Title: Combined fleet decoded : the secret history of American intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II /
Authors: Prados, John.
Publisher: Random House,
Year: 1995
Subjects: Japan. History; World War, 1939-1945 Naval operations, Japanese.; World War, 1939-1945 Military intelligence United States.; World War, 1939-1945 Cryptography.
Abstract: Combined Fleet Decoded offers a profoundly new perspective on the naval war in the Pacific during World War II, examining every aspect of the secret war of intelligence - from radio dispatches and espionage to vital information obtained from prisoners, document translation, and even deepsea divers' recoveries of critical material from wrecks at the bottom of the sea. John Prados's text covers both the Allies and the Japanese and relates the growing intelligence knowledge to the progress and outcome of Pacific naval actions. Combined Fleet Decoded also tells the stories of many of the key individuals whose personalities and conflicts shaped the secret intelligence war - including intelligence officers in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Contents: pt. 1. Sailors, spies, and strategies. "Your message, affirmative" -- Watching the Japanese -- "Four years on a war footing and unlimited budgets" -- Like an athletic competition -- "The first time it flies I want to be on board" -- pt. 2. Yamamoto's war. "We have a chance to win a war right now" -- "So long as I'm cinc we shall go ahead" -- Who slept at dawn? -- Air raid, Pearl Harbor -- Wings across the water -- Islands in the sun -- "Great speed, grim determination, and taking all risks is necessary" -- West, south, or east? -- pt. 3. High tide of the shadow war. Incredible victories? -- "The most imperative problem at present" -- Chrysanthemum and cactus -- "You don't have to be crazy, but it helps!" -- "The darkness is very deep" -- Full circle -- pt. 4. By force of arms. Hailstones and hammerblows -- Down to the sea in ships -- "The most crucial point has been reached" -- "The enemy task force will be destroyed tomorrow" -- The last of the imperial navy -- Hungry ghosts.