Yukikaze's War
The Unsinkable Japanese Destroyer and World War II in the Pacific

Only one elite Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer survived the ocean battlefields of the Pacific War. This is her remarkable story.

Brett L. Walker (Author)

9781108837293, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 6 June 2024

311 pages
23.7 x 16 x 2 cm, 0.61 kg

'Brett Walker's imaginative, absorbing biography of the celebrated destroyer Yukikaze tells the story of Japan's war in the Pacific from eye-opening new perspectives. At turns exhilarating and heartrending, this fast-paced narrative compellingly reframes the political dynamics, technological innovations, environmental implications, and profound human tragedy of the greatest naval conflict in history.' William M. Tsutsui, Chancellor and Professor of History, Ottawa University

Only one elite Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer survived the cruel ocean battlefields of World War II. This is her story. Brett Walker, historian and captain, delves into questions of mechanics, armaments, navigation, training, and even indoctrination, illustrating the daily realities of war for Yukikaze and her crew. By shifting our perspective of the Pacific War away from grand Imperial strategies, and toward the intricacies of fighting on the water, Walker allows us to see the war from Yukikaze's bridge during the most harrowing battles, from Midway to Okinawa. Walker uncovers the ordinary sailor's experience, and we see sailors fight while deep-running currents of Japanese history unfold before their war-weary eyes. As memories of World War II fade, Yukikaze's story becomes ever more important, providing valuable lessons in our contemporary world of looming energy shortfalls, menacing climate uncertainties, and aggressive totalitarian regimes.

1. Divine ships of a bluewater navy
2. Torpedoes, destroyers, and samurai of the seas
3. Oil empire and Japan's southern advance
4. Conquest of the south seas
5. Escorting catastrophe at Midway
6. Barroom brawl at Guadalcanal
7. Defending the Solomon Sea and Bismarck Barrier
8. Mariana Islands and the collapse of Japan's defensive sphere
9, Leyte Theater
10. Dangerous homewaters and Shinano destroyed
11. Yamato and the specter of history
12. Surrender and the enduring dangers of Yukikaze's haunt.

Subject Areas: Military history [HBW]