Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944–1945
Ian W. Toll. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2020. 944 pp. Maps. Photos. Illus. Biblio. Index. $40.
Reviewed by Alan Rems
Though not everyone will agree with Thomas Mann that “only the exhaustive is truly interesting,” discerning readers will not wish that Ian Toll’s massive capstone to his Pacific war trilogy, about the war’s final year, were a page shorter.
Toll tells us in his author’s note that in the course of his research for the other volumes he learned much that “lay along the periphery of the main narrative.” Happily, he saved it all and put it here, heedless that it would require “more than three times longer to produce [the trilogy] than it took the combatant nations to fight it.”
As is amply demonstrated in his 24-page bibliography, Toll casts a wide net, tapping a vast number of published and unpublished sources. Particularly effective use is made of first-person accounts, often interwoven with Toll’s words in seamless narratives. Much will be new even to seasoned students of the Pacific war, such as information and insights from the previously unavailable diaries of Lieutenant General Robert C. Richardson Jr., who was present during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous 1944 military conference in Hawaii. Another of the familiar subjects illuminated by unfamiliar detail is General Douglas MacArthur’s triumphant return to the Philippines, during which he made self-aggrandizing remarks on radio that drew resentment from many who were doing the fighting and dying.
Toll examines in particular detail the birth and evolution of the kamikazes. He establishes how this seemingly irrational enterprise made sense militarily, diplomatically, and as a model of self-sacrifice to combat Japanese war weariness.
Especially in his extended treatment of the land, sea, and air campaign of Okinawa, Toll displays his considerable ability to describe war in all its dimensions. His intelligent and elegant yet unpretentious writing style is praiseworthy, often rising to heights to make a point. Concluding an extended discussion about Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey Jr.’s impulsive, near-disastrous decisions at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Toll captures with dry wit the appropriateness of Halsey’s nickname. He writes:
The bull is respected for its size, strength, and aggression, but not for its tactical acumen. The bull is stubborn, unreasoning, “bull-headed.” . . . [I]t is the bull that is most dreaded by the world’s china shop proprietors. Every mammal leaves its feces on the ground, but it is the bull’s that has a revered place in American slang.
Yet, Toll plays no favorites in his judgment of personalities, rightly commending Halsey for advocating cancellation of the Peleliu invasion and roundly criticizing Admiral Chester W. Nimitz for allowing that unnecessary and ultimately bloody operation to proceed.
Inevitably, in a work of such broad scope, there will be omissions. No mention is made of Marine Lieutenant General Holland Smith’s highly controversial refusal to commit the 3d Marine Regiment on Iwo Jima, necessitating the employment of ill-prepared replacements, who fell in disproportionate numbers.
And he makes only passing mention in the epilogue of the Tokyo war crimes trial, which drew widespread criticism for its emphasis on prosecuting crimes against peace while granting immunity to the Emperor, who played a central part in the decision for war.
Conceived on a grand scale and brilliantly realized, this is history written for a modern literate audience in the tradition of Thomas B. Macauley and Francis Parkman—equally to be savored for its sweeping narrative, perceptive interpretation, and reading pleasure. Toll amply demonstrates that he belongs in the top rank of U.S. military historians.
Mr. Rems is the author of South Pacific Cauldron: World War II’s Great Forgotten Battlegrounds (Naval Institute Press, 2014). He has been a regular contributor to Naval History since his article “‘Halsey Knows the Straight Story’” appeared in the August 2008 issue and earned him selection as the magazine’s Author of the Year.
The Last Days of the High Seas Fleet: From Mutiny to Scapa Flow
Nicholas Jellicoe. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2019. 351 pp. Photos. Maps. Biblio. Sources. Index. $39.95.
Reviewed by Captain Don Walsh,
U.S. Navy (Retired)
Author Nicholas Jellicoe is the grandson of Sir John Jellicoe, overall commander of the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet at the World War I Battle of Jutland. At the time of the events described in this book, Sir John was no longer in the Admiralty; he had been pushed out at the end of December 1917 and replaced by First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Rosslyn Wemyss. However, given his heritage, Jellicoe was able to access family records and official documents, and interview key people.
On 11 November 1918, fighting ceased and an armistice was declared between the warring powers. But since 1917, the German domestic situation had become increasingly dire. Disgruntled sailors had mutinied on several ships at the Wilhelmshaven base. Soon it had spread to Kiel, where there already were active civilian protests against the Imperial German Government. Eventually, the protest actions developed into a rebellion throughout the nation. These events led to Kaiser Wilhelm II’s abdication and exile on 10 November 1918. By January 1919, the warring powers were meeting at the Paris Peace Conference to work out terms of the peace treaty.
Initially, one of the armistice’s terms was that 74 German warships of the High Seas Fleet would be demilitarized and interned at a neutral or allied port. But this was not a surrender. The fleet was still the property of a weak German government that preferred internment in a neutral port. The inability to find a suitable neutral host nation, as well as political pressure by the British, resulted in the choice of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. There the British would closely supervise the internment.
Prior to the warships’ sailing from Germany, extensive demilitarization was done in the country. This included removal of firing mechanisms from guns and offloading munitions, small arms, and some fire-control equipment. Initially it was thought that the internment would be last about 37 days, so the ships were provisioned for that length of time before leaving Germany. Instead, the internment lasted seven months.
Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter was the last commander of the German High Seas Fleet. On 21 November 1918, 70 of his warships entered British waters at Rosyth on the Firth of Forth. Technical problems caused four ships to miss the initial sailing from Germany, and they arrived later. The fleet was escorted by 250 warships of the Royal Navy and Allied navies. From the 25th to the 27th they were led to anchorages at Scapa Flow.
Eventually, the internment fleet consisted of 5 battle cruisers, 11 battleships, 8 light cruisers, and 50 destroyers. Initially, Reuter arrived with 20,000 officers and men to maintain the 74 anchored ships. But during the seven-month internment, all but 1,700 were repatriated to Germany.
Isolated and poorly informed by either his government or the British, Reuter was concerned that the slow pace of the peace negotiations might lead to resumption of the war. After an out-of-date news report indicated that fighting might resume in a few days, he was determined never to surrender his fleet.
On 18 June 1919, the admiral issued a secret plan for all ships to be ready for scuttling on his command. On 21 June, he issued that order. It was quickly and efficiently carried out. In about five hours, 54 of the 74 warships were on the bottom of Scapa Flow. The British towed 22 vessels aground, most with decks awash. The small Royal Navy force in the Flow at that time saw what was happening, but it was too late. The event happened so quickly that nothing could be done to stop it. Admiral Reuter’s timing was fortuitous, as the British had decided to seize the fleet on 23 June.
In terms of warship tonnage sunk (450,000 tons), it was the greatest naval action of World War I and in history. Also, it undoubtedly is one with the fewest deaths—nine German sailors shot by the British. They were the last combatant casualties of World War I. Sadly, most of those deaths were caused by miscommunication rather than aggression on the part of the Germans.
But this is not just another book about a major World War I event. Author Jellicoe has done a masterful job setting the drama of Scapa Flow within the context of a disintegrating German nation, naval mutinies, and general rebellion in the final year of the war. These were the circumstances that during the Armistice led the High Seas Fleet to its final action, a one-way trip to Britain, and, later, sent it to the shipbreakers.
Woven into this tragic drama are the subplots of how the victorious Allies squabbled at the peace talks about the disbursement of the High Seas Fleet ships—a question made moot by the scuttling. Among the Allied navies, this affected their future naval forces and actions and led to the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.
What happened to all those shipwrecks? Jellicoe nicely answers the question in the chapter “The Greatest Salvage of All Time.” A total of 405,000 tons were salvaged, with all but three battleships and four cruisers going to the shipbreakers.
For those who want to know more, Nicholas Jellicoe has developed an extensive website archive of historical texts, photographs, and splendid graphic animations. See it at www.scapaflow1919.com.
Dr. Walsh, a marine consultant, is a retired naval officer and oceanographer. During his naval career, he served at sea in submarines and ashore in ocean-related research-and-development assignments.
The USS Swordfish: The World War II Patrols of the First American Submarine to Sink a Japanese Ship
George J. Billy. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2019. Illus. Appx. Glossary. Notes. Biblio. Index. 222 pp. $35.
Reviewed by Commander Joel Holwitt, U.S. Navy
There is no shortage of histories of individual U.S. Navy submarines in World War II. Books have been published about the Archerfish, Batfish, Bowfin, Flier, Harder, Rasher, Seahorse, Seawolf, Squalus/Sailfish, Tang, and Wahoo—and that is not all. In writing yet another World War II submarine history, George Billy had his work cut out for him, particularly since he started his research at a point when most of the USS Swordfish (SS-193) veterans, including all of her commanding officers, had died. Despite this challenge, Billy’s research is impeccable. He accessed archival material I was unaware of, found every available oral history and interview, visited numerous archives around the country, and interviewed remaining veterans and family members. The USS Swordfish is superbly researched history.
The Swordfish is a worthy subject for a book-length study. As the subtitle states, she served from the very beginning of the war, achieving the first U.S. submarine kill of the war. Although the Swordfish is best remembered for her service under her first commanding officer, Rear Admiral Chester Smith, Billy points out that she also provided a first experience in command to “Acey” Burrows, who went on to success in command of the USS Whale (SS-239); helped rehabilitate the warfighting reputation of Jack Lewis, who is mostly known for running the USS Trigger (SS-237) aground; and allowed Karl Hensel, a former prospective commanding officer instructor, to test his teachings in combat. The Swordfish served almost until the end of the war. Regrettably, the submarine and her entire crew, including Billy’s uncle, who inspired him to write the book, were lost in early 1945.
In spite of Billy’s exhaustive research, he does not fully impart the experience of an American submariner serving in World War II. It is one thing to note that the Swordfish’s air conditioning units malfunctioned and the freshwater supply poisoned many of the sailors, which Billy does. It is another to convey the misery and exhaustion of standing life-or-death watches in sweltering heat and humidity with more than half the crew ill and suffering, living in mildewing bedding and clothing, and working with corroding equipment, which Billy attempts with varying success. There are some gripping sections that read quickly and dramatically, but there are many others that read like dry summaries of already dry war patrol reports.
A few minor errors and Billy’s writing aside, The USS Swordfish is a superbly researched history. Although it arguably brings very little that is new, it is certainly a worthy addition to World War II submarine history.
Commander Holwitt is an active-duty submarine officer who has served in four SSNs. A 2003 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he earned a PhD in history from Ohio State University and is the author of “Execute Against Japan”: The U.S. Decision to Conduct Unrestricted Submarine Warfare (Texas A&M University Press, 2009). He peer-reviewed an earlier draft of this history in 2014.