Rising Sun, Falling Skies: The disastrous Java Sea Campaign of World War II (General Military)

Bottomline up front; I enjoyed the read and purchased two more of his WWII naval history books.The book is fairly well written some have disagreed with his style. Too descriptive the author is accused of fictionizing history; too many details the prose is too dry. I concur with other reviewers more and better detailed maps. His book sits well next to Toll’s WWII naval trilogy. Cox does need a copy Silverstone’s U.S. Warships of WW II it would have prevented some order of battle errors. Perhaps I am too critical over details of class, structure, capabilities and weapons system; but these errors distract from the narrative. Osprey publishing owe it authors and reader better support.The American, British, Dutch, and Australian (ABDA) efforts in the Java region is viewed as a minor theater of operations. Most naval books covering this period usually short-change arena and jump from Pearl Harbor to Midway.

A love of mine for some time has been reading about the Asiatic Fleet and how they performed in WWII; I was introduced to this by Mr. Winslow (The Ghost that Died at Sunday Straight and The Fleet the Gods Forgot) and have considered his books the Gold standard on the Asiatic Fleet. Since that time I've read many different books on the subject and I saw Mr. Cox's book as a new entry with good possibility; ok, let's talk about this possibility. Rising Sun, Falling Sky covers the opening campaigning the Southwest Pacific, including British, Dutch, Australian, American, and Of course Japanese. The book covers from the opening bombings of the Philippines and Malaysia thru to the Allied retirement from Indonesia. While focus is on the naval forces of the combatants, air and land operations are covered as the impact or are occurring around the naval combatants.Rating wise this one was a little difficult because I honestly feel this is an outstanding example of a strong 4.5 star book. Strengths of the book include a bibliography that's outstanding (this is what makes the book a 5 star book), personal opinion that Mr. Cox supports with solid analysis and good presentation, and good completeness. Pleasant surprises were the personal details Mr. Cox provided (including personal observations from battles) and an outstanding understanding of his topic; I almost felt I was reading something by John Toland, with that said, particularly when Mr. Cox was discussing Admirals Helfrich and Doorman and their relationship... how could I not rate this book 5 stars... All books have weaknesses and Mr. Cox's book does have a few. For me the style was sometimes off a little, call it to much of a lawyer presenting a case and not enough providing humanity to a story. Adding a little more of the people in the story would have made the things more engrossing (forgive me please but my Gold standard is hard to meet in that area. Another book that blew me away with this was The Dutch Naval Air Force Against Japan by Mr. Womack). I also felt that while Mr. Cox did a great job with the Helfrich/Doorman relationship he missed a little on the Hart/Glassford relationship. Lastly I felt Mr. Cox didn't do as much for the US Naval forces in the Philippines as he could have (the PT Boats were glossed over, no mention of the USS Canopus, and the submarine effort around the Philippines was glossed over. Instead Mr. Cox brought us outstanding detail on the Prince of Wales/Repulse fiasco). Because of these weaknesses I couldn't truly call this a 5 star book but I did rating wise because of the bibliography. Merging the bibliography with the strengths of the book I feel the book is a good candidate for 5 stars.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces in the western Pacific began attacks against the Philippines, Guam, Wake, and Malaya. These lightning attacks by the Japanese completely overwhelmed the Allies, especially in the Philippines, where General Douglas MacArthur's aircraft were caught on the ground despite having knowledge of the Pearl Harbor attack. The great British base at Singapore was captured by a Japanese force only 1/3 the size of the British defenders. The British ships Prince of Wales and Repulse were destroyed by Japanese carrier aircraft. But Malaya, with it's rich reserves of oil and other resources, was also high on the Japanese list, and in this area lies the Java Sea, where a major but futile effort was put forth by the combined American, British, Dutch, and Australian forces.From the beginning, the Java Sea campaign was highlighted by massive problems on the ABDA side. Language and communications were at the forefront. After Admiral Hart, commander of the U.S. Asiatic fleet, was relieved, command shifted to Dutch Admiral Helfrich. The language barrier was a problem throughout the campaign, as the Dutch and the English-speaking members of ABDA struggled to find common ground. Command of the naval forces was also an issue, as many Americans struggled with having the Dutch in command of their ships. The Dutch commanders were also seen as timid and inept by their ABDA allies.Meanwhile, the Japanese continued to maul the Allied surface forces. With the loss of MacArthur's air force so early in the campaign, the Japanese enjoyed complete aerial supremacy. The Japanese navy, with its deadly torpedoes and excellent use of their float planes, completely outclassed anything ABDA had. In the span of three months, the Japanese had conquered Malaya and the Java Sea, leaving many Allied ships on the bottom. To the Allies' credit, they never ran from the Japanese. They fought toe-to-toe against overwhelming odds and displayed incredible bravery and heroism in the face of almost certain death.I found "Rising Sun, Falling Skies" to be an interesting and informative read. Author Jeffrey Cox has written a well-researched book that describes the dark early days of the Pacific War. My favorite section is the thoroughly interesting discussion regarding the destruction of British Force Z (Repulse and Prince of Wales). The narrative about the loss of MacArthur's air force and his utter incompetence after learning of the Pearl Harbor attack is interesting as well.I highly recommend this fine book. It does a good job of describing all aspects of one of the lesser-known battles of the early Pacific War.

This is a seriously good account of the battle of Java Sea and the events leading up to it. The need of the Japanese to go to war and take over the resources of SW Pacific is clearly set out, as is the piecemeal reaction of the Allies to it. The author is American but has well researched the Japanese, British, Dutch and Australian aspects of the conflict. That they were all strategically unprepared for the sheer capability and audacity of the Japanese comes through. But so does the serious equipment failings (e.g. the US torpedoes) and shortages (e.g. radar, and how Churchill chose to send planes to Russia and not to Malaya/Australia). While tactical failures of the Allied navies are clearly depicted, so too does he note the Japanese naval shortcomings. Nevertheless the staggering loss of Allied ships for virtually no Japanese loss says it all. The situation was stacked against the Allies and the hopelessness of their situation obvious with hindsight. One can only admire the determination to do their best, not least the Dutch for whom there was no home country to return to. Of course, lessons were quickly learned and the tide turned, but this book counts the cost of a home-country-centric defence attitude despite global responsibilities.

A generally well written book on what seems to be an almost forgotten period of WW2. It could go into greater depth, but where do you draw a line? A tribute to the incredible bravery shown by the allied forces who should not be forgotten. Well worth a read by anyone with an interest in WW2 .

Excellent narrative of the disastrous Java campaign and the very slim choices available to the allied side. A thoughtful and balanced appreciation of the people, the tactics and courage against a commanding opposition

A very comprehensive history of a not well documented part of world war two,very well written.

Very informative and a great read