AIR WAR FOR BURMA: The Concluding Volume of The Bloody Shambles Series. The Allied Air Forces Fight Back in South-East Asia 1942-1945 (Bloody Shambles)

Average Customer Rating: List Price: $59.95 Asia Trips Trips Price: $39.32 Your Savings: $ 20.63 ( 34% ) Subject To Change Without Notice Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Grub Street
Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5425 EAN: 9781904010951 ISBN: 1904010954 Label: Grub Street Manufacturer: Grub Street Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 500 Publication Date: 2005-09 Publisher: Grub Street Studio: Grub Street
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Editorial Reviews: In his monumental work Bloody Shambles, Volume Two, Christopher Shores described in detail the British retreat out of Burma, culminating at the end of May 1942. The monsoon then brought operations on land and in the air virtually to a halt for several months as the British and Indian forces prepared to retake Burma. The Japanese however, had very different ideas. Air War for Burma picks up the story from the beginning of June 1942 and follows the hard-fought campaigns through to the end of the war in August 1945. Here the activities of the RAF and USAAF during the desperate fighting of 1942-44, resulting ultimately in victories at Imphal and Kohima, are fully recounted. No less a forgotten air force than was the 14th 'Forgotten Army', the RAF particularly was denied the most modern and effective aircraft until late in the fighting, struggling to survive with obsolescent equipment against frequently superior Japanese machines. Described herein are the operations during the First and Second Arakan Campaigns; support for the Chindits in their long-range penetrations deep into enemy-held territory; the savage sieges of Imphal and Kohima; and the final victorious advance across the plains of Central Burma to Mandalay and Rangoon. Detailed also are the activities over the Indian Ocean and the East Indies of the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers and the aircrews of the Fleet Air Arm. Painstakingly researched from official sources, log books, letters and interviews, this is far and away the best reference work on the subject, and completes the set.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Weakest of the Series, but still Good Comment: This is last in this brilliant series on the air war over Asia. It should be noted that main flaw with this book is that war got larger very quickly and the sheer number of operations increased to a degree that it is not possible to chronicle them in the same way air battles were described in the first two volumes: more squadrons, more pilots, more ops and less and less Japanese pilots with less infrastructure and desire to write about the downfall of the Japan in SE Asia. Beyond that there is the usual brilliant writing and combat detail. The regular multi-national nature of the Imperial combat services are a stark reminder of the relative "equality" of what Britain and the commonwealth were fighting for, especially when compared with the strictly Japanese pilots -- Japan never succeeded allowing, much less incorporating other nations and races into her fighting forces. It is something often lost and underappreciated in this politically correct, cartoonesque interpretations of history. A wonderful book and certainly necessary for those who have read the previous two. Customer Rating: Summary: Account of a Forgotten Theatre of WW II Comment: What can be said about a account of a forgotten area of WW II. This book covers the Allied Air Operations from 1942 thru 1945 in a part of the world that rarely gets any coverage in ANY World War II publication. And it is a quite detailed account of the day to day operations of the men and aircraft involved. The author excels in this with spades, as does his other publications. Well worth the price. Customer Rating: Summary: Diary of a Disaster Comment: An outstanding book! This series has been a wonderful source of information concerning the more obscure air combat scene in the Asia/ Pacific warzone. The day-to-day accounts of allied air activity combined with personnel insights and photos provide a stark picture of the war's early days. British, Dutch, American, Aussie, and Japanese accounts of the signifcant early battles are compared and contrasted, highlighting the "fog of war" and the abilities of both sides to grossly overestimate their combat results. Volume one was so outstanding that I ended up purchasing the remaining books in the series immediately after finishing it. You will not regret purchasing this or any of the other books in this series. Volume 2 contains some minor corrections for Volume 1, as well as a chapter that was originally intended for the first book. I find Christopher Shores one of the best aviation writers out there. This book is really better then 5 stars; the illustrations earn it a 6! Customer Rating: Summary: Fitting Conclusion to a Definitive Air War Trilogy! Comment: Christopher Shores' monumental history of the air war in Southeast Asia from 1942 to 1945 wraps up with this Grubb Street volume covering "the long road back" following the British defeat in Burma. Marked by impeccable research, this volume and the others in the BLOODY SHAMBLES set constitute the definitive story of that little-known air campaign. Picking up immediately after the British retreat from Burma, Shores charts the Allies regrouping, resurgence and ultimate triumph over the Japanese. The Southeast Asia theater was considered a backwater by the Allied High Command, British Southeast Asia air units making do, for example, with Mohawks, Blenheims and Hurricanes for far too long. Eventually re-equipped with modern aircraft like Spits, Mosquitoes and Beaufighters, RAF units were joined by USAAF units flying P-51s, B-25s, B-24s, etc. in supporting Allied ops such as the Arakan campaigns, support of the Chindits and Merrill's Marauders and the push into Burma. Shores crams a lot of information into 381 pages of text but AIR WAR FOR BURMA is eminently readable. (Appendices take up another 46 pages). The volume features over 220 photographs, many previously unpublished, along with area maps. Though other books have dealt with this subject over the years, Shores' trilogy will stand the test of time as being the definitive account. His research into and use of official British, Japanese and American records along with personal reminiscences combine to produce a fresh, comprehensive and factual account of a geographically wide-ranging air campaign. This is military aviation history at its finest. ***** An aside: In reading AIR WAR FOR BURMA, it was eye-opening to read of the over-claiming that resulted from the air combats fought. By utilizing Allied records and surviving Japanese records, Shores was able to uncover and present the first accurate account of those long-ago combats. Customer Rating: Summary: Slightly Flawed But Excellent Comment: Let me first say that both volumes in the Bloody Shambles series are excellent and far superior to ANY other text on the subject of air warfare in the first six months of the Pacific War that I've ever seen. Nonetheless, having conducted extensive research into the role of the Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service (MLD) during the Japanese invasion of the former Netherlands East Indies (NEI), I can tell you that both volumes of Bloody Shambles contain some fairly substantial errors on the MLD. However, this can be overlooked somewhat given that the role of the MLD in the Pacific War is not particularly well covered in English and there is very little information available for the non-Dutch speaking historian. It is unlikely that I would have noticed the errors in question had I not spent 11 years researching my own manuscript on the naval air war in the NEI. But from what I can tell though, the rest of the information detailing the air war in the Philippines, NEI, Singapore and Burma appears to be incredibly accurate. Having grown up hearing and reading stories about how the "invincible" Japanese blew through Allied air defenses with nary a loss, these texts go a long way in educating the reader that in many cases, the Allies gave just as much as they received from the Japanese. All in all, a must read for anyone interested in learning more about the true nature of the air war in the first six months of the Pacific War. More Reviews