Battles of the Pacific War Available at $1.99

The "Battles of the Pacific War 1941-1945" e-book has been discounted from $2.99 to $1.99. Thus, the e-book is now available at $1.99 on Amazon.com. The e-book is also discounted at Amazon.co.uk and other territories at an equivalent exchange rate.

Battles of the Pacific War now Available on Smashwords

The "Battles of the Pacific War 1941-1945" e-book is now available Smashwords. There you can place an order for the book from this page. In addition, the page also includes relatively short samples of the book that you can download. Alternatively, click the Online Reader button for a preview.

Book Preview

The Battle of Midway was one of the more famous naval battles in the Pacific. Here are a few of the first pages from the "Battle of Midway" chapter:

By April 1942, the Japanese Empire stretched from Manchuria to New Guinea on the outskirts of Australia; after Pearl Harbour Japan's advances in the Pacific had been almost entirely victorious. Allied armies in the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore and the Dutch East Indies had all been defeated. Victory for Japan was seemingly close, but the Pacific War was far from over.

After the Pearl Harbour debacle, the United States had little to celebrate in the Pacific. Salvage teams at the Hawaiian base were restoring and repairing U.S. battleships and other warships, but the survival of the U.S. aircraft carriers did give the Allies something to counter further Japanese naval advances. It was not long before they were called into action for naval support in the Pacific.

These aircraft carriers also provided a platform for early bombing missions such as the Doolittle Raid. With aircraft carriers the United States launched its first bombing raid of the war towards Japan. In the month of April, a squadron of B-25s, even though they were not carrier aircraft, somehow took off from the decks of an aircraft carrier and bombed Japanese cities. The Doolittle Raid proved that Japan could be bombed, and was celebrated by the Allies.

Further naval battles in the Pacific took place in May. At the Battle of Coral Sea the IJN was targeting Port Moresby, which if taken could provide a base for a potential invasion of Australia. The occupation of southeast New Guinea was another part of the plan. For this operation Japan sent out two fleet aircraft carriers to intercept any Allied naval fleets.

The U.S. Navy was ready and waiting for the IJN at Coral Sea. It was here that the first aircraft carrier naval battle of the Pacific War emerged, as both sides launched aircraft sorties from their carriers. The U.S. aircraft carriers Lexington and Yorktown were both attacked by the Japanese bombers. The Lexington was struck by torpedoes and was lost, while the bomb damaged Yorktown survived the battle and returned to Pearl Harbour for further repairs.

Despite the loss of the Lexington, the Battle of Coral Sea was not entirely a defeat for the United States. The IJN withdrew from the battle, and so the Allies still held Port Moresby which would remain out of reach for the rest of the Pacific War. Japanese fleet aircraft carriers required repairs after the battle, and they also lost a light carrier.

The remaining U.S. aircraft carriers were a primary target for the IJN. They had escaped Pearl Harbour, and three of those remained intact after the Battle of Coral Sea. Indeed, the next battle was less than a month away.

For this operation, Admiral Yamamoto aimed at the occupation of the Midway Atoll, a small island in the Pacific, approximately 1,300 miles northwest of Hawaii, which was a U.S. naval and flying-boat base. For Japan, it was a good location to establish a forward position in the Pacific with airfields. It was expected that U.S. aircraft carriers could be trapped, and wiped out, by the Japanese carrier fleet in a naval battle around Midway Island. Japanese troops would also land at and occupy the Aleutian Islands to the north to divert some U.S. vessels away from Midway.

Yamamoto divided the Japanese Combined Fleet into five naval groups that were dispersed across hundreds of miles of ocean. The most essential of these groups was the Carrier Striking Force, under Admiral Nagumo, which included four Japanese aircraft carriers with approximately 280 aircraft. These were the ships that would target the U.S. carriers, and aircraft, around Midway.

Behind the Carrier Striking Force were further supporting Japanese fleet groups. These fleets included a variety of cruisers, destroyers and battleships such as the 72,809 ton Yamato. One of the groups was also a transport group which was expected to carry approximately 5,000 Japanese troops to occupy Midway. Japanese submarines would also play their part in the operation. Japan sent out a forward screen of submarines between Midway and Pearl Harbour to intercept U.S. aircraft carriers approaching Midway....

Book Trailer

Below is the book trailer. You may need to have the QuickTime media player to play the video. 

Where to find Battles of the Pacific War 1941-1945

"Battles of the Pacific War 1941-1945" can be found at both LuLu (now with 40% discount) and Amazon. I have included links to the book's pages on these sites. These hyperlinks are included on the link list on the right side of this blog. Or you can just check out the hyperlinks within this post.

Don't forget that this book comes in both paperback and Kindle format. The Kindle format is the e-book alternative for the book. If you have an Amazon Kindle then this can be great alternative as it includes an audio option for any of its books.They can store lots of books and are a greener alternative. Save the rainforests!

Now the Kindle book is also a part of the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. This is like an Amazon Kindle library for e-books. You can take out and return the e-book in much the same way you would at a library. Check out this page for further details on how.

About Matthew

Matthew is a freelance writer who has produced a variety of articles for various magazines and websites. Among them the Washington Post, 4k.com, Sea Breezes, Naval History Magazine, Ships Monthly, Artilleryman, TripAdvisor, Bright Hub, dotTech, Swing Golf Magazine, Coed Magazine and Vagabundo Travel. "Battles of the Pacific War 1941-1945" is his début book. Check out the links to a few of his articles below.

Remembering the Titanic in Southampton

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Free Tank Rides!

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"This Nintendo console timeline traces the history of Nintendo’s video game consoles from the ‘80s to the present day. As such, all of Nintendo’s non-handheld game consoles are covered here with dates provided...."

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A Holiday in Torbay

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IMAX Announce 4k 3D Digital Camera

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Ocean Liners at War

"World War One began in 1914, and it involved the largest navies in the world. The British, German and French navies had lots of dreadnoughts at their disposal, but needed extra ships for transporting troops and commerce raiding..."

Air War in the Pacific

The air war in the Pacific was essential to both sides. Air superiority could win any naval battle, and in addition to this leave military and industrial targets open for bombing raids. The short video below includes colour footage from the air war. 

Pearl Harbour is one of the battles included in the video, and I would guess Midway, Leyte Gulf and the Battle of Philippine Sea could be some of the other battles. All of these battles are covered in greater detail within "Battles of the Pacific War 1941-1945."

A Sneak Peek

Here's a sample of the first three pages of "Battles of the Pacific War 1941-1945":

The Japanese Empire had gradually expanded in the 20th century. Victories in its wars with the empires of Russia and Germany in the early years of the century had further consolidated its territory in Asia. However, as the 1920s gave way to the 1930s, the Wall Street Crash ensured a decline in free trade and a period of economic stagnation.

For Japan, extending the empire had potential economic advantages. Senior generals called for military campaigns aimed at gaining more colonies which could provide additional raw materials. With a larger empire established Japan would not have to import as much. Manchuria, a province in northern China, was rich in minerals and land suitable for agriculture. In 1931, claiming that a portion of Japan's South Manchuria Railway had been sabotaged by China, the Japanese army invaded and occupied the town of Shenyang.

The situation could not escape the attention of the League of Nations. Soon after the invasion the League requested that Japan withdraw as soon as possible. The Japanese military was not about to back down, and advanced further so that by the end of 1931 the Japanese army occupied the whole of Manchuria.

While this occupation did not ensure a war with China in the early 1930s, it was the beginning of an emerging war with China. The United States gave its support to China. The USA even proposed a Japanese arms embargo, but this was never established. The United States also remained in accord with the findings of the League of Nations regarding the situation in Manchuria. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations in 1933.

A few years later in 1937 a wider war in China did indeed begin. Japan claimed that its troops had been fired at by Chinese soldiers at Marco Polo Bridge, and soon after its army invaded China from Manchuria. The Japanese army dominated the early period of this war as they advanced further into China. One by one China's cities such as Nanking and Shanghai were occupied.

Despite these early victories, the Sino-Japanese War was far from over. Though the Japanese army had won most of the key cities they only occupied the northeast of the country. The millions of Japanese soldiers in China could not fully defeat the Chinese army, or indeed the communist guerrillas who provided further military support during the conflict.

The escalation of the war merely increased Western suspicions. However, by 1939 Britain and France were at war with Germany; and military defeats in Europe meant they were not about to open new fronts elsewhere. The United States remained isolationist and would not provide China with firm military support.

Notwithstanding its isolationist foreign policy, the United States did establish a Japanese embargo in 1940 as the war in China continued. These economic sanctions froze American oil exports to Japan, as well as exports of steel and iron ore. Even though the embargo was incomplete, since Japan still obtained a small quantity of oil from the United States, it began to have a noticeable impact by 1941. As Japan's oil supplies became increasingly depleted, it was clear that it could not continue the war in China much further as aircraft and tanks required fuel.

Negotiations with the United States regarding withdrawal from China continued in the early 1940s. However, the Japanese military had prepared an alternative plan that would ensure it could remain in China, in the short term at least. This scheme outlined how Japan could quickly expand its empire in the Pacific with a series of advances targeting European colonies in the region. With the possible exception of Singapore, most of the....

That's as far as this preview goes, but there may be a few more included on this blog. So watch this space!  

Photos and Maps Included in Battles of the Pacific War 1941-1945

During the Pacific War, some great photos were taken. Among them was the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima photo that includes a group of Marines raising the flag atop Mount Suribachi at the Battle of Iwo Jima.

"Battles of the Pacific War 1941-1945" includes a compilation of Pacific War photos taken during the period. A variety of photos taken from battles at Okinawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Pearl Harbor are included among its pages. The updated book now has additional battle maps that show the geographical terrain of the battlefields. Below are a few more Pacific War photographs that are not within the book's pages.

A Corsair aircraft at Battle of Okinawa.

The Yamato battleship. 

 The USS Arizona goes down at Pearl Harbour. 

Battle of Iwo Jima Video

This Iwo Jima video includes unique colour footage from the battle in 1945. This is one of the most famous battles of the period. The Battle of Iwo Jima is one of four land battles included in Battles of the Pacific War 1941 - 1945 along with the Battle of Okinawa, Battle of Singapore and the Battle of Saipan.