The Darkest Hour Volume 2

The Darkest Hour presents the Imperial Japanese Navy offensive in the Indian Ocean area in March–April 1942, the main goal of which was to destroy the Royal Navy in the Far East and achieve domination on the western flank of the Pacific War on the eve of the Battle of Midway. The bold operation by two Japanese task forces (Kido Butai and Malay Force) in the Indian Ocean would only be possible with the fall of Singapore in February and the Dutch East Indies in early March 1942.

From the strategic point of view, the Japanese offensive in the Indian Ocean was the only moment in the Second World War when the Axis forces could coordinate their efforts to severely threaten the position of the British Empire in the crucial Middle Eastern and Indian theatres.

Volume 2 of The Darkest Hour describes the movements of the invincible Kido Butai, consisting of five aircraft carriers and their escorts, that expected to crush the British bases on Ceylon and once and forever destroy the main core of the Eastern Fleet. The chaos provoked by the Kido Butai would then become a great opportunity for the Malay Force to cut off the British shipping routes in the western part of the Bay of Bengal.

The Darkest Hour is the first systematic attempt to describe this less-well known part of the Pacific War by researching both British and Japanese archive documents and other sources published in many countries, including the United Kingdom, Japan, and India.

The second volume examines the Japanese aerial assault upon the British bases on Ceylon, and the attacks against the carrier HMS Hermes, cruisers MS Cornwall and Devonshire, and the destroyer HMAS Vampire. The Darkest Hour Volume 2 includes extensive tables detailing the composition of the Japanese air attacks and is illustrated with photographs and with colour artworks of the ships and aircraft involved.

 

"The two volumes comprising the Japanese naval offensive into the Indian Ocean during World War II are by far the most comprehensive and detailed account of these often minimized or neglected military actions. The use of Japanese, British, Australian, and American archival sources is a real plus, indicative of dedicated scholarship." Naval Historical Foundation

"...filled with focused detail. Sources and defined terminologies and standards, and personal quotes and accounts enrich the text. As does the excellent gallery of photographs and artwork." Aeroscale

"Japan's Indian Ocean foray is superbly covered in this new book from Helion. The initial planning and then the execution of operation is covered in considerable detail. What I liked is that the author provides sufficient maps and charts in the proper place in the book so that we can follow both the Japanese and British movements. This is something in which many other books are lacking and these maps only increase the understanding of the situation as it unfolds. As usual in this series, there are great period phots as well as the usual full color profiles in the center section of the book. If you want to know about this particular side story in the Pacific War, this is the book you want." ModellingMadness.com

"Helion & Co is to be applauded here, for offering such a detailed focus on a subject that has rarely been covered before. Michał Piegzik’s first look at the Japanese 1942 Indian Ocean campaign offered a wealth of information, but visually centred mainly on Japanese material. Volume 2 switches to a more allied focus; although Japanese ships and aircraft appear in the photos, the 13 aircraft colour profiles represent RAF and Fleet Air Arm types exclusively....This redresses the balance, as Vol.1’s profiles were mainly of Japanese ships/aircraft.......Any modeller who loves to have a full appreciation of their chosen subject in historical terms is well served here, besides having the useful visual cues for structural and colour scheme accuracy. If you took the plunge with Vol.1 you’ll almost certainly want this second instalment… it’ll be a shame if you don’t, especially as the subject is so fascinating and you can widen your modelling on the theme." Key Model World

"For the casual reader, it serves as an effective introduction to the southern China-Burma-India theater in the earliest days of World War II. For the more-focused armchair historian, the text and notes will save significant time otherwise spent translating Japanese primary documents and references." The Journal of the Air Force Historical Foundation

"It is a story of IJN operations against the Royal Navy in the Far East in 1942 that we rarely hear about, so I learned a lot. I will add that there are also some great archive photos included throughout the book." Robin Buckland, Military Model Scene