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warspite1 -> RE: OT: Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat..... (9/15/2020 2:11:43 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Andrea G
I have never read other books by David Hobbs, will surely buy this one and I hope it will be well researched and not too much one sided :-)
It's curious the title of "Taranto" for a book that covers the entire war up to 1945.
warspite1
I don't think you should worry too much on the one-sided front based on another of Hobbs' books I read [:)]. Here is a review I did for Amazon. So hopefully this new book will be just as objective.
The British Pacific Fleet (Hobbs)
The teacher becomes the student…..and has to learn fast...
5 out of 5 stars.
This very impressive book tells the story of the British Pacific Fleet (BPF) that fought alongside its American allies in the war against Japan during the last months of the Second World War.
The book is written in an easy to read style, is very well researched and contains a more than acceptable number of pictures, diagrams and appendices (although can you ever have enough of the latter?).
The title of this review refers to the fact that for 100 years the Royal Navy was the most powerful naval force in the world, capable of projecting its might across the globe in protection of the UK’s trade routes to the Empire outposts and elsewhere. But, as other countries caught up and then overtook the world’s first industrial power, the United Kingdom had to live within a new economic reality. Post World War one, the country could no longer afford the navy necessary to meet all the potential threats that would appear around the globe, and the Royal Navy that entered World War II – whilst still the largest – was stretched to the limit.
The navy fought and won its most important war – the defence of the home country and the defeat of the U-boats and the surface fleets of Germany and Italy - but in doing so had not been able to spare ships for the defence of its colonial outposts in the Far East or even the Dominions of Australia and New Zealand, from the Japanese. After the fall of Malaya, Singapore and Burma, the British retreated to India and it was left to the United States to confront the Japanese, halt their expansion and begin to push them back across the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. In doing so, between 1942 and 1945 they built a huge navy - centred on the aircraft carrier – and a supply and logistic arm to keep that navy fed, watered, fuelled and armed.
With the defeat of Germany and Italy in sight, the Royal Navy had to ensure (for a variety of reasons) that it could learn how to operate in similar fashion – albeit on a much smaller scale. For a country at war since 1939 and exhausted, it was no easy feat to put together a fleet and supporting arm that could operate with their US allies. Hobbs tells the story of how the ships were found for both the fleet and the support vessels - albeit on a shoestring.
Understandably the US were not interested in having the BPF in the Pacific if they were going to be a drain on their own resources, or if they could not operate their carrier force in the way the United States Navy (USN) could. Hobbs makes clear just what a massive effort it took to ensure that the BPF would be accepted by the Americans as equals.
What I like about this book is that it is very honest. Hobbs, ex-Royal Navy himself, is justifiably proud of this achievement, but he does not soft soap the situation. There was a very, very steep learning curve to go through, and one that would have been impossible without the assistance of the USN (both before and after the BPF reached the Pacific). In addition Hobbs brings out just how much the military and civilian population of Australia worked with the British to make the BPF possible.
Like Monty’s 8th Army, the BPF was truly a Commonwealth force and Hobbs brings this out too. He makes an interesting defence on the thinking behind the withdrawal of the Canadian cruiser HMCS Uganda. He brings out the contribution of Australians, Kiwis, Canadians and other nationalities that made up the BPF.
The final word goes to the Admirals; Fraser and Rawlings for the British and Nimitz, Halsey and Spruance for the Americans. Hobbs brings out the mutual respect and admiration that these individuals had for each other and how their grown up, professional attitudes worked to the good of all.
In summary then, this is a very interesting, balanced book that I would recommend as required reading for anyone interested in naval warfare.
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