Old Friends, New Enemies. The Royal Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy

This first scholarly account of the Royal Navy in the Pacific War is a companion volume to Arthur Marder's Old Friends, New Enemies: Strategic Illusions, 1936-1941 (0-19-822604-7, OP). Picking up the story at the nadir of British naval fortunes - everywhere weak and naked', in Churchill's phrase - it examines the Royal Navy's role in events from 1942 to the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Drawing on both British and Japanesesources and personal accounts by participants, the authors vividly retell the story of the collapse of Allied defences in the Dutch East Indies, culminating in the Battle of the Java Sea. They recount the attemptsof thefighting admiral', Sir James Somerville, to train his motley fleet of cast-offs into an efficient fighting force in spite of the reluctance of Churchill, who resisted the formation of a full-scale British Pacific Fleet until the 1945 assault on the Ryukyu Islands immediately south of Japan. Meticulously researched and fully referenced, this unique and absorbing account provides a controversial analysis of the key personalities who shaped events in these momentousyears, and makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in the Pacific War. This book also appears in the Oxford General Books catalogue for Autumn 1990.

“'bears all the marks of his very individual scholarship and style ... narrated Britain's imperial decline - with devotion and skill in combining research, narration, and analysis which have seen no contemporary rival'Anthony Verrier, Financial Times”

'the only comprehensive account of the war against our old friends, the Japanese, who had become our new enemies'Richard Hough, Daily TelegraphMarder's lucid style and the sweep of his knowledge and understanding give a compelling coherence to his narrative - here, one feels, is the inside story and the special understanding, making use of many unpublished sources. ...a major work of naval scholarship.'Lloyd's Listthe book is rounded off by a thoughtful conclusion, which sustains the very high level of narrative and analysis shown throughout this long, and absorbing book.'The Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies Bulletin... Mark Jacobsen and John Horsfield deserve to be congratulated on what they have accomplished.'Christopher Thorne, TLSa splendidly even-handed account ... This book bears out Peter Kemp's accolade, introducing the previous volume: he called Marder "the supreme historian".'The Economistthe literature of the war in the Far East is not so rich or large that this work can be set aside ... contains so much original material from participants and so many well argued cases and new insights that it is and will remain and important work on the Forgotten Fleet and on how two countries were taught a bitter lesson on the limits of their power.The Mariner's MirrorMeticulously researched and referenced ... a fascinating book ... by devoting considerable space to the leading personalities on all sides, it gives an insight and excellent background as to 'The whats, whys and wherefores" of the strategies which were evolved. It is a great read.'London Flottilla Bulletindraws on a vast array of manuscript sources in Britain, Japan, and the United States, including papers, interviews, and correspondence that Marder conducted with key naval personages during a lifetime of research. The writing is superb.'The Pacific ReviewAs one would expect from its pedigree, it is a work of considerable scholarship and covers the larger issues of the naval war with Japan in great detail.'WarshipA multitude of sources have been carefully digested and the facts are presented objectively. This is a sound and useful contribution to the history of naval warfare.'Asian Affairs'both grasp of detail and clarity of narrative are again features of this new book, in all its sections ... the three authors between them have provided a helpful survey of relevant developments in the Japanese camp'Times Literary Supplement'draws on a vast array of manuscript sources in Britain, Japan, and the United States, including papers, interviews, and correspondence that Marder conducted with key naval personages during a lifetime of research'J. Garry Clifford, The Pacific Review, Vol.4, No.3, 1991It is essential reading for the serious student of the Pacific war bringing many new ideas and sources to light, though it would be as well to check all facts'. The bibliography lists many sources, mainly US, which would not readily occur to a British student'.D.K. Brown.'a detailed narrative of British naval operations against Japan ... the now completed two-volume study of the Royal Navy in the Pacific War is a fitting conclusion to Arthur J. Marder's long and productive career as a naval historian'John H. Maurer, Naval War College, Naval War College ReviewArthur Marder was undeniably the modern Royal Navy's premier chronicler and indeed one of this century's greatest historians...It is a brilliant summation of the limits of naval and human power that no student of war can afford to ignore, and as such, the appropriate capstone to Arthur Marder's final work.'Barry D. Hunt, The North Mariner, Journal of the Canadian Nautical Research Society.'it completes, ten years after his death, the remarkable career of Arthur J. Marder ... The work of his students in completing the manuscript has been meticulous and thorough: this is the book Marder would have hoped to complete ... an account that will act as a bench-mark for future studies ... it is a major work and one that cannot be ignored.'Andrew Lambert, King's College, London, The International History Review`The book is a smoothly written and meticulously researched account of the Royal Navy's war in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. ... thorough study of the Royal Navy's role in the war against Japan' Peter Stansky, American History Review'evenhanded, thoroughly researched narrative ... in spare, limpid, and entertaining prose'Thomas R. Havens, University of Illinois, History, Summer 1992'It is a fascinating story, and the book describes it with much sensitivity to institutional factors and service loyalties; considerable stress is laid on the role of the former premiers, The book ends with a perceptive and valuable conclusion reviewing the types of war that the Royal and the Imperial Japanese Navies prepared for and fought.'J.P.D. Dunbabin St Edmund Hall, Oxford. EHR Shorter Notices April '94

This first scholarly account of the Royal Navy in the Pacific War is a companion volume to Arthur Marder's Old Friends, New Enemies: Strategic Illusions, 1936-1941 (0-19-822604-7, OP). Picking up the story at the nadir of British naval fortunes - everywhere weak and naked', in Churchill's phrase - it examines the Royal Navy's role in events from 1942 to the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Drawing on both British and Japanese sources and personal accounts by participants, the authors vividly retell the story of the collapse of Allied defences in the Dutch East Indies, culminating in the Battle of the Java Sea. They recount the attempts of thefighting admiral', Sir James Somerville, to train his motley fleet of cast-offs into an efficient fighting force in spite of the reluctance of Churchill, who resisted the formation of a full-scale British Pacific Fleet until the 1945 assault on the Ryukyu Islands immediately south of Japan. Meticulously researched and fully referenced, this unique and absorbing account provides a controversial analysis of the key personalities who shaped events in these momentous years, and makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in the Pacific War. This book also appears in the Oxford General Books catalogue for Autumn 1990.

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