Military Model Scene
Robin Buckland's
The Darkest Hour, Vol.2
...The Japanese Offensive in the Indian Ocean, 1942, from Helion & Co
Title: The Darkest Hour Vol 2
Author: Michal A. Piegzik
Publisher: Helion & Co
ISBN: 978-1-804510-23-0
Number 33 in the Asia @ War series from Helion & Co, covering the Japanese offensive in the Indian Ocean 1942 - the attack against Ceylon and the Eastern Fleet. A 72-page soft-cover book and the second half of this story.
The second volume covering this story of 2 Japanese Navy groups making a foray into the Indian Ocean and threatening the Eastern Fleet of the Royal Navy, along with the supply lines in the region, which were also vital in supporting the Allied forces in North Africa, via the Suez Canal. The first group, Kido Butai, centred around no less than 5 famous Japanese Carriers, the Akagi, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku. Amongst the detailed stories are the attacks on the Ceylon ports of Colombo and Ratmalana, both the British searches for the Japanese fleet and the Japanese search for the Royal Navy Eastern Fleet, and the sinking of HMS Dorsetshire and HMS Cornwall, along with the sinking of HMS Hermes and HMAS Vampire. In the middle of the book is the usual section of colour artwork with plenty of RAF and Royal Navy aircraft, plus maps and a description of how Japanese aircraft were guided in for landing on their carriers. In the second half of the book we read about the second task force, the Malay Force, with just one light carrier, and their attack on another important Ceylon base, at Trincomalee, plus the sinking of a large number of merchant vessels.
At the end of the book there are both the Allied and the Japanese assessments of the operations, which made interesting reading, while there are also 9 appendices which have fantastic detail, even down to listing the individual IJN aircrews that took part in each of their operations. It is a story of IJN operations against the Royal Navy in the Far East in 1942 that we rarely hear about, so I learned a lot. I will add that there are also some great archive photos included throughout the book.
Thanks to Helion & Co for the review copy.
Robin