History of US Naval Operations in WWII 4: Coral Sea, Midway & Submarine Actions 5-8/42

History of United States Naval Operations in World War II #4

by Samuel Eliot Morison, Jonathan Parshall

Coral Sea, Midway and Submarine Actions, May 1942-August 1942, Volume 4 in the series, is a detailed look at two of the pivotal naval engagements of the Pacific war that marked the turning point from defeat to victory. In addition to covering these great carrier actions, where for the first time aircraft played a defining role in determining the outcome of a sea battle, this volume also fully examines the little-known exploits of the fledgling American submarine corps in the Pacific and its courageous attacks on Japanese shipping during the first year of the war.

Genres: History, Military History, World War II, Nonfiction, Naval History, War, Military Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 30, 1949

About the author

Samuel Eliot Morison, son of John H. and Emily Marshall (Eliot) Morison, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on 9 July 1887. He attended Noble’s School at Boston, and St. Paul’s at Concord, New Hampshire, before entering Harvard University, from which he was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1908. He studied at the Ecole Libre des Sciences Politiques, Paris, France, in 1908-1909, and returned to Harvard for postgraduate work, receiving the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1912. Thereafter he became Instructor, first at the University of California in Berkeley, and in 1915 at Harvard. Except for three years (1922-1925) when he was Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford, England, and his periods of active duty during both World Wars, he remained continuously at Harvard University as lecturer and professor until his retirement in 1955.

He had World War I service as a private in the US Army, but not overseas. As he had done some preliminary studies on Finland for Colonel House’s Inquiry, he was detailed from the Army in January 1919 and attached to the Russian Division of the American Commission to Negotiate Peace, at Paris, his specialty being Finland and the Baltic States. He served as the American Delegate on the Baltic Commission of the Peace Conference until 17 June 1919, and shortly after returned to the United States. He became a full Professor at Harvard in 1925, and was appointed to the Jonathan Trumbull Chair in 1940. He also taught American History at Johns Hopkins University in 1941-1942.

Living up to his sea-going background – he has sailed in small boats and coastal craft all his life. In 1939-1940, he organized and commanded the Harvard Columbus Expedition which retraced the voyages of Columbus in sailing ships, barkentine Capitana and ketch Mary Otis. After crossing the Atlantic under sail to Spain and back, and examining all the shores visited by Columbus in the Caribbean, he wrote Admiral of the Ocean Sea, an outstanding biography of Columbus, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1943. He also wrote a shorter biography, Christopher Columbus, Mariner. With Maurico Obregon of Bogota, he surveyed and photographed the shores of the Caribbean by air and published an illustrated book The Caribbean as Columbus Saw It (1964).

Shortly after the United States entered World War II, Dr. Morison proposed to his friend President Roosevelt, to write the operational history of the US Navy from the inside, by taking part in operations and writing them up afterwards. The idea appealed to the President and Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, and on 5 May 1942, Dr. Morison was commissioned Lieutenant Commander, US Naval Reserve, and was called at once to active duty. He subsequently advanced to the rank of Captain on 15 December 1945. His transfer to the Honorary Retired List of the Naval Reserve became effective on 1 August 1951, when he was promoted to Rear Admiral on the basis of combat awards.

In July-August 1942 he sailed with Commander Destroyer Squadron Thirteen (Captain John B. Heffernan, USN), on USS Buck, flagship, on convoy duty in the Atlantic. In October of that year, on USS Brooklyn with Captain Francis D. Denebrink, he participated in Operation TORCH (Allied landings in North and Northwestern Africa - 8 November 1942). In March 1943, while attached to Pacific Fleet Forces, he visited Noumea, Guadalcanal, Australia, and on Washington made a cruise with Vice Admiral W. A. Lee, Jr., USN. He also patrolled around Papua in motor torpedo boats, made three trips up “the Slot” on Honolulu, flagship of Commander Cruisers, Pacific Fleet (Rear Admiral W.W. Ainsworth, USN), and took part in the Battle of Kolombangara before returning to the mainland. Again in the Pacific War Area in September 1943, he participated in the Gilbert Islands operation on board USS Baltimore, under command of Captain Walter C. Calhoun, USN. For the remainder of the Winter he worked at Pearl Harbor, and in the Spring

Reviews

[Dpwarzyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One the one hand I'd say military history written in this level of detail is for enthusiasts only, on the other hand I'd say this book was very readable, exciting, and quite rewarding. Of Morison's 15 volumes, this is the only one I've read. The problem for me is he wrote all of this before our code-breaking efforts were declassified, so what may have looked like individual brilliance turns out to be military intelligence. But still, it makes it more personal this way. I'm interested in submarines in general, so anything with subs really grabs me. Beware my bias.

[Chris Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough history of the period written immediately after the war. He does a great job of meshing US, allies and enemy accounts for getting as close to a picture of what happened as was available. The US breaking the Purple Code is passed over as "amazing lucky breaks in intelligence". While true, it does kind of klink when reading about it. Includes all task forces involved for the scholar, while offering the casual reader the opportunity “to move on to the next chapter.” A great deep dive for the scholar but readable enough for casual readers.

[Jahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the whole series this book is the one that has aged the poorest by far.
Obviously there can be no discussion of the codebreaking and intelligence successes that informed American plans at both Coral Sea and Midway.
Far more specific research has been done on Japanese plans and the specific actions of the Japanese carrier forces which have reversed some of Morison's original conclusions.
That said the book is still well worth a read. The submarine offensive is covered in very good detail. The actions at Coral Sea and Midway are both put in to the broader context of the Pacific theater. It is also simply extremely enjoyable to read.
A good book overall but people interested in a more precise tactical view should also read a more modern book like Shattered Sword.

[Bill T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading the books in this series in order, and I found this one the easiest to read yet. The book give a broad view of this part of the war that I haven't seen anywhere else. It has numerous humorous anecdotes about events here and there that made the book a lot of fun to read. He also seems to be more accommodating to the casual reader in this book than the previous ones, like "if you get bored with catalogs of ships, skip to the next chapter" (I read the Iliad in college, so how could I pass up a catalog of ships?).

I give it one demerit for being a cliff-hanger. It really seems like the next chapter or two should have been deferred until the next book.

[John Albers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still one of the best accounts of the battles that changed the war in the Pacific.

[Blake Baehner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book. Reads well and quick and the photo in-lays and maps are really nice. Morison’s prose is simply but occasionally very moving. The main problem is that it often lacks the human factor. Without previous knowledge, few of these names could be set apart from the others. Still, there’s a reason Morison’s 15 volume epic still remains a part of bibliographies in nearly every book about World War II at sea. Will probably read more volumes.

[Jby · Rating 5 out of 5]

The style of morison´s books is corny and not politically correct (any more), but the books are excellent exciting reads none the less. Especially Coral Sea and Guadalcanal.