Forgotten War: The British Empire and Commonwealth's Epic Struggle Against Imperial Japan, 1941–1945

by Brian Walter

A new assessment of the British and Commonwealth contribution to the defeat of Japan in the Pacific.The monumental struggle fought against Imperial Japan in the Asia/Pacific theater during World War II is primarily viewed as an American affair. While the United States did play a dominant role, the British and Commonwealth forces also made major contributions—on land, at sea and in the air, eventually involving over a million men and vast armadas of ships and aircraft. It was a difficult and often desperate conflict fought against a skilled and ruthless enemy that initially saw the British suffer the worst series of defeats ever to befall their armed forces. Still, the British persevered and slowly turned the tables on their Japanese antagonists. Fighting over an immense area that stretched from India in the west to the Solomon Islands in the east and Australia in the south to the waters off Japan in the north, British and Commonwealth forces eventually scored a string of stirring victories that avenged their earlier defeats and helped facilitate the demise of the Japanese Empire.Often overlooked by history, this substantial war effort is fully explored in Forgotten War. Meticulously researched, the book provides a complete, balanced and detailed account of the role that British and Commonwealth forces played on land, sea and in the air during this crucial struggle. It also provides unique analysis regarding the effectiveness and relevance of this collective effort and the contributions it made to the overall Allied victory.

507 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 31, 2023

About the author

Brian E. Walter is a retired army officer from a combat arms branch with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and International Relations. A Distinguished Military Graduate and recipient of the Excellence in Military History Award from the U.S. Army Center for Military History and the Association of the United States Army, he has been a student of the British military during the Second World War for more than 30 years. He currently resides in his home state of Minnesota in the United States where he continues to write on a number of military and historical subjects.

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a recent Military History tour sponsored by a prominent American Museum, I found myself being the "WWII Commonwealth Advocate", constantly bringing up the British Imperial contribution to the Pacific War when the conversation got too US-Centric. Here in this book- for an American Audience, Brian Walter, an American Veteran, Academic and author on 20th Century topics gives us the whole story- actions, strategies, and logistics as the British Empire and Commonwealth grappled with the Empire of the Rising Sun. There are almost enough maps, and lots of Graphs, tables, and black and white photos to support the text for both the military history buff and the general audience reader. The title is apt- for I think many American readers will be surprised to read how much of an effort the Brits made in the Pacific War.

The Royal Navy had Carrier Groups in the Pacific- in at the kill. The British/Indian/African 14th Army in Burma had tank divisions that roamed the open plains. Australian amphibious assaults liberated large swathes of New Guinea and Indonesia. Most of the Gear might have been made in the USA- but the soldiers of Britain, Australia, West Africa, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and even Canada did a lot of heavy lifting against the Japanese Empire. Walter tends to give tonnage lost figures after every Naval episode, which I found tedious at first. Then I realised as an American we do love our numbers- and many readers would appreciate the information with an eye to overall attrition. In his final analysis- he brings it all together showing that the Allies really were just that- an alliance stronger than the sum of its parts. I enjoyed the book a great deal.

Most of the adult themes in the book are political, and there are no graphic injury passages, so the Junior Reader over 12/13 years will get value from this book. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast its more of a background and front catalog resource. for the Gamer- it's a great way to find other uses for WWII forces you may already have. The Gamer with an British 8th Army for the Egyptian Western Desert- now has Pacific Early War as a possible realm for scenarios/campaigns found here. The Modeler gets a whole new realm of great builds with mostly the same gear as in the ETO - but with those sexy rondels with the red removed (the classic British Rondel with a red center was too easily confused with Japan's single red Sun symbol). For the Military Enthusiast- it's a good survey of all the ways the British Empire and Japanese Empire clashed with pithy content on every page. As a survey history , I think all sorts of readers will find this an interesting topic- with some ramifications to this day...

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly interesting look at Great Britain's war in the Pacific during World War II. The focus here is very much on Britain despite the title, though there are brief mentions of Commonwealth and Empire contributions as well. When it comes to World War II and the Pacific Theatre, the narrative is dominated by the Americans (and rightly so) but it was interesting to learn more about the British experience fighting the Japanese.

[Caleb D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good and short read diving into the details of Mexico and both World War I and World War II. It also discusses Mexican/American relations leading up to both wars.