Description: Considers the various factors that contribute to one opponent seizing the strategic initiative--the ability to shape a conflict to reach one's desired political outcome by influencing the timing, location, and nature of combat actions. Using an extended case study of the Japanese-American conflict, Sean Judge examines factors such as resources, intelligence, strategic acumen, combat effectiveness, and chance to determine how and why the initiative shifted to the advantage of the United States during the period from the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway in 1942 to the end of the Guadalcanal campaign in January 1943.
Brief description: Mansoor, Peter R.
Review Quotes:
"The Turn of the Tide in the Pacific War is a valuable addition to the literature on strategy. The chapters on intelligence organizations in both the Japanese and US militaries are particularly useful in understanding Judge's explication of the concept of strategic initiative. Judge argues that strategic initiative is a concept that needs more formal study, and his case study here highlights how such a process can be accomplished while at the same time providing a gripping campaign analysis."--John T. Kuehn, professor of military history, Army Command and General Staff College
"This insightful study shows how the tide really turned in the Japanese-American Pacific War. Reinforcing the role of contingency in shaping outcomes in the conflict that are too often seen as preordained, Judge reveals the combination of strategy and serendipity that allowed the Americans to finally seize the initiative that would lead to eventual victory."--Conrad C. Crane, author of American Airpower Strategy in World War II: Bombs, Cities, Civilians, and Oil
"Sean M. Judge's The Turn of the Tide in the Pacific War sheds much-needed light on two important issues. He first provides analytical clarity concerning the much bandied-about concept of 'strategic initiative.' Then he puts it to good use by demonstrating how the campaigns for New Guinea and Guadalcanal were mutually supporting and turned the tide against the Japanese military. Judge's work demands a wide readership."--Kevin C. Holzimmer, author of General Walter Krueger: Unsung Hero of the Pacific War
"Historians of World War II have long understood its macro ebb and flow. In the opening phase the Axis powers went on a rampage, conquering territory at a terrifying rate. There followed an intermediate period during which the initiative was in dispute. Then the Allies tipped the balance and kept Germany and Japan reacting until the end of the war. The Turn of the Tide in the Pacific War analyzes this tipping point for the war in the Pacific. It is a groundbreaking study that delves deeply into how and why the Americans wrested control of the war from the Japanese. Its counterintuitive findings are as relevant today as they were over seventy years ago."--Harold R. Winton, author of Corps Commanders of the Bulge: Six American Generals and Victory in the Ardennes