people pay little attention to (most Americans know Pearl Harbor, the fall of the Philippines, Coral Sea, Midway, and then jump forward to Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the bombing of Japan). Dull has done some impressive work balancing the various American and Japanese accounts of these engagements. He gives his readers exceptionally useful maps that carefully show American and Japanese positions--the maps of each navy vary significantly for the same battle. His insights on Kurita's decision at Leyte Gulf to retreat, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory makes a lot of sense and is very compelling. He essentially argues that there was no great impending victory, that the IJN had shot its load and was played out. In fact, this explanation is so convincing, it is surprising that authors since 1977 have not accepted it in total.
The only problem with this book is that it seems rather "bloodless." There is no passion. There is no discussion of the personalities of the figures involved. Indeed, the lack of human agency in this account is rather surprising. In the end, the book is as dry and matter of fact as the source material that Dull used in writing this account. If readers are aware of these limitations, they will find this book highly informative, but not that entertaining.
 An invaluable source June 11, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I am glad to see this aging warhorse in print. It is still the only really comprehensive source on the IJN based largely on Japanese-language sources. Way too much fo the Pacific War literature is based on partisan or hagiographic readings of the conflict, almost exclusively from the American perspective (although Spector, Gailey, and Costello try to be balanced). The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force has produced a monumental 100+ volume history of the war, but almost none of it has been translated into English. Until we have some historians who can either read the originals and use them to fill in gaps, or translate some key chunks and publish them as a "greatest hits" collection with commentary and comparisons to the US semi-official Morison history, Dull will have to do for understanding "the other side of the hill."
solid historical book. May 15, 2007
This book is history personified on the Japanese Navy in WWII. Not only does Mr. Dull explain every battle in the war with detail, in one of the appendixe's he has the fate of each warship. a great piece of work, in my opinion.
Solid research book on the Imperial Japanese Navy in WWII August 23, 2005
26 out of 26 found this review helpful
Paul Dull's Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1941-1945 is one of those books that is a hidden gem. Few know about it, and it sheds considerable light on topics covered only in musty archives in Washington and Tokyo.
The naval war in the Pacific has been covered by every major historian ad nauseum. Dull, drawing on his knowledge of Japanese and Japanese culture, has drawn his information primarily from the official records of the IJN. This book is a treasure trove of information about Japanese fleet movements, little known battles, and methods of ship to ship combat that both sides used that are glossed over or completely neglected in large histories. Dull is not afraid to criticize Japanese commanders, and assesses Yamamoto, long considered to the be Japan's finest naval officer, to be hesitant, battleship centric, and slow to seek out battle.
This is a phenomenal stand alone work, and serves as a must read for anyone reading about Nimitz or Halsey or the US Navy in WWII. Great appendix with information regarding the names, classes, and fates of all major Japanese surface combatants during the war. Though I am sure there is something we all wish he had addressed(for me the construction and design history of their battlefleet), Dull does exactly what he set out to do. Tell a focused story with new information that has not seen the light of day. For a book published in 1978, it is remarkably fresh and relevant, and was an extremely enjoyable read.
Be mindful of the subtext November 8, 2003
23 out of 24 found this review helpful
"A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy" will make a fine and intellectually stimulating addition to a military history collection. A veritable compendium of surface naval engagements that have been revisited by Mr. Dull using Japanese-language sources, it is not, however, the most comprehensive source of information and insight about the role of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War. Other sources, for instance, that greatly complement this book include "Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941" and Prange's seminal books on Pearl Harbor and Midway.The book has some noticeable quirks too for the non-initiated. For instance, was there ever a pink-painted Japanese cruiser? The book does not dwell on the minutiae of the warships involved, so it is rather surprising to encounter an odd little detail such as the cruiser Haguro's paint scheme. What makes the book especially valuable to me is the subtext: the Japanese Navy had in essence intensely prepared for the wrong war to fight. Deeply absorbed in the Mahan doctrine of the decisive naval battle--a principle that emphasized destroying an enemy fleet in a grand engagement that effectively ends the conflict--Nihon Teikoku Kaigun was, by the outbreak of the Second World War, ready to confront the US fleet within the context of a short yet decisive campaign. Then, after helping Japan secure access to the mineral resources of Southeast Asia, the navy would have been instrumental in safeguarding the perimeter of the newly-won oceanic empire. It didn't quite turn out that way. As Dull's book elucidates in meticulous detail, the Japanese Navy was forced to fight practically to the last ship. Having lost the initiative midway through the conflict, a once-powerful armada that helped subdue one-third of the globe was to all intents and purposes wiped out by the end of the war.
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