'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 12, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP group.

Darya Silman wrote: "I;m reading Guam: The Battle for an American Island in World War II by James H. Hallas (an ARC, the book hasn't been published yet).

Why nobody acknowledges the f..."

I have to wait a few more months till that book is available in Australia.

Doreen wrote: "Just finished reading Shockwave: The Countdown To Hiroshima by Stephen Walker. What an excellent book!! I would definitely recommend it to all!!"

Good to hear Doreen, I am sure a few members will be looking for a copy!

I hope its a good read James. I've not read any of John Prados' books, but I think I have one or two sitting on my bookshelves.

Dimitri wrote: "season's reading with Dresden: The Fire and Darkness. The definitive history of the famous WW2 bombing

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Glad to hear you enjoyed the book Dimitri. It's a good account on a terrible subject!

Doreen wrote: "I’m reading Shockwave : Countdown To Hiroshima by Stephen Walker. It’s a really fascinating and well written book!!!"

Good one Doreen!

Liz V. wrote: "BBC review of series about POWs in Thailand based on Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/2...-..."

Sounds like an excellent series. My wife loved the book as well.

Darya Silman wrote: "I bought


[book:Keine Kameraden: Die Wehrmacht Und Die Sowjetischen Kriegsgefangenen 1941 1945|1..."

Nice find Darya. Now you can take your time to fully digest the book. I like your dedication :)

Manray9 wrote: "Today I picked up another of the Amber Books "Technical Guide" series --

[book:Russian Tanks of World War II: Technical..."

Nice addition to your library MR9!

Marc wrote: "Finished this one today:

[book:A Glorious Way to Die: The Kamikaze Mission of the Battleship Yamato|7870638..."

Really glad to hear you enjoyed "A Glorious Way to Die". I hope you enjoy "Rock Force" just as much!

"Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947" - One of the final chapters in the book was titled - "Half a Million Purple Hearts". This article below was written by the author in 2020 for the History News Network:

https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/ar...-

Here is a mew book just released covering the Battle for Manila; "The Battle of Manila: Poisoned Victory in the Pacific War" by Nicholas Evan Sarantakes.

The Battle of Manila: Poisoned Victory in the Pacific War by Nicholas Evan Sarantakes
Description:
A thrilling and in-depth look at the battle for Manila, the third-bloodiest battle of World War II and the culmination point of the war in the Pacific theater.In 1945 the United States and Japan fought the largest and most devastating land battle of their war in the Pacific, a month-long struggle for the city of Manila. The only urban fighting in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Manila was the third-bloodiest battle of World War II, behind Leningrad and Berlin. It was a key piece of the campaign to retake control of the Philippine Islands, which itself signified the culmination of the war, breaking the back of Japanese strategic power and sealing its outcome.In The Battle of Manila, Nicholas Sarantakes offers the first in-depth account of this crucial campaign from the American, Japanese, and, significantly, Filipino perspective. Fighting was building by building, with both sides forced to adapt to the new combat environment. None of the U.S. units that entered Manila had any previous training in urban warfare--yet, Sarantakes shows, they learned on the fly how to use tanks, flamethrowers, air, and artillery assets in support of infantry assaults. Their effective use of these weapons was an important factor in limiting U.S. casualties, even as it may also have contributed to a catastrophic loss of civilian lives.The battle was a strategic U.S. victory, but Sarantakes reveals how closely it hinged upon the interplay between a series of key decisions in both U.S. and Japanese headquarters, and a professional culture in the U.S. military that allowed the Americans to adapt faster and in more ways than their opponents. Among other aspects of the conflict, The Battle of Manila explores the importance of the Filipino guerillas on the ground, the use of irregular warfare, the effective use of intelligence, the impact of military education, and the limits of Japanese resistance. Ultimately, Sarantakes shows Manila to be a major turning in both World War II and American history. Once the United States regained control of the city, Japan was in a checkmate situation. Their defeat was certain, and it was clear that the United States would be the dominate political power in post-war Asia and the Pacific. This fascinating account shines a light on one of the war's most under-represented and highly significant moments.

"Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947" - The Soviet 'shopping list' to enable them to join in the offensive against Japan in 1945:

" ... To this end, General Antonov handed Deane a list of supplies and equipment that the Soviet Union wished to receive from the United States to support a theater offensive of 1,500,000 men, 3,000 tanks, 75,000 motor vehicles and 5,000 aircraft. The list was impressive and included the following:

230,000 tons of petroleum products (major items: 120,000 tons of aviation gasoline, 70,000 tons of automobile fuel).

186,000 tons of food and fodder (major items: 60,000 tons of flour, 20,000 tons of beans or macaroni, 25,000 tons of canned meat, and 50,000 tons of oats or barley), 14,580 tons of clothing material and hospital supplies (major items: 3 million meters of overcoat cloth, 4.5 million meters of uniform cloth, 12 million meters of underwear cloth, and 2 million pair of shoes).

296,385 tons of automobiles, rod machines and airdrome equipment (major items: 30,000 trucks, 1,000 DUKWs [amphibious trucks], 2,000 oil and gas tank trucks, and two truck assembly plants).

306,500 tons of railroad equipment (major items: 500 steam locomotives, 3,000 box cars, 2,000 flat cars, 1,000 tank cars, 800 kilometers of rails and 500 switches).

20,175 tons of engineering and signal corps gear (major items: 5,000 tons of barded wire, 200 radio sets, 200 radar sets and 10,000 kilometers of field telephone cable).

A flotilla of small ships and craft (major items: 10 frigates, 20 corvettes, 30 minesweepers, 50 large subchasers, 20 large troop landing craft).

Medical supplies worth $3 million.

The Soviet General Staff placed the total tonnage to be moved by sea at 1,056,410 tons (860,410 tons of dry cargo and 206,000 tons of liquid cargo), which would require a sea lift of ninety-six merchant freighters (9,000 tons cargo per ship) and fourteen tankers (15,00 tons of liquid cargo per tanker)."

Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947 by D.M. Giangreco

Doubledf99.99 wrote: "Anyone who has Netflix, Surviving Black Hawk Down, is available for viewing and it is intense."

Good to hear, I've marked it down to watch.

Dimitri wrote: "With many necessary pauses, finally finished

If This is a Woman: Inside Ravensbrück: Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women by Sarah Helm


https://www.goodreads.com..."

Excellent review, Dimitri!

Jerome wrote: "Another November release:

by Michal A. Piegzik
Description:
The openi..."

Another interesting book to keep an eye-out for!

"Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947" - An issue highlighted by the author in regard to potential Japanese defense of the Home Islands was Japanese air offensive capabilities:

"Another element worth emphasizing is that U.S. intelligence turned out to be dead wrong on the sheer quantity of Japanese aircraft available for defense of the Home Islands. Early estimates that approximately 6,700 planes could be made available in a piecemeal fashion to throw against the invasion grew to only 7,200 at the time of surrender and turned out to be short by some 5,500 of the 12,700 aircraft that the Japanese planned to use in the opening ten-day phases of both operations. Moreover, production continued in hidden, decentralized factories in spite of material shortages and the U.S. bombing campaign. And that did not include aircraft available from the Asian mainland and Formosa."

And:

"Many Japanese aircraft were not destroyed on the ground, in flight, or even in suicidal attacks. For example, of the 1,809 sorties logged by the Imperial Navy's 3rd, 5th, and 10th Air Fleets, (which flew the bulk of the Okinawa missions), fully 879 kamikazes and escorts successfully returned to base after not finding a target or completing conventional missions. The number of kamikazes and conventional aircraft actually lost or expended by these units, combined with approximately 500 lost or expended by the Imperial Army at Okinawa, was roughly 1,430, or little more than a quarter the number of the 5,500 aircraft missed by U.S. intelligence on the Home Islands - 1,430 aircraft, which killed 4,900 U.S. sailors in Okinawa waters and severely wounded 4,800 more."

Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947 by D.M. Giangreco

Thanks for those links, Liz!

Dipanjan wrote: "I have collected these three gems from Kolkata Bookfair 2025





[bookcover:The Ministry of Ungentlema..."

Nice finds Dipanjan!

"Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947" - The author mentioned the likely introduction of a new naval weapon for defense against the kamikaze's which was due in the winter of 1945-1946 - the 3-inch/50 rapid fire gun:

https://www.destroyers.org/tcs-ships/...

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_...

"Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947" - The kamikaze threat led to a number of innovations with the American fleet:

"Innovations were made to increase point defense capabilities by shortening antiaircraft weapons' response times during engagements that seldom lasted more than fifty seconds between when firing commenced on an incoming aircraft, and it was either shot down or crashed into its target. By the summer of 1945, slewing sights for the 5-inch gun mount officer's station were helping to ensure quick, non-radar-directed action, and many U.S. vessels had begun to rig cross connections between their 5-inch guns' slow Mark 37 director and the 40-mm guns' more nimble Mark 51 directors, These innovations (and a projectile in the loading tray) enabled the long-range 5-inch guns to come on line more quickly to counter sudden attacks but switch back to the longer-range Mark 37 director if radar found additional targets at a more conventional range. The new Mark 32 radar, which allowed early and accurate identification of incoming aircraft, also would have been widely distributed by the time of Operation Olympic.

Although 20-mm Oerlikon guns had proved vastly less effective against a plunging kamikaze than the 40-mm Bofors, that did not mean crews were eager to do away with them in order to free up deck space. These weapons at least had the advantage of not being operated electrically. Even if a vessel's power was knocked out, the 'door-knockers' could still supply defensive fire. And though production of the Oerlikon was discontinued, the advent of the kamikaze threat prompted the extensive remaining stocks to be reconfigured in twin mounts for replacement of single-gun mounts to beef up the firepower from ships' spaces already established for the weapons. By June 1945, 2,381 twin mounts had been installed on Navy ships in the Pacific, and 10,180 singles remained throughout the fleet. The numbers of quad, double, and single 40-mm mounts stood at 1,585, 3,045, and 510, respectively."