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The Eastern Fleet and the Indian Ocean, 1942–1944: The Fleet that Had to Hide Kindle Edition

by Charles Stephenson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 77 ratings
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A study of the British Royal Navy’s activities in the Indian Ocean during World War II, led by Admiral Sir James Somerville.

The story of the British Eastern Fleet, which operated in the Indian Ocean against Japan, has rarely been told. Although it was the largest fleet deployed by the Royal Navy prior to 1945 and played a vital part in the theatre it was sent to protect, it has no place in the popular consciousness of the naval history of the Second World War. So Charles Stephenson’s deeply researched and absorbing narrative gives this forgotten fleet the recognition it deserves.

British pre-war naval planning for the Far East is part of the story, as is the disastrous loss of the battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse in 1941, but the body of the book focuses on the new fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir James Somerville, and its operations against the Japanese navy and aircraft as well as Japanese and German submarines. Later in the war, once the fleet had been reinforced with an American aircraft carrier, it was strong enough to take more aggressive actions against the Japanese, and these are described in vivid detail.

Charles Stephenson’s authoritative study should appeal to readers who have a special interest in the war with Japan, in naval history more generally and Royal Navy in particular.

Praise forThe Eastern Fleet and the Indian Ocean, 1942–1944

“This meticulously researched, outstandingly clear, well written and absorbing account is long overdue and will most likely become a standard work. The text is most helpfully supported by over 80 pages of detailed end notes referenced to each chapter and a detailed index. This is not only a book for naval historians but also for anyone with an interest in the War in the Indian Ocean region. Highly recommended.” —Military Historical Society

“I enjoyed this book – it gives us an account of an often neglected part of the war at sea, and of the achievements of Admiral Somerville, who kept his fleet intact in the face of a potentially overwhelming opponent, then was willing to acknowledge that his fleet needed to improve massively before it could take on the Japanese.” —Dr John Rickard, author and webmaster of the ‘Military History Encyclopedia on the Web’

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  1. Print length
    317 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
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  4. Publisher
    Pen & Sword Maritime
  5. Publication date
    April 6, 2022
  6. File size
    30461 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

'I enjoyed this book - it gives us an account of an often neglected part of the war at sea, and of the achievements of Admiral Somerville, who kept his fleet intact in the face of a potentially overwhelming opponent, then was willing to acknowledge that his fleet needed to improve massively before it could take on the Japanese.'

Dr John Rickard, author and webmaster of the 'Military HistoryEncyclopaedia on the Web': historyofwar.org

'. . . this narrative of a rather less glamorous aspect of British naval history, is deserving of a wide readership.' R. Gerald Hughes & Stephen Hanna, 'Journeys back along the roads to Mandalay, Imphal and Kohima: recent contributions to the history of the Burma theatre in theSecond World War' in Intelligence and National Security. Published online: 22 April 2021.

"A well written and absorbing account of the role played by this important but neglected force."Centre for Maritime Historical Studies, University of Exeter.

"This is not only a book for naval historians but also for anyone with an interest in the War in the Indian Ocean region. Highly recommended."Military Historical Society."The author succeeds in this well-researched and documented book to bring to light the British Eastern Fleet, which operated in the Indian Ocean until the strong British Pacific Fleet took the war to the Japanese home islands."Seapower: The official publication of the Navy League of the United States."Stephenson's 80 pages of notes and source references give plenty of material for those who want to 'learn more'; however the general reader, and indeed the specialist, can be satisfied with this expertly written and absorbing study of the Eastern Fleet and the Indian Ocean 1942-1944."Australian Naval Institute."A thoroughly enjoyable read and highly recommended."Commodore Peter Wykeham-Martin, Chairman Friends of the RN Museum Portsmouth and HMS VICTORY."Charles Stephenson's well-researched and absorbing narrative gives this forgotten fleet the recognition it deserves."SeaGull: the quarterly magazine of the Indian Maritime FoundationI enjoyed this book - it gives us an account of an often neglected part of the war at sea, and of the achievements of Admiral Somerville, who kept his fleet intact in the face of a potentially overwhelming opponent, then was willing to acknowledge that his fleet needed to improve massively before it could take on the Japanese.' Dr John Rickard, author and webmaster of the 'Military HistoryEncyclopaedia on the Web': historyofwar.org/

About the Author

Charles Stephenson is an established author on naval and siege warfare and the history of fortifications, with the following books in print: The Fortifications of Malta 1530-1945, Zeppelins: German Airships 1900-40, The Channel Islands 1941-45: Hitler's Impregnable Fortress, The Admirals Secret Weapon: Lord Dundonald and the Origins of Chemical Warfare and Germanys Asia-Pacific Empire: Colonialism and Naval Policy, 1885-1914\. He was Consultant Editor and a contributor to Castles: A History of Fortified Structures: Ancient, Medieval & Modern. He is also the creator of the three books that (thus far) constitute the Samson Plews Collection.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B1973LJD
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Maritime (April 6, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 6, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 30461 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 317 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 77 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
77 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

G. Black
5.0 out of 5 stars Egos on Display
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2023
Verified Purchase
The book clearly reveals how weak the British presence was in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Singapore's rapid surrender and the destruction of the Prince of Wales and Repulse leaves only a skeletal naval presence at Ceylon. Inferior carrier based aircraft further weakens what little strike capabilities that could be considered against Japanese advances.

Because of the limited number and size of engagements, most of the book extensively covers submarine activity and the hierarchal structure of British command. Here is were egos rise to the level of threats of resignations (British Chief of Staff), persistent infighting (Churchill vs Brooke), and open displays of prima donnas on parade (Mountbatten). The US command structure provided equal sources of conflict (King, MacArthur) potentially disrupting the Anglo-American efforts.

The British efforts (when agreements were reached) are stymied due to recall of naval ships (particularly carriers) to the Atlantic and Mediterranean battle zones. Lack of adequate harbor facilities and limited landing craft cause the shoehorn effort to accomplish some minor contribution to help solidify British colonial claims when Japan surrenders.

I particularly enjoy reading about British Commonwealth naval contributions (Australia, NZ, South Africa) even though their ships were few in number. French, Dutch, and Italian efforts in support was an added plus. If you are looking for wide ranging (Leyte) or game changing action (Midway) then this not the book. For a niche filling effort then I highly recommend Stephenson' contribution.

PS: Two comments encapsulate British efforts from mid 1944 to the Japanese surrender.
1. Naval operations against the Japanese weakened defenses after Leyte were described by Admiral Cunningham's biographer as being "less about defeating Japan than preparing the Royal Navy for the future."
2. A quote from Vice Admiral Rawlings concerning the addition of British naval forces to the US Navy in the Pacific: "We have to go back to school again."
3 people found this helpful
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tpo
5.0 out of 5 stars An aspect of WWII naval ops that I had no familiarity with
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2023
Verified Purchase
I had thought I had at least a passing familiarity with all major naval ops in WWII, but this interesting read presented an interesting addition about something I had no significant knowledge of, the British fleet in the Indian Ocean. Among other things, it showed me the reason the Kido Butai (the Japanese main carrier group early in the war) had essentially disappeared in April and then headed for Japan, instead of resupplying in Japan in April and then have adding its force to crush the American carriers in the Battle of the Coral Sea.

All in all, an interesting read of the difficulties involved keeping the British Eastern Fleet intact and able to function at the potential thorn to Japanese and German interests.
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Bayard B.
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. How Royal Navy had inferior aircraft carriers, airplanes, doctrine compared to Japan, US.
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent book on the subject. The first three chapters (50 pages) provide a history of how the Royal Navy by 1939 ended up with aircraft carriers, air doctrine, and airplanes that were all inferior to those of Japan and the US. The remainder of the book then describes the actions of the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean against the Japanese from 1942 - late 1944.

There are especially detailed descriptions of the Japanese aircraft carrier raid in the Indian Ocean in April of 1942, the attacks on Ceylon, and the sinking of the British aircraft carrier "Hermes" and the cruisers "Cornwall" and "Dorsetshire." There are also detailed descriptions of Churchill's obsessions with launching amphibious assaults against northern Sumatra, southern Burma, and Borneo in1943 and 1944. The fact that Britain totally lacked the troops and landing craft to execute such attacks had no influence on him.

Chapter 11 describes the German U-boat attacks in the Indian Ocean in 1943 and their use of the base at Penang off the coast of Malaya. The final chapters describe the British air attacks on the Andaman Islands and Sabang and Sourabaya in Sumatra in June of 1944. These attacks were supposed to divert the Japanese from the American assaults in the Central Pacific at the same time. The Japanese barely noticed them.
16 people found this helpful
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white tiger
5.0 out of 5 stars I didn't know these details
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
THE END OF THE PAX BRITANNICA,HAS ALWAYS BEEN GLOSSED OVER, THE BRITISH COLLUSION WITH THE JAPANESE IN THE TWENTIES AND THIRTIES,WAS SURPRISING,GIVEN WHAT THEY KNEW! IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THE GREAT BRITANIC EMPIRE SACRIFICED ITS PEOPLE IN SECONDRATE SHIPS,AND AIRCRAFT SO ANTIQUATED AND OBSOLETE!
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Sir James Somerville
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is a highly readable history, of a period rather overlooked by other historians. That is, the years 1942-1944 during which Admiral Sir James Somerville defended the Indian ocean trade routes, with sometimes nothing more than a few armed trawlers (I may exaggerate but certainly naval resources available to him were pretty scarce for much of the period). For readers seeking some action the narrow escape of Somerville fleet from Nagumo's carrier force is narrated in superb detail; as are the later RN carrier raids on Sumatra and the Nicobars. The maps are clear, the pace of the story exciting, the telling of the background as to why the British carrier fleet was so poorly equipped that it was unable to serve Nagumo's fleet a "Midway" type blow, instead having to hide, is fascinating; equally so is the raising of its game by the Fleet Air Arm in 1944, mainly due to the initial reluctance of the USN to employ the Corsair F4U fighter, which left it available for the FAA; it is an excellent book.
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Strv 74
4.0 out of 5 stars Short, interesting with room for improvement
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book fills a gap in the historical literature of what took place in the Indian Ocean during WWII. It is rather short with just 218 pages of text and it covers not only naval warfare in the Indian Ocean 1942-44 but also the development of carrier warfare and naval air power of a larger area. There is also some information on naval warfare outside of that area.
The Book starts with the development of naval air power in Great Britain and Japan. The conclusion from this is that Great Britain thought the Japanese how to develop carrier borne air power and then the Japanese developed that in a far better way than did their teachers.
The Major part of the book concentrates on what took place in the Indian Ocean during 1942 to 1944 seen mostly from the perspective of the commander of Eastern Fleet Admiral Sir James Sommerville who was in command of the fleet during most of that time.
We are informed about a few naval actions, Japanese and British carrier strikes and about submarine operations. All very interesting and with details that explain why things ended up like they did. But the most surprising thing is that apart from submarine warfare against German, Japanese and Italian submarines very little of surface warfare actually took place. If this book is correct the Japanese navy only did one major operation in the Indian Ocean. On the other hand the Eastern Fleet as well only did a few operations and all of them in 1944.
Why this was so from the British point of view is explained in detail but not so much from the other side. Why the Japanese navy did not attack more aggressively when the Eastern Fleet were so much weaker than the Japanese fleet is mostly explained with that they were occupied with the Americans.
A rather lot of the book is also focusing on various debates between admirals and other war commanders as well with the political level and of course Winston Churchill. It is surprising how negative picture of Churchill is presented by the opinions of admirals and generals of the British forces. If this picture, as presented through the lens of the Indian Ocean would be the view from all major officers and all theatres of operations, it is hard to see how Winston Churchill could get anything done at all.
Another strange thing is that a lot of Admiral Somerville’s comments to the on-going situation are taken from his letters to his wife. Why would an admiral discuss tactical and operational naval issues with his wife? Maybe she had a great interest in these issues and also detailed knowledge of naval ships and tactics or the admiral only wrote to “ventilate” his feelings.
There are a number of gaps in the story that would have benefitted from some added chapters, mostly concerning ships and their status and activities. The Eastern Fleet had a number of obsolete ships but even if some detail is presented it would have been interesting to read about the technical status of a number of ships in more detail in order to understand why they were useless. Ship movements to and from the Indian Ocean are also not fully clear. An example is the French battleship Richelieu was added to the fleet but where did she go? Was she still there in 1945?
All of this would have been helped by an Order of Battle listing all ships.
Very good is the number of maps and the extensive notes.
To sum up, an interesting read but with a few gaps and surprises that could have been explained a little more.
8 people found this helpful
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catholic reader
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, well researched, broad (to the point of wandering), and unforgiven
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2021
Verified Purchase
An interesting and well researched book, covering a rather neglected part of WW2 (as it developed and has been 'remembered'). The other reviews on this page seem to reflect that it is of interest to a number of knowledgable readers who highlight some of the books weaknesses, or take exception to some of the author's conclusion. The book is quite broad in its coverage, including setting the scene as to why the British would find themselves ill equipped for modern carrier warfare in the Indian Ocean in 1942. The points are put across clearly, although like others I do not really see the author's preferred link to the 1918 German High Seas Fleet. After the Japanese Indian Ocean raid of 1942 is covered, the book wanders a bit, a whole chapter on disputing the accounts of the movie "the Sea Wolves", and considerable coverage of submarine warfare off the coast of South Africa - which affected the Eastern Fleet only in as much as being one of a number of 'draws' on the Eastern Fleets already limited resources . There is plenty of coverage of 'Grand Strategy' to put the Eastern Fleets limitations in perspective. So overall a balanced, if occasionally wandering account of a Fleet that did perhaps clearly illustrate British 'overreach' in the mid 20th Century. (A 'fact' rather than a 'criticism' of those who served). The end notes are extensive, broad ranging and intriguing - which makes the author's lack of a Bibliography and his request that this be forgiven all the harder to accommodate. A good read and a very useful history, filing in, explaining and providing a degree of realistic balance for much more well covered naval campaigns.
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