Piegzik, Michael A. Gamble in the Coral Sea

Japan's Offensive, the Carrier Battle, and the Road to Midway

The first salvos of the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first major aircraft carrier battle in history, were fired a month before Midway. Gamble in the Coral Sea tells the story of this battle from the Japanese perspective for the first time in English. Based on extensive Japanese-language sources, author Michal A. Piegzik forcefully challenges the established Western accounts of this decisive battle in the Pacific War. Operation MO, the Japanese plan to capture Port Moresby, began in early May 1942. With the deployment of three aircraft carriers, including the famous Shokaku and Zuikaku, the Nippon Kaigun command risked a crucial part of its fleet shortly before the decisive battle at Midway in the Central Pacific, scheduled for early July. The operation was considered an important part of Japanese strategy. A victory would isolate Australia and New Zealand and expand access to important resources that were crucial to Japan's war effort. However, victory proved difficult to achieve after American code breakers deciphered Japanese radio communications that revealed their plans in the weeks leading up to the launch of Operation MO. The US forces used this information to their advantage and located parts of the Japanese navy as they sailed through the Coral Sea. Soon after, the first aircraft carrier battle in history began. Piegzik combines his expertise in military history with his mastery of the Japanese language to offer a rare perspective on the operational decisions of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the battle. Using Japanese archival documents and personal testimonies from surviving Japanese crew members, he reveals new dimensions of the battle. The battle proved to be a Pyrrhic victory for the Japanese, who sank the Lexington and severely damaged the Yorktown, but were forced to abandon Operation MO due to heavy damage to the Shokaku and high losses among their aircraft crews. Here, the circumstances and actual reasons for the Japanese failure, as well as the revised impact of the Battle of the Coral Sea on the Battle of Midway, are revealed. Beyond tactical details, Piegzik offers insights into the broader consequences of the battle. He draws on previously little-researched sources and integrates them with Allied perspectives to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the events. Gamble in the Coral Sea is an important addition to any collection on the Second World War, offering a nuanced and thorough examination of a battle that significantly shaped the course of the war in the Pacific.