This is another in the History of United States Naval Operations in World War II series of books and, like the others, is excellent, filled with information. Chapters include After the Marianas, Morotai, the Palaus and Ulithi, and a number of chapters relating to the battle for Leyte.
Below are some of the more interesting things from the book:
Originally, Formosa and bases in China was considered for the final assault on Japan.
Changes in China, changes in the Japanese deployment and various other things caused the U.S. to change its policies and proceed on an attack through the Philippines approach to Japan.
In a 1944 meeting at Pearl Harbor it was suggested that Japan would be defeated by U.S. naval and air powers without the need for an actual invasion of Japan itself.
Pelileu is discussed, including the decision to attack the island.
The commander of the Japanese Fourteenth Army, boasted that he would demand MacArthur's surrender in a yes or no fashion, so confident was he of defeating MacArthur.
The use of aircraft rockets increased, and napalm was used for the first time in carrier operations in the Pacific in September of 1944.
The last of the six Japanese carriers used in the attack on Pearl Harbor was sunk during this battle. Four had been sunk at Midway, and the fifth had been sunk during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
After the war, Tojo said there were three reasons Japan was defeated:
1. The “leapfrogging” approach to island taking, bypassing many Japanese troop concentrations.
2. The activities of the U.S. Fast Carrier Forces Pacific Fleet.
3. The destruction of Japanese merchant shipping by U.S. subs.
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Japanese-American Internment Camps index page
Japan and World War II index page
