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Slaughter at Sea: The Untold Story of Japan's Naval War Crimes
Ironically while the Japanese Navy followed many of the Royal Navy's traditions and structures, it had a completely different approach to the treatment of its foes. The author has uncovered a plethora of outrages against both servicemen and civilians, including the execution of POWs.
- GenresHistoryWorld War IIJapan
Hardcover
First published November 15, 2007
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107 people want to read
About the author
Mark Felton
32 books161 followersBritish military historian and author. For more information visit www.markfelton.co.uk
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 13, 2022
This is a gruesome book to read which is graphically filled with real life horror, so this is not for the faint of heart. It takes a look at some of the Imperial Japanese Navy's worst (Rape of Manila) and some everyday war crimes (shooting sailors in the water) commited during World War 2. One cannot imagine how human beings can do some of the things these sailors did to others, and for no apparant reason other than to satisfy their own blood lust. Most of these crimes are not well known such as the German and Russian war crimes of the same time, and the war criminals from Japan mostly got of light for these heinous crimes against humanity. Highly recommended if you want to learn more of the subject.
January 23, 2016
During World War II the Japanese navy seldom took prisoners, instead masacering them in the water after sinking Allied ships/ The Imperial Nay was also responsible for many atrocities at POW camps.
August 15, 2024
This book makes it clear right away what it will be about when the intro shows an actual slaughter: First let the men watch the women and children being hacked to pieces or thrown down a cliff and then the men are killed with swords.
And while I expected massacres and I did hear of cases of cannibalism, I did not expect ritual cannibalism, so I wonder whether this is something that I did not hear about so far. Also, the book is better when it actually tells you about the war crimes in question, but going through the chapter parts up to that point can be a chore. I am not sure whether the Japanese didn't properly mark their hospital ships as the author claimed and so Allied forces didn't identify them, but it would give the japanese justification to attack allied ships.
The book has its strengths when it goes into the atrocities as well as ideological and situational background behind it, like the bushido code grafted on modern weaponry etc. But when it describes navel battles and the like it is really weak.
Also, there aren't many accounts from non-European forces. An account of two Punjabi platoons being slaughtered is one of the few non-European accounts here. Granted the author did state at the start that the source material is just better there and so it is to be expected that most accounts come from there. And the ones we have are brutal as well: So the submarine slid below the surface pitching all 90 Europeans into the ocean. Many probably drowned and those dead bodies attracted sharks. Over the next few hours hundreds of sharks congregated and proceeded to devour all of the internees. One man survived and was picked up by a javanese fishing boot and told them what had happened before he died. And most japanese officials were never prosecuted by anyone.
I was not surprised to read that even in 1995 some Japanese claimed that their war had been "a war to liberate colonised Asia", nor that in Borneo a fake anti-Japanese resistence was fabricated to rob rich Chinese merchants, native rulers and anyone with money.
I was wondering whether the book would ever cover the rape of Manila as beforehand there were only war crimes against Europeans with some cases of crimes against chinese and Indians, but in the last quarter it did cover Manila. And there killing Filipinos was official Japanese policy, the many captured diaries support that. The author mentions one case were 250 civilians were rounded up in a damage building. In it there was booby-trapped food, hooked up to explovies of chandeliers so that the explosion would cause the maximum casualities and who got out was gunned down by the japanese. And many japanese raped women/girls who were bleeding to death.
According to this, of the 30 million victims of Filipinos, Malays, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Burmese and Indonesians, 23 million were ethnic chinese. That sounds like something deliberate.
When it came to the topic of investigation, the Americans had enough funds to investigate Japanese crimes, but the british did not and both were relying on local reports and that was difficult. This here has an interesting account in Truk. There a Korean-American called Da Young infiltrated Korean prisoners and managed to, over time, get people to come forth and report. Considering the crimes and punishments by the japanese this sounds like a good movie. And I am not surprised that so many civilians in China and Southeast Asia commited retribution against any japanese they could find.
There was one problem in the end: the Japanese navy commited medical experiments as well. Good to know but why only 2 pages and this at the end of the book?
So, for the most part this book is good, but it needs some improvement.
And while I expected massacres and I did hear of cases of cannibalism, I did not expect ritual cannibalism, so I wonder whether this is something that I did not hear about so far. Also, the book is better when it actually tells you about the war crimes in question, but going through the chapter parts up to that point can be a chore. I am not sure whether the Japanese didn't properly mark their hospital ships as the author claimed and so Allied forces didn't identify them, but it would give the japanese justification to attack allied ships.
The book has its strengths when it goes into the atrocities as well as ideological and situational background behind it, like the bushido code grafted on modern weaponry etc. But when it describes navel battles and the like it is really weak.
Also, there aren't many accounts from non-European forces. An account of two Punjabi platoons being slaughtered is one of the few non-European accounts here. Granted the author did state at the start that the source material is just better there and so it is to be expected that most accounts come from there. And the ones we have are brutal as well: So the submarine slid below the surface pitching all 90 Europeans into the ocean. Many probably drowned and those dead bodies attracted sharks. Over the next few hours hundreds of sharks congregated and proceeded to devour all of the internees. One man survived and was picked up by a javanese fishing boot and told them what had happened before he died. And most japanese officials were never prosecuted by anyone.
I was not surprised to read that even in 1995 some Japanese claimed that their war had been "a war to liberate colonised Asia", nor that in Borneo a fake anti-Japanese resistence was fabricated to rob rich Chinese merchants, native rulers and anyone with money.
I was wondering whether the book would ever cover the rape of Manila as beforehand there were only war crimes against Europeans with some cases of crimes against chinese and Indians, but in the last quarter it did cover Manila. And there killing Filipinos was official Japanese policy, the many captured diaries support that. The author mentions one case were 250 civilians were rounded up in a damage building. In it there was booby-trapped food, hooked up to explovies of chandeliers so that the explosion would cause the maximum casualities and who got out was gunned down by the japanese. And many japanese raped women/girls who were bleeding to death.
According to this, of the 30 million victims of Filipinos, Malays, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Burmese and Indonesians, 23 million were ethnic chinese. That sounds like something deliberate.
When it came to the topic of investigation, the Americans had enough funds to investigate Japanese crimes, but the british did not and both were relying on local reports and that was difficult. This here has an interesting account in Truk. There a Korean-American called Da Young infiltrated Korean prisoners and managed to, over time, get people to come forth and report. Considering the crimes and punishments by the japanese this sounds like a good movie. And I am not surprised that so many civilians in China and Southeast Asia commited retribution against any japanese they could find.
There was one problem in the end: the Japanese navy commited medical experiments as well. Good to know but why only 2 pages and this at the end of the book?
So, for the most part this book is good, but it needs some improvement.
January 11, 2019
A difficult read definitely not for the faint of heart. One correction - Midway was not the first carrier-versus-carrier battle in history, where none of the ships of the opposing fleets sighted each other. The Battle of the Coral Sea holds those historic firsts.
January 1, 2015
A gripping read of some very disturbing information.
July 12, 2025
Atrocities of the Japanese Imperial Army are well documented and their bloody, barbaric reputation for the horrific treatment metered out to PoWs and civilians alike was well earned in China pre-1941.
Less so the Imperial Japanese Navy.
This book changes all this and sheds light on just a tiny number of war crimes, murders and bestial acts committed by the IJN in WW2 who were every bit as cruel, pitiless and debased as their Army rivals.
At times this is a very graphic and harrowing read, particularly the Rape of Manila and the unspeakable acts perpetrated upon the civilian population but in my opinion this is necessary lest we forget the inhumanity we, as humans are capable of metering out to our fellow man.
Less so the Imperial Japanese Navy.
This book changes all this and sheds light on just a tiny number of war crimes, murders and bestial acts committed by the IJN in WW2 who were every bit as cruel, pitiless and debased as their Army rivals.
At times this is a very graphic and harrowing read, particularly the Rape of Manila and the unspeakable acts perpetrated upon the civilian population but in my opinion this is necessary lest we forget the inhumanity we, as humans are capable of metering out to our fellow man.
July 11, 2025
Oh my , what a read.
What fascinating, frightening, wonderful book. Those poor men and women , I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering but Mark Felton tells us in a factual way without judgement or excessive drama, just well resourced facts. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the war in the Pacific.
What fascinating, frightening, wonderful book. Those poor men and women , I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering but Mark Felton tells us in a factual way without judgement or excessive drama, just well resourced facts. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the war in the Pacific.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews