RISING SUN, FALLING SKIES: The Disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II

COX, Jeffrey

ISBN 10: 1780967268 / ISBN 13: 9781780967264

Published by Osprey Publishing, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2014

About this Item

Hardback, with dust wrapper. Boards and spine are moderately thumbed, moreso at head edge. Head and tail of spine lighlty bumped. Edges, endpapers and some pages of book showing handling and light discolouration. Binding neat and tidy. Else book is in good condition. Dustwrapper is lightly worn and has some creases and tears along edges. Small sections rubbed. Spine thumbed. Else in good condition. *We always describe the faults of our books meticulously but they usually present better than they sound.

Seller Inventory # MIL477

Bibliographic Details

• Title: RISING SUN, FALLING SKIES: The Disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing, Cambridge, United Kingdom
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1780967268
• ISBN 13: 9781780967264
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Military

About this title

Synopsis

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese offensive in the Far East seemed unstoppable. Allied forces engaged in a futile attempt to halt their rapid advance, culminating in the massed fleet of American, British, Dutch, and Australian forces (ABDA) clashing with the Japanese at the battle of the Java Sea - the first major sea battle of World War II in the Pacific. But, in a campaign crippled by poor leadership and disastrous decisions, the Allied response was catastrophic, losing their largest warships and their tenuous toe-hold in the south Pacific within the first 72 hours of the battle. This defeat left ground troops cut off from reinforcement and supply, with obsolete equipment, no defense against endless Japanese air attacks, and with no chance of retreat. However, although command decisions were to condemn the Allies to defeat, the Allied goal was never an outright victory, simply a delaying action. Facing a relentless and thoroughly vicious enemy, the combined forces responded not by running or surrendering, but by defiantly holding on in a struggle that was as much a test of character, bravery, and determination as it was a test of arms, ultimately costing the Allies ten vessels and the lives of 2,100 brave sailors. In Rising Sun, Falling Skies, Jeffrey Cox examines the events and evidence surrounding the Java Sea Campaign, reconstructing battles that in hindsight were all but hopeless and revealing where fatal mistakes and missed opportunities condemned the Allied forces in an insightful and compelling study of the largely overlooked clash in the Java Sea.

About the Author

Jeffrey R. Cox is a litigation attorney and an independent military historian specializing in World War II, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome. His first interest was in the Pacific War, which he has studied for more than 30 years. A student of history, international affairs, and defence policy for most of his life, Cox holds a degree in National Security Policy Studies from The Ohio State University and a doctorate of jurisprudence from Indiana University School of Law. He is a contributor to Military History Online (militaryhistoryonline.com) and resides in Indiana.