World War II naval history
Written by Craig L. Simmons, translated by Na Jong-nam｜With the book｜1024 pages
Everything about the navy and naval battles of World War II
Circumstances and connections surrounding major battles
Battles analyzed from a macro perspective
Digging into the naval power and special characteristics of each country
The importance of ‘controlling the sea’
An unfamiliar yet fresh aspect of naval warfare
World War II was a great disaster that involved the greatest use of violence in human history. In this war, approximately 60 million people, or 3% of the world’s population at the time, lost their lives.
This book is a compilation of wars fought in all seas around the world from 1939 to 1945 by the author, a professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval Academy. Focusing on the circumstances and various characters surrounding major battles, the scale and interconnections are organically and meticulously explored. From detailed descriptions of each country’s navies, ships, and various weapons to the mechanisms of large-scale battles and a macroscopic and global perspective, you can understand how navies and naval battles influenced the direction of World War II.
The book organically deals with the numerous battles that took place in the oceans around the world during World War II from a global macro perspective. There was not a war in the Atlantic, another war in the Pacific, a war in the Mediterranean, and another war in the Indian Ocean or the North Sea. Although recording the war according to these geographical divisions has the advantage of simplifying it, it differs from how the war actually unfolded or how strategic makers managed the situation.
Transport losses incurred in the course of fighting in the Atlantic affected transport to Guadalcanal in the Pacific, and operating convoys to the island of Malta in the Mediterranean meant a reduction in the number of convoys heading to the Atlantic, while pursuing the battleship Bismarck. To do this, fighting forces had to be gathered from England, Iceland, and Gibraltar.
Of course, each department or chapter is centered around a specific battlefield or a certain country’s navy, but by consistently developing events in connection with situations in other theaters, you can get a bird’s eye view of the war situation from a wide perspective. In addition, it shows in detail how the naval power and characteristics of each country and the geopolitical peculiarities of each theater affected the victory or defeat of battles and wars.
The book ‘History of Naval Battles in World War II’ provides a comprehensive overview of naval battles around the world and analyzes numerous battles that took place at sea during World War II. The photo shows the U.S. and French navies rehearsing for the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings on the beaches of Normandy, France, last June. Newsis
For example, the entire Atlantic and Pacific oceans were so vast that there were no land or islands to mark, so there were many cases where they failed to track the enemy even after knowing their location, or passed each other at a short distance without even knowing the enemy’s existence. On the other hand, the entire Mediterranean Sea was a confined sea that was difficult to escape from, and any point was close to land, so it was easy to receive aircraft support. This was a partial but important reason why the Italian Navy, which had the world’s 5th largest military force, collapsed early in the war, and the Japanese Navy achieved a landslide victory in the first Pacific battle, the Pearl Harbor attack.
As you read the book, you will naturally understand why it was so important to gain and further dominate the sea. When we think of ‘World War II’, we usually think of Nazi Germany’s attack and occupation of the European continent, the invasion of Russia and the Soviet Union’s counteroffensive, and the large-scale air bombing of the British mainland. However, as historian Richard Overly emphasized, World War II was a territorial war between new imperialist countries that challenged old world empires, including Britain, and the war broke out across the world. Accordingly, as the war became longer, the more important it was to land from the sea on land for continuous logistics supply, and this was supported by convoys using sea routes. That is why most of the Battle of the Atlantic was a so-called ‘trade war’ in which merchant ships were attacked, and why Japan led a large fleet to attack American forces in the Pacific.
The book ‘History of Naval Battles in World War II’ provides a comprehensive overview of naval battles around the world and analyzes numerous battles that took place at sea during World War II. Still cuts from the movie ‘Pearl Harbor’ based on the Pearl Harbor attack and the Pacific War
Additionally, for readers who are familiar with the history of warfare on land, the aspects of naval battles may be quite unfamiliar and yet refreshing. The importance of positioning in the endless sea and the funny happenings that result from it, the influence of a hit that is almost like luck in the fluid and unstable battlefield called the sea, and the fact that when an enemy ship is discovered in the early stages of a war, all passengers on board are evacuated and even brought into one’s own ship. You will realize how important the ground is in the development and aspect of the fight, including the ‘gentlemanly’ attack that led to the sinking.
Reporter Choi So-won [email protected]
