Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941–1942

by Ian W. Toll

“Mahanian dogmas” that governed the thinking of naval strategists right up until the beginning of the Second World War—the cult of the big gun battleship, the iron rule of concentration, and the annihilation of the enemy fleet in a single decisive battle.

“The stricken vessel started getting deeper in the water, slowly going down, as if she too were reluctant to give up the battle. With her colors proudly flying and the last signal flags, reading ‘I am abandoning ship,’ still waving at the yardarm, she went under on an even keel, like the lady she always was.”