Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45
by Max Hastings
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Book Summary Information
Author: Max HastingsEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-03-18
ISBN: 0307263517
Number of pages: 656
Publisher: Knopf
Book Reviews of Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45
Book Review: Outstanding Historical Analysis
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an outstanding account of the final year in the Pacific campaign of World War II. While aware of many aspects thereof, there were numerous stories and accounts with which I was not familiar. For example, the British fight to liberate Burma, with English General Bill Slim leading a largely colonial force; Japanese activities on mainland China; the details of McArthur's campaign on the Philippine Island of Leyte; the Australian war experience; the extremely contentious relationship between the United States Army and Navy, led by MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz respectively.
As Hastings points out, by 1944 the issue had largely been decided. This did not, however, preclude both sides in the conflict from taking actions and implementing strategies which resulted in mounting casualties and continued, increasingly bloody conflicts, as the Allied forces slowly advanced upon the Japanese home islands. The Japanese becoming increasingly desperate and invoking increasingly brutal and hopeless policies in an effort to attain a more favorable peace from what they hoped would become a war weary and casualty averse enemy.
Having been raised to place our WWII military leaders on a fairly lofty pedestal, it is sometimes jarring to see them painted in a less than complimentary light. This is not the first account I've seen of MacArthur's personality defects, however it's the first I've seen in which Navy Admiral "Bull" Halsey is painted as a virtually incompetent, intellectually challenged, criminally reckless commander. While this may be the case, much of the author's evidence rests on Halsey's actions at Leyte Gulf, which in hindsight may or may not be justified.
The strength of this work is in the detail, the individual accounts and the filthy, muddy, insect infested, oppressively hot, monsoon battered landscapes featured in most of the conflict. It is hard not to be drawn into many of the stories and personal histories presented by the author, both Japanese and American. The stories documenting Allied POW treatment are particularly moving and used effectively by the author to justify many of the Allied forces responses very late in the war (including the atomic bomb debate).
Of course, as you would expect, the author writes extensively on the debate surrounding development and use of atomic weapons. While he clearly comes down in support of President Truman's decision to employ atomic bombs in an effort to conclude the war, he covers the issue completely, marshalling arguments from every angle and source. Most impressively, he analyzes the various issues from the viewpoints of the participants, not with the benefit of historical hindsight.
In this respect, it is instructive to learn that there was virtually ZERO debate over deployment of the weapon. In fact, the military was not even required to await Presidential approval for deployment of the second bomb, it being treated as simply another weapon in the military's arsenal. The very idea that such a weapon would be developed and not employed was so foreign a concept as to unworthy of discussion. The author dismissively states that the debate has been conducted and resolved resoundingly in favor of Truman's decision.
All in all, a very extensively researched and well presented piece of work. I recommend it highly for anyone with an interest in history in general or World War II in particular.
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