BERNARD MILLOT

The Battle of the Coral Sea called the first successful halt to the vast military expansion of the Japanese. Its outcome and its results gave an invaluable psychological stimulus to the allies and at the same time delivered a blow to Japanese pride. The former realised that the hour of victory was at hand; the latter that their frenzied hegemony must have its limits. For these reasons alone, this encounter in the Coral Sea would deserve greater study but its interest goes even further in that it was an entirely new type of battle. It took place 'below the horizon', for at no point did the opposing vessels sight one another but acted solely through the agency of the aircraft they carried. This was a technical aspect which was to give the Pacific conflict its unique character since its consequences decisively contributed to the decline of the battleship as a capital ship in favour of the aircraft carrier.

Bernard Millot, a distinguished French naval historian, tells his story in fascinating detail and looks closely into the strategic, psychological and technical aspects of this first evenly balanced encounter between the Japanese and the Allies in the Second World War. His text is enhanced by numerous maps and some excellent photographs taken during the course of the actual battle.