What do you think?
Rate this book
Kamikaze: Japan's Last Bid for Victory
In this fascinating book the author examines the Japanese concept of Kamikaze, the deliberate self-sacrifice of life in the cause of victory. This attitude, while incomprehensible to their American and European enemies, has its roots in the samurai tradition of fighting for their master or nation regardless of personal safety.
By late 1944 the Japanese had already proved themselves fanatical but the actions of the Kamikaze Corps of pilots from the Leyte Gulf battle onwards took matters to a new level. Allied forces were shocked to find themselves the subject of widespread deliberate suicide attacks by pilots.
These continued during the invasion of the Philippines in early 1945 and reached a climax during the Battle of Okinawa from 1 April to June 1945. In total over 1000 kamikaze airmen perished.
Graphic description of these suicide attacks and the resulting loss of life and ships litter this revealing and shocking book.
The author’s in depth study of the historic and cultural reasons for this seemingly reckless courage is important and illuminating.
By late 1944 the Japanese had already proved themselves fanatical but the actions of the Kamikaze Corps of pilots from the Leyte Gulf battle onwards took matters to a new level. Allied forces were shocked to find themselves the subject of widespread deliberate suicide attacks by pilots.
These continued during the invasion of the Philippines in early 1945 and reached a climax during the Battle of Okinawa from 1 April to June 1945. In total over 1000 kamikaze airmen perished.
Graphic description of these suicide attacks and the resulting loss of life and ships litter this revealing and shocking book.
The author’s in depth study of the historic and cultural reasons for this seemingly reckless courage is important and illuminating.
224 pages, Paperback
Published February 3, 2022
2 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 17, 2021
There are few more terrifying events for a sailor than coming under air attack. The idea that the pilot intends to crash into you ramps up that fear level exponentially. Yet that is what Allied sailors, mostly Americans, faced as the Pacific War reached its climax in 1944, when Japanese suicide pilots, known as kamikazes, pitched their planes into a dive, heading straight for American ships. This happened day after day, shredding nerves and shattering ships. Adrian Stewart tells the riveting story of a unique but ultimately doomed tactic.
Stewart traces the kamikaze to the code of Bushido, the loyalty code of the pre-modern Samurai warriors. That ethos outlasted the Samurai to become the backbone ideology of the modernized Japanese forces that entered World War II. Death, therefore, held few terrors for Japanese pilots tasked with flying their aircraft into American ships. Stewart points out that such a suicide was not that unusual for pilots who did not carry parachutes: it was the organisation of such men into squadrons for the purpose that was new. This was first tried for the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 where the tactic proved its worth but was too little, too late to change the outcome. Nevertheless, Vice Admiral Onishi pushed the idea further with solid support from the pilots who would fly the ‘special attacks’ missions. Indeed, Stewart sets great store in the sincerity of those men. The attacks continued around the Philippines and if the Kamikazes made it through the fighter and anti-aircraft screen, they caused considerable damage. The Japanese switched to mass attacks on a single target that proved very effective, and they used a variety of aircraft mixed in with normal bombing operations. But the Americans took the Philippines, which fatally cut the Japanese supply lines.
The threat of unconditional surrender motivated continued kamikaze attacks, including Shinyo boats and Kaiten midget submarines, though they had negligible impact. American counter-measures also reduced the Kamikaze’s effectiveness. Kamikazes still caused serious casualties at Iwo Jima in February 1945 and again at Okinawa when 355 planes in a single attack caused carnage followed by mass attacks on consecutive days. But the Japanese could not sustain their losses. Stewart detours to the desperate ‘banzai’ attack of the battleship Yamato group, which was a disaster but not a suicide mission. Another detour examines the Royal Navy’s dealings with kamikazes around Okinawa. In the end, the kamikazes caused many casualties and great damage, but they could not stop the American advance. Stewart concludes by wrapping up the Pacific War with Japan’s surrender and its aftermath.
Stewart’s Kamikaze is a solid overview of a unique wartime phenomenon. He is careful to place the concept of kamikaze into its historical context and provides detailed descriptions of many kamikaze attacks on Allied ships. Sometimes Stewart adds too much superfluous information for the battles where the attacks took place and he deviates into sideshows such as the firebombing of Tokyo and FDR’s untimely death. Stewart also seems a bit too trusting of his kamikaze pilot sources, though that could be just this reviewer’s Western cynicism. Nevertheless, air warfare and military history enthusiasts will enjoy this account of an important element in Japan’s Pacific War.
Stewart traces the kamikaze to the code of Bushido, the loyalty code of the pre-modern Samurai warriors. That ethos outlasted the Samurai to become the backbone ideology of the modernized Japanese forces that entered World War II. Death, therefore, held few terrors for Japanese pilots tasked with flying their aircraft into American ships. Stewart points out that such a suicide was not that unusual for pilots who did not carry parachutes: it was the organisation of such men into squadrons for the purpose that was new. This was first tried for the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 where the tactic proved its worth but was too little, too late to change the outcome. Nevertheless, Vice Admiral Onishi pushed the idea further with solid support from the pilots who would fly the ‘special attacks’ missions. Indeed, Stewart sets great store in the sincerity of those men. The attacks continued around the Philippines and if the Kamikazes made it through the fighter and anti-aircraft screen, they caused considerable damage. The Japanese switched to mass attacks on a single target that proved very effective, and they used a variety of aircraft mixed in with normal bombing operations. But the Americans took the Philippines, which fatally cut the Japanese supply lines.
The threat of unconditional surrender motivated continued kamikaze attacks, including Shinyo boats and Kaiten midget submarines, though they had negligible impact. American counter-measures also reduced the Kamikaze’s effectiveness. Kamikazes still caused serious casualties at Iwo Jima in February 1945 and again at Okinawa when 355 planes in a single attack caused carnage followed by mass attacks on consecutive days. But the Japanese could not sustain their losses. Stewart detours to the desperate ‘banzai’ attack of the battleship Yamato group, which was a disaster but not a suicide mission. Another detour examines the Royal Navy’s dealings with kamikazes around Okinawa. In the end, the kamikazes caused many casualties and great damage, but they could not stop the American advance. Stewart concludes by wrapping up the Pacific War with Japan’s surrender and its aftermath.
Stewart’s Kamikaze is a solid overview of a unique wartime phenomenon. He is careful to place the concept of kamikaze into its historical context and provides detailed descriptions of many kamikaze attacks on Allied ships. Sometimes Stewart adds too much superfluous information for the battles where the attacks took place and he deviates into sideshows such as the firebombing of Tokyo and FDR’s untimely death. Stewart also seems a bit too trusting of his kamikaze pilot sources, though that could be just this reviewer’s Western cynicism. Nevertheless, air warfare and military history enthusiasts will enjoy this account of an important element in Japan’s Pacific War.
April 14, 2023
"Divine Wind" is that wind or rather a series of typhoons and sea gales to which the Japanese attributed the defeat of the Mongolian fleet which at the end of the 13th century tried to invade the islands. But in the common imagination it comes to define those particular units that were created at the end of the Second World War by the Japanese armed forces to stop the Allied advance towards the Japanese archipelago. In this book, Adrian Stewart, a British historian, traces the evolution of this "last ditch weapon" which, however, created many problems for the advancing Allied forces.
Stewart in his book draws on a large amount of bibliographic and archival sources and describes well almost every action carried out by the suicide bombers who after the first beginnings in the offensives launched against the allied landings in the Philippines were created as a military unit. The Japanese spirit of personal sacrifice is also analyzed by the historian because even before the creation of a suicide attack unit and adequate tactics there were examples of pilots who had sacrificed themselves, hitting enemy ships. But in this case we can speak of concerted Kamikaze attacks only starting from the Battle of the Gulf of Leyte, where there was a plan (called "Sho-Go") that aimed to attack the American forces that were landing in the Philippines. This plan already narrated in some previous reviews would certainly have brought about a setback in the American strategy if it had gone through. The main proponent of the Kamikaze tactics was Vice Admiral Onishi, and from the very beginning the membership in the ranks of these units was enthusiastic, so much was the concept of sacrifice rooted in the Japanese spirit. The problems were certainly logistical with planes that were not always suitable for the role of "flying bombs". So much so that a kind of bomb plane named Ohka was created, which however did not have the desired effect due to the operational difficulty it presented. In the Battle of Okinawa we saw the first massive use of a tactic called "Kikusui" or "Floating Chrysanthemum" which saw a joint use of Navy and Army aircraft, but which, thanks to technological advances in US Navy defense tactics, caused less damage than expected.
The book analyzes these tactics and provides an appreciation of the various Allied countermeasures, one of them being that of the lookouts that provided early warning to the bulk of the various task forces.
Stewart then provides us with a lot of information on a topic that has been addressed several times but manages to be concise with a book of just over 200 pages, published by the Pen & Sword publishing house. Thanks to many testimonies from the Allied and Japanese sides, the Kamikaze and their exploits are analyzed in depth in a pleasant and very detailed book.
Stewart in his book draws on a large amount of bibliographic and archival sources and describes well almost every action carried out by the suicide bombers who after the first beginnings in the offensives launched against the allied landings in the Philippines were created as a military unit. The Japanese spirit of personal sacrifice is also analyzed by the historian because even before the creation of a suicide attack unit and adequate tactics there were examples of pilots who had sacrificed themselves, hitting enemy ships. But in this case we can speak of concerted Kamikaze attacks only starting from the Battle of the Gulf of Leyte, where there was a plan (called "Sho-Go") that aimed to attack the American forces that were landing in the Philippines. This plan already narrated in some previous reviews would certainly have brought about a setback in the American strategy if it had gone through. The main proponent of the Kamikaze tactics was Vice Admiral Onishi, and from the very beginning the membership in the ranks of these units was enthusiastic, so much was the concept of sacrifice rooted in the Japanese spirit. The problems were certainly logistical with planes that were not always suitable for the role of "flying bombs". So much so that a kind of bomb plane named Ohka was created, which however did not have the desired effect due to the operational difficulty it presented. In the Battle of Okinawa we saw the first massive use of a tactic called "Kikusui" or "Floating Chrysanthemum" which saw a joint use of Navy and Army aircraft, but which, thanks to technological advances in US Navy defense tactics, caused less damage than expected.
The book analyzes these tactics and provides an appreciation of the various Allied countermeasures, one of them being that of the lookouts that provided early warning to the bulk of the various task forces.
Stewart then provides us with a lot of information on a topic that has been addressed several times but manages to be concise with a book of just over 200 pages, published by the Pen & Sword publishing house. Thanks to many testimonies from the Allied and Japanese sides, the Kamikaze and their exploits are analyzed in depth in a pleasant and very detailed book.
January 9, 2024
Fascinating. One sees a lot of parallel between this strategy of a desperate nation with the suicide tactics of Islamist organizations. Also, I didn't know that as crazy as the tactic is, it made the Western leaders very worried. An average Kamikaze attack of 50 planes might result in 40 being shot down by fighters, but the rest which got through would inflict so much damage on personnel and equipment. Done on a large enough scale in the early stages of the war, it might be enough to tip the balance.
August 22, 2025
A decent read
Overall, a decent read about a subject, not widely covered. However, the author reports that the Japanese long lance torpedoes or fuel by liquid oxygen. The Japanese used compressed oxygen, which had a lower nitrogen content than the atmosphere, but they did not use LOX.
Overall, a decent read about a subject, not widely covered. However, the author reports that the Japanese long lance torpedoes or fuel by liquid oxygen. The Japanese used compressed oxygen, which had a lower nitrogen content than the atmosphere, but they did not use LOX.
December 8, 2021
Very good book if you like to learn about what Japan did near the end of WW2
September 9, 2025
thorough
Sad events told well. I learned a lot. Amazing courage on the part of all involved. My father and uncles survived this war and I never appreciated them enough.
Sad events told well. I learned a lot. Amazing courage on the part of all involved. My father and uncles survived this war and I never appreciated them enough.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews