Category: The Loss of the Far East

Relates the story of the naval operations in and about the Java Sea from December 7, 1941, to March 1, 1942. A full and accurate account.

DUPUY, Trevor Nevitt. The Naval War in the Pacific: The Rising Sun of Nippon (The Illustrated History of World War 2, vol. 11). [6], 90p., illus. New York: Watts, 1963; London: Ward, 1966. ISBN:   0531012433.

Another of the short basic volumes in this series.

COX, Jeffrey R. Rising Sun, Falling Skies: The Disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II. 368p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Osprey, 2014. ISBN: 1780967268.

A good modern account which looks at all the Allies, is critical of MacArthur and supportive of Doorman.

WINSLOW, Walter G. The Ghost that Died at Sunda Strait. xx, 244p., bibliog., illus., index. Annapolis: NIP, 1984. ISBN: 0870212184.

An expansion of his earlier work, covering the sinking of Houston and Perth and the Battle of the Java Sea.

More a scrap-book than a log-book, celebrating Australia's part in the first real defeat for Japan. A mix of recycled information and some useful primary source material.

Churchill thought the most dangerous moment of the war to be when a Japanese fleet moved into the Indian Ocean and against Ceylon in April 1942. This account examines the period in general and the attacks on Ceylon in particular. Naval events are unsympathetically treated as a backdrop to a detailed examination of the air warfare.

A straightforward factual account of the war on Australia's northern frontier.

This battle brought the first real check to Japanese southward expansion. TF44 with two Australian cruisers played a covering role on the outer fringe of the engagement.

The story of three South African members of the RNVR, drafted to serve on Dragon, thinly disguised as "HMS Westbrook." The book covers 1941-42, is highly compressed and often inaccurate, but does convey a real sense of period. Published in the UK in paperback in 1956 as Action Pacific.

The story of the little-known episode of the sinking of the German merchant ship Ehrenfels in Goa harbour, by the Calcutta Light Horse. Published in paperback as The Sea Wolves.

During this period he was Senior Naval Officer Persian Gulf and these letters record his daily round. In early 1942, on his relief, he was briefly, hastily and successfully moved to Burma to manage the naval side of the difficult retreat to India.

A Corporal Meteorological Observer who served with the Catalina Squadrons in East Africa from 1945 describes the anti submarine war in the area. Full of personal reminiscences and anecdotal rather than analytical.

A survivor of the Houston recalls her service and particularly her part in the Battle of the Java Sea and her sinking fighting the Japanese with Perth in the Battle of Sunda Strait.

While the book is generally concerned with the loss of the Far East from the American point of view, it has useful information on the ABDA Command. The author was an officer on Houston at the time.

Another of the excellent volumes in this series, paying the usual close attention to detail. Unusual in that it emphasises the Dutch view.

FERGUSON, Ted. Desperate Siege: The Battle of Hong Kong. x, 252p., illus., index. New York: Doubleday; Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1980. ISBN: 0385146949.

Based largely on interviews with Canadian survivors, a Canadian playwright and journalist describes the “shameful tragedy” and its aftermath. Has a little naval information.

An account of the last action of Perth in the Sunda Strait by one of her surviving crew and of the fate of some of the survivors. Continued as Into the Smother, q.v.

The first full account of the final action of Perth and Houston in the battle of Sunda Strait and of the fate of the survivors over the next few days. US title: The Survivors

The history of the fleet from its creation in the 1850s until the Japanese swept it aside in 1942. Contains a full and well-written American view of their little-known part in the failure to stop the Japanese advance.

The author was Senior Pilot at Tjilatjap in Java and describes the crumbling of the Dutch and British Empires as he saw it, until his evacuation to Australia.

A Georgetown lawyer uses his forensic skills to produce a meticulously researched and argued account which is implicitly supportive of Phillips. Gives a detailed account of all the events leading up to the tragic loss of the ships.

The author repeats the technique of using eyewitness accounts of events. The book concentrates on the actual sinkings.

A full account of the tragedy.

A clear account of the background to the war with Japan, the despatch of Force Z and its final destruction. The book is harshly critical of government policy.

A short technical account, with many detailed appendices.

An Australian historian gives a fresh view of the battle.

The viewpoint of the Japanese officer responsible for planning the attack through Malaya. A good account of the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse is given.

Contains some new accounts from survivors and contains minimal naval content in an up to date account by a former journalist.

The subject was an army nurse who was captured while escaping by sea from Singapore.

Not directly relevant, but the then Chief Engineer of Malaya Command attempts to set the record straight on the failure of the defences.

LEWIS, Tom & INGMAN, Peter. Carrier Attack - Darwin 1942: The Complete Guide to Australia's own Pearl Harbor. 368p., bibliog., illus., index.  Adelaide: Avonmore, 2013. ISBN: 0987151932.

A fresh analysis of the raid which draws on Japanese sources. It argues that the attack was far from a disaster for the Australians.

HOLLAND, James. Pacific War 1941-1943 (Ladybird Expert History of the Second World War, Book 6). 52p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Penguin Random House, 2019. ISBN: 9780718186524.

A beautifully illustrated and expertly crafted introduction to the Pacific War as it affected the Allied powers.

CHAPMAN, John, ed. The Price of Admiralty: The War Diary of the German Naval Attaché in Japan 1939-43. 4 vols in 3, illus., index. Falmer: Saltire Press, 1982-90. ISBN: 0946938024 (Vol. 1); 0946938032 (Vol. 2-3); 0946938040 (Vol. 4).

A fascinating view of the British presence - mainly naval - in the Far East, from the diary of Joachim Lietzmann. In 2021 the remaining volumes plus a revised version of volume 1 were released on disk by the author ( http://price-of-admiralty.com/2021/08/).  Vol. 1 has been updated to include the reports of Wenneker and Lietz-mann for the years 1933-39 and includes a diary of events during the Czech Crisis, when the early preparations for war were tried out. Vol.5 of Wenneker's War Diary covering February to May 1942, Vol.6 only provides coverage from November 1942 to March 1943, as Parts 41-44 never arrived, but enclosed are central documents on naval policy and strategy for the missing period; Vol.7 covers what is available between 1943 and 1945, including Allied intercepts of Wenneker's reports to Berlin.

REID, Richard. Australia Under Attack: Sydney and the Midget Submarines, 1942. 64p., illus. Canberra: Department of Veteran’s Affairs, 2007. ISBN: 1920720014.

A short illustrated account. Part of a series published by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. The re-use of the ISBN suggests this may be a revised version of the authors 2002 work No Cause for Alarm, q.v.

BRITTS, Angus. A Ceaseless Watch: Australia's Third-Party Naval Defense 1919-1942 (Studies in Naval History and Sea Power). 336p., bibliog., illus., index. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press, 2021. ISBN: 9781682475331.  

Studies Japanese, British, American and Australian naval planning in the years leading up to the outbreak war with Japan. Explores how a small navy interacted with major powers and how Australia shifted its reliance on the Royal Navy to forge a new relationship with the United States.

MACE, Martin & GREHAN, John. Disaster in the Far East 1940-1942: The Defence of Malaya, Japanese Capture of Hong Kong and the Fall of Singapore.  xii, 516p., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2015. ISBN: 1783462094.

Reprints four despatches from the London Gazette with a brief introduction, namely 38183, The Defence of Malaya; 38190, Operations in Hong Kong; 38183, the Fall of Singapore; 38216, air operations during the campaigns in Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies.

LEWIS, Tom & INGMAN, Peter. Zero Hour in Broome: The Untold Story of the Attacks on Northwest Australia in 1942. 184p., bibliog., illus., index. Kent Town, S.A.: Avonmore Books, 2010. ISBN: 9780957735156.

Examines the actions of senior officials in the second most deadly attack on Australian soil when Zero fighters destroyed 15 flying boats at Broome which were packed with evacuees from Java. Profiles the different aircraft used during the Broome operation and the fate of Broome pearling luggers due to the scorched earth policy.

SHORES, Christopher, & CULL, Brian, with IZAWA, Yasuho. Bloody Shambles. 3 vols., bibliog., illus., index. London: Grub Street, 1993-2005.

A detailed, virtually sortie-by-sortie account of the air war in the Far East. Volume 1 (ISBN: 094881750X) covers the period from the drift to war to the fall of Singapore and volume 2 (ISBN: 0948817674) the defence of Sumatra to the fall of Burma. Volume 3, Air War for Burma covers the Allied fight back 1942-45 (ISBN: 1904010954). An excellent reference work.   

PRIME, Mervyn W. WA’s Pearl Harbour: The Japanese Raid on Broome. 32p., illus. Bull Creek, W.A.: Aviation Museum, Royal Australian Air Force Association, 1985.

A heavily illustrated account, including reprints of contemporary newspaper clippings.

PRIME, Mervyn W. Broome's One Day War: The Story of the Japanese Raid on Broome 3rd March 1942. 48p., illus. Broome, W.A. : Shire of Broome [for Broome Historical Society], 1992.

An updated and expanded edition of W.A.’s Pearl Harbour, published 1985. The tale of a Japanese air attack on this northern Australian town. An updated edition was published in 2007.

MURRAY, Allan A. Get the Oars Out: When I-24 Sank the Iron Chieftain (Men and Ships at War, Book 2). vi, 68p., bibliog., illus. [n.p., Family Murray Trust, 2016. ISBN: 9781519027405.

        A description of the sinking of the ss Iron Chieftain by the Japanese submarine I-24 on 3 June 1942. Iron Chieftain was the first merchant vessel sunk off the south-east coast of Australia by submarines in World War II; twelve merchant seamen lost their lives. Thirty-seven survived, including twenty-five who spent more than a day rowing to shore in a lifeboat. Third Cook George Anderson, Allan Murray's maternal grandfather, was in the lifeboat.

SELLWOOD, Arthur V. Stand by to Die! 128p. London: Pinnacle, 1961.

Li Wo was a small auxiliary patrol vessel which ran into a Japanese invasion fleet while escaping from Singapore. Her Captain won the VC for his gallantry in the ensuing action. Reprinted by White Lion in 1971. Republished in 2016 by Amberley Press as HMS Li Wo, ISBN: 144564794X.   

GOODWIN, R. B. Hongkong Escape. 223p. London: Barker, 1953.

The author was a Lieutenant Commander in the New Zealand Division of the RNVR and in September 1941 went to the 2nd MTB Flotilla in Hong Kong. He was captured there when the city fell, but escaped in 1944. It is with this escape and his long journey home that the book is mainly concerned. Later published as Passport to Eternity. It was republished by Frontline in 2015 as Escape from the Japanese (ISBN: 9781848329294).   

GOUGH, Richard. The Escape from Singapore. 246p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Kimber, 1987. ISBN: 0718306554.

The story of a small secret unit, which organised escapes when Singapore fell.

GOUGH, Richard. SOE Singapore 1941-42. 245p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Kimber, 1985. ISBN: 0718305841.

In the shambles surrounding the fall of Singapore, the Orient Mission - a section of SOE - was overwhelmed, but its survivors formed the nucleus of deep penetration groups who fought for about a year. Some marginal naval involvement.

A personal and tragic account of one military family caught up in the catastrophe of Singapore. The book covers the campaign, the POW camps and is notably full on the seaborne escapes just before the fall of the fortress.

KRUG, Hans-Joachim, HIRAMA, Yoichi, SANDER-NAKASHIMA, Berthold J. and NIESTLÉ, Alex. Reluctant Allies: German-Japanese Naval Relations in World War II. xxii, 417p., bibliog., index. Annapolis, NIP, 2001. ISBN: 1861761953.

Two Japanese and two German naval historians describe the incoherent approach to joint planning which prevailed in this relationship. The English is rather laboured at times.

COX, Jeffrey R. Rising Sun, Falling Skies: The Disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II. 368p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Osprey, 2014. ISBN: 1780967268.

A good modern account which looks at all the Allies, is critical of MacArthur and supportive of Doorman.

WORT, Stanley. Prisoner of the Rising Sun. ix, 178p., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2009. ISBN: 1848840039.

He joined up in 1940 and after training was sent to Hong Kong, where he was captured by the Japanese. The book focuses on his POW experiences.

SMITH, Colin. Singapore Burning: Heroism and Surrender in World War II. xxii, 628p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Viking, 2005. ISBN: 0670913413.

A long and detailed but very readable account of the Malayan battles and the fall of Singapore, with coverage of the major naval happenings.

LEWIS, Tom & INGMAN, Peter. Carrier Attack - Darwin 1942 : The Complete Guide to Australia's own Pearl Harbor. 368p., bibliog., illus., index.  Adelaide: Avonmore, 2013. ISBN: 0987151932.

A fresh analysis of the raid which draws on Japanese sources. It argues that the attack was far from a disaster for the Australians.

JONES, Terry & CARRUTHERS, Steven. A Parting Shot: Shelling of Australia By Japanese Submarines 1942. 320p., illus. Sydney: Casper, 2013. ISBN: 0977506347.

Examines the shelling of Sydney and Newcastle in June 1942 in detail and considers the strategic impact.

MESSIMER, Dwight R. Pawns of War: The Loss of the USS Langley and the USS Pecos. 248p., illus. Annapolis: NIP, 1983. ISBN: 0870215159.

The sinking of America’s first carrier and her rescue ship in a brave dash to deliver fighters to the Allied Forces in Java.    

ASH, Bernard. Someone Had Blundered: The Story of the Repulse and the Prince of Wales. 267p., illus. London: Joseph; Garden City: Doubleday, 1960.

The story of Force Z. A less than objective account

SWINSON, Arthur. Defeat in Malaya: The Fall of Singapore. (Purnell’s History of the Second World War, Campaign Book no. 5.) 160p., bibliog., illus. London: Macdonald, 1970. ISBN: 0356030725.

A good solid and readable succinct account of the campaign.

CALLAHAN, Raymond. The Worst Disaster: The Fall of Singapore. 293p., bibliog., illus., index. Newark: University of Delaware Press; London:  Associated UP, 1977. ISBN: 087413112X.

A strategic study of why the fall was inevitable, given decisions before the war. An edition was published in Singapore by Cultured Lotus in 2001 (ISBN: 9810436777).                                

BARBER, Noel. Sinister Twilight: The Fall and Rise Again of Singapore. 318p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Collins; Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1968. ISBN: 1199419532.

Follows the rapid collapse of Singapore through the lives of individuals both great and obscure. Some marginal naval material. The US edition is called A Sinister Twilight.

ALLEN, Louis. Singapore 1941–1942 (The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War). 343p., bibliog., illus., index. London:  Davis-Poynter, 1977; Cranbery, NJ: Associated University Press, 1979. ISBN: 070670181X.

A re-examination of the original sources of all sides. A second edition was published in 1993.

LEWIS, Tom. Sensuikan I-124: A History of the Imperial Japanese Navy Fleet Submarine Sunk in Northern Territory Waters. 131p., bibliog., illus., index. Darwin: Tall Stories, 1997. ISBN: 0646322184.

The story of the Imperial Japanese Navy Fleet Submarine I-124, sent with three other IJN submarines to lay mines in the approaches to Darwin in early 1942 and the story of her sinking by the corvette Deloraine, the many controversies and conflicts that have been fought over her since. Republished in a new edition in 2010 as Darwin’s Submarine I-124 (ISBN: 0957735197).

HALL, Timothy. Darwin 1942: Australia's Darkest Hour. 224p., bibliog., illus., index.  Sydney:  Methuen Australia, 1980. ISBN: 9780454002522.

An excoriating account of how the Japanese air raids on the port of Darwin destroyed shipping and caused panic and chaos.    

The author’s service in Darwin on the depot ship Platypus in 1941-42 is recounted. On 19 February 1942 the Japanese made their first surprise raid on the port, with great success. This and further raids led to real fears of invasion.

The story of the first, little-known but devastating attack on Australian soil ten weeks after Pearl Harbor. The Japanese air strike sank eight ships and killed 250 people. A revised edition was published in 1967 (ISBN: 0851793746) and republished by New Holland in 2005 as Australia Under Attack: The Bombing of Darwin 1942 (ISBN: 1741102693).

A South African's thrilling sea story recounting numerous incidents from the war in the Far East, including the story of the evacuations of Singapore and Batavia.

Contains a little information on the naval forces involved in the hopeless defence of the colony. The first full study since the official history.

Based on the diaries of John Harris, a Royal Engineer, gives a vivid account of the fall and of the fate of the POWs.

A good account of the daring Japanese raid.

A well-researched and authoritative account of the Japanese attacks on Darwin during the Second World War. Further editions were published in 2003 and 2007.

The overthrow of the Vichy colonial government of New Caledonia in 1940 was an important but little mentioned incident.

Although necessarily concerned mainly with the land campaigns, these indispensable volumes of the British Official History have much to offer on the Navy's part in the Far East.

Another of the small histories in this series. It is a very general account and mainly concerned with the Japanese-American conflict.

He was a young RNVR Sub-Lieutenant in charge of an MTB when Hong Kong fell. He escaped overland to Rangoon and held training appointments in the UK, but returned to Hong Kong as a staff officer in 1945. Published in a limited edition of 500 copies.

Published to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the midget submarine attack and a commemorative exhibition in the Sydney Maritime Museum, this is a lucid, straightforward and well illustrated account.

Describes the difficult and costly naval operations to sustain Australian commandos in Timor.

This account focuses on the defenders and their response rather than on the attackers. A good account.

Argues that the full story of what occurred in Darwin on 19 February 1942 and its aftermath has not yet been told. There was a mixture of courage and cowardice amid a failure of civil leadership.

Covers the worst year of the war, when an invasion of Australia seemed imminent but was halted by the desperate battles in New Guinea. Some background information on naval affairs.

The British Naval Staff History made public for the first time. A basic and extensive source.

Australia was exposed to a variety of assaults.

Stories of great courage and escapes by land, sea, and air.

Describes the Battle of the Coral Sea from the viewpoint of Jack Crace, who led the Allied support group in the battle.

Focuses on the May 1942 attacks on Sydney Harbour, but does cover the various raids made by Japanese midget submarines, although marred by factual errors. A revised edition was published by Casper in 2006 as Japanese Submarine Raiders, 1942: A Maritime Mystery (ISBN: 0977506304).

A full if popular account of the gallant defence of the colony. Some note is taken of naval participation.

First published shortly before Japan’s entry into World War II, this second edition was issued eight months into the war. The author was a rising star of Australian journalism, and here writes of his travels through New Caledonia, describing the island’s history and people. Gives an eyewitness account of the Free French coup of August 1940 and the role played by Adelaide.

A local historian assembles quantities of evidence on the attack and the subsequent loss of Armidale. Not afraid to give his opinions on what should have happened.

Originally broadcast by Radio Hong Kong, this is essentially a day by day oral history of December 1941 as seen from the colony. With little of naval interest it is nonetheless a very atmospheric account of the end of empire.

A wonderfully detailed chronological account which describes the fate of almost every individual in the colony.

The official account of the surprise attack

Proceedings of a conference with papers from major experts.

The loss of Perth and Yarra and the Battle of the Java Sea.

An outline of Britain’s part thus far in the war against Japan and the promise of more blows to come.

One of the escapees describes the fate of all those who tried to escape in boats large and small. A tragic tale. Reprinted in 2003.

An ex-army officer gives an account of the loss of the Far East, mainly from an army stance.

Describes the experiences of Australians who served in the lead-up to the fall of Singapore in 1942. It sets the historical context with anecdotes and excerpts from diaries and letters providing a personal dimension.

One man's tale of escape and capture at the fall of Singapore. He was then a 19-year-old RAF radio operator evacuated in a Chinese river tug taken into naval service, which was caught and sunk by a Japanese force in the Banka Strait. He reached shore but became a POW. Very evocative.

An atmospheric popular history.

Uses a wide range of sources for a diligent account of the escape routes and small boat traffic fleeing the island.

The author was an army officer trapped in Singapore who escaped with another soldier in a small open boat. They survived an astonishing 127 days at sea but were eventually captured by the Japanese. A stirring tale.

A readable account, but with little new to say.

A fascinating autobiography. The son of expatriates, he went to work with the Singapore Harbour Board in 1938. He gives an excellent sense of period and atmosphere describing his and his brother's experiences as the island fell. He escaped to join the Royal Indian Navy, this service also being described.

Gallagher was a war correspondent who was sunk in Repulse and then saw the fall of Singapore and the retreat through Burma. US title: Action in the East.

A fresh attempt to review this important battle in the light of all the records now available, many not having been released by governments for fifty years.

An American military historian looks at the Malayan Campaign, including a lucid account of the fateful sinking of Force Z.

An amateur historian creates a powerful indictment of the management of the campaign and records the squalid behaviour as well as the gallantry of those who took part in this dreadful defeat.

The engaging autobiography of a colonial administrator in Malaya. He joined the RNVR and graphically describes the fall of Singapore, his escape and capture and imprisonment by the Japanese.

Deals with the fall of Singapore and the long captivity of the survivors until their repatriation. Some naval references.

A fiftieth-anniversary review of this important turning point.

An early attempt at a rounded history of the disastrous campaign. Limited naval material. Published in the USA in 1960 by Doubleday as Fortress: The Story of the Siege and Fall of Singapore

The poignant tale of one of the steamers which unsuccessfully attempted to carry refugees from Singapore as it fell. She was lost to the Japanese. The author was a schoolboy passenger.

Submarines from seven nations fought in the Indian Ocean. This book attempts to give an overview of their deployment and success in chapters arranged by country.

A military historian looks at the background to the Japanese Pacific assault.

The excellent second volume of a planned trilogy, which takes a fresh look at the period.

How the empire stumbled to the nadir of fortune. An excellent chronicle of the opening of the war in the Far East. Naval events are briefly described.

PO James Cuming was in the crew of the gunboat Peterel when she was destroyed by Japanese gunfire at Shanghai. Cuming hid in the town throughout the war and even helped in the work of an espionage ring. This tells his story and that of the other survivors.

General Wavell held his command for a brief albeit critical six weeks. This despatch gives a very high-level but very clear articulation of his actions and decisions.

Describes the fierce night action fought in August 1942, when a squadron of American and Allied warships was attacked by a Japanese task force and torn apart, losing four cruisers and over 1,000 men. There were many controversial aspects of the battle, including unpreparedness and bungling on the part of the Allies, and the tactics that were used during the action. This exhaustively researched account is probably the definitive history of the Battle of Savo Island.

The story of Admiral Nagumo’s carrier striking force from January to May 1942. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, it attacked Rabaul, bombed Darwin, mopped up Allied forces in the East Indies, struck across the Bay of Bengal at Ceylon, and drove back the British Eastern Fleet, before returning to the Pacific to suffer its first real setback in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

A general account of the fall of the British and Dutch eastern empires and of the loss of the Philippines.

The story of the naval disaster off Guadalcanal in 1942. In 40 minutes four cruisers were lost, including HMAS Canberra. The author records the controversy that raged throughout the war and became the subject of an official report that was never made. Reissued by Holt in 2002 as The Battle of Savo Island: The Harrowing Account of the Disastrous Night Battle Off Guadalcanal that Nearly Destroyed the Pacific Fleet in August 1942. ISBN: 0805070729.

Unofficial unit history of the 14 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery and looks at the way ordinary people coped with the hardships of life in the tropical north and how they reacted under fire. A revised edition was published by the author in 2009. An updated edition was published by the author in 2009.

These river boats were "called up" in 1941 and their war service is briefly recorded. They were scuttled in the face of the Japanese invasion of Burma.