Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes: Hara, Capt. Tameichi, Pineau, Roger, Saito, Fred: 9781591143840: Books Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes
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This is a riveting account of a Navy Captains life as he was destined to be long before the war, He recounts all episodes and criticizes and Praises fairly as a Judge, BOTH sides. This is a Must Read to fully understand what went through all participants at the time. Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes The story begins on October 16, 1900, and ends on April 7, 1945. The final day of Imperial Japanese Navy according to the author.The only issue I have is that the author(s) have misspelled or wrongly named certain dates and places, but those are minute details in a very compelling story.The author, Tameichi Hara, writes with an exemplary objectivity. Something that has become a rare commodity in our age of political correctness. Hara does not hesitate to point out the mistakes made by commanders, or their superiors, Japanese and Americans alike.One example is the battle of the Java Sea in late February 1942, and the battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. In the first mentioned, according to Hara, the Allies out blundered the Japanese. Pointing out that, had the Allied cruiser force pushed on, they could have hit the Japanese invasion convoy heading South. In the 1944 version, all the mistakes were made by the Japanese, when their massive task force of cruisers and battleships were held back by a small force of American destroyers and aircraft flying from small escort carriers.At the same, Hara also gives the reader a valuable insight into the personal characters of some of the Japanese officers that has shaped the history of the Pacific war, men like admiral Isoroko Yamamoto and Chuichi Nagumo.It is easy to criticize the decisions made by commanding officers after the battle, but according to Captain Hara, those with the benefit of hindsight doesn't understand the burden of making split second decisions. He introduces the reader to the stress and anxiety endured by officers that can only rely on incomplete intelligence. One such incident is vice Admiral Raizo Tanaka, who commanded a group of destroyers charged with delivering supplies to the increasingly starving Japanese troops on Guadalcanal. In the battle of Tassafaronga, Tanaka's destroyers sank or severely damaged four US cruisers, using their torpedoes according to the manual which Hara himself had helped to shape before the war. The result was the third largest Japanese Naval victory of the war, surpassed only by Pearl Harbor and the battle of Savo Island.Despite Tanaka's clear cut victory, he ended up being transferred to a desk job on land, first to Singapore and then Rangoon, never to hold a command at sea again for the remainder of the war. The reason for his removal was that he did not release all the remaining supply oil drums before withdrawing. Because he used up all the torpedoes at his disposal, his ships were now completely exposed to enemy counter attacks. To make matters worse, room on the ships had to made to store additional Army supplies, which left him no choice but to head out with only half of his ammunition stockpile, shells and torpedoes alike. Hara refers to Tanaka's transfer as a pointless waste of highly skilled officers at a time when their experience and sound judgement were needed than ever. When Hara visited him after the war, at his farm in the Yamaguchi prefecture, Tanaka said that the victory did not belong to him, but to the men under his command.As the battle for the Solomon Islands dragged on into the summer of 1943, Hara observes that their opponents are getting better and better at fighting during the night. The Japanese advantage of fighting in the dark is slowly but steadily eroded by the American usage of radar. The battle of Vella gulf, on the night of the anniversary of the Guadalcanal landing, confirmed to Hara, that they had lost the advantage of the night. In the battle, the American destroyers conducted a virtual re run of the battle of Savo Island from the year before, sinking three out of four Japanese destroyers by combining torpedoes with gun fire. Only the authors ship, the Shigure, escaped, but NOT without damage. Upon returning to Sasebo, Japan, some months later, it was discovered that one of the American torpedoes had gone right through the rudder without detonating.When Hara returned to Japan, he discovered that the Japan he returned to, was not the Japan he had left. Ordinary Japanese citizens, including his own wife, had to attend political rallies in order to not get into trouble with the authorities. He ended up as an instructor, teaching young Japanese men, and boys, on how to guide their suicide attack crafts. Like the Kaiten torpedo, or the Shinryu suicide attack boats. At the same time, he is also express his increasingly frustration with the imperial high commands running of the war. This forced him to make a move that easily could have ended up costing him his life. He writes a letter addressed directly to Emperor Hirohito, where he attacks the Imperial High Command ineptitude. He does not mention whether the letter was delivered the Emperor or not, but luckily nothing happened.The authors final combat mission of the war is commanding the cruiser Yahagi on the IJN's final mission of the war, to Okinawa. Alongside the battleship Yamato, and eight destroyers. In the resulting battle, the main ship of the Japanese Task Force is virtually blown out of the water by American aircraft. Hara concludes the story with how he endured being adrift in the water for an unknown periode of time before being picked up by one the escorting destroyers and taken back to Japan.The Pacific war has been described in countless books, films, and documentaries, but always from the Allied perspective. If you are a student of the Pacific war, then this is a story that you do not want to miss out on. Told by a man of integrity, and objective honesty. Two the things that we now need than ever. Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes An exceptional insight into the workings of the IJN in WWII. Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes A book I first read long ago, and had to have again, It was amazing to see the Pacific war from a different perspective, Very happy to have it again Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes L'auteur décrit les opérations navales japonaises auxquels il a participé, l'euphorie initiale puis l'enlisement, le découragement et l'épuisement tant humain que matériel. Passionnant. Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes
To begin with, I have reviewed a lot of WW2 memoirs, and have read far . This book is a 6 star book. It really is quite amazing. As always, I will review it based on four categories: tactical, strategic, moral, and personal. I have never before read a WW2 memoir that Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes Tameichi Hara's story throughout WW2 is an incredible read. This book not only covers the tactical and strategic battles fought by the Japanese navy in an objective fashion, but also subjective. Hara gives frank and honest criticism and praise of his leaders and Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes Fine book. Interesting to see how the other half fought the war. Not as much about tactics as I would have liked but full of stories about some known and unknown members of the Japanese navy during WW2. Well worth a read if you are at all interested in naval warfare. Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes The Japanese Imperial Navy was a formidable opponent to Allied navies during the Pacific War. This book provides a revealing and balanced account of the naval aspects of the war from the perspective of a remarkable Japanese participant, Captain Tameichi Hara. If Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes this guy is real. Rebel with a cause. Not afraid to share failure moments/decesions Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, MidwayThe Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes
