Featured battle : Coral Sea

Part of Second World War

Date : 07 May 1942 - 08 May 1942

A Japanese assault force under Admiral Inoue including the carrier Shoho, 4 cruisers and a destroyer had landed troops on Tulagi, then joined the larger strike force under Adm. Takagi which included the fleet carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku in the Coral Sea to attack Port Moresby on Papua. Meanwhile, US Admiral Fletcher with a task force lead by the carriers Yorktown and Lexington and including Australian crusiers and destroyers under Adm. Crace RN, attempted to intercept. On the 7th, aircraft from both sides spotted each other and launched the first completely carrier-to-carrier battle (no surface ship-to-ship combat occurred) in history. In air attacks on the first day, the Shoho was lost, and a Japanese night attack was unsuccessful. On the 8th, in air strikes on both sides, the Shokaku was damaged, but the Americans lost the Lexington, a destroyer and an oiler while the Yorktown was damaged. In aircraft, the US lost 33 of 82 aircraft, the Japanese 43 of 69. Thus in tactical terms this was a Japanese victory, however with the loss of so many aircraft and the Shoho, the Port Moresby invasion force was withdrawn. Japan was checked, and was not able to launch air attacks on Australia from a land base so the Coral Sea can be considered an Allied strategic win.

Arnhem. Battle for the island and evacuation.

Battlefield History TV Team
When I saw the picture on the case of this DVD I had very low expectations of the contents. The main character in the foreground is holding a Sten gun by its magazine and aiming it when it isn’t cocked. This is very wrong firstly because when fired the magazine easily shakes loose and secondly one would need to move the weapon away from the sighting position in order to cock it.
When I came to watch the DVD I got a pleasant surprise, proving the old adage ‘don’t judge a book [or DVD] by its cover’.
I found a beautifully presented, accurate account of the final stages of the battle. This is the fourth film in the Operation market garden series. The strategic plan is simply told as is the tactical execution. There is a good balance of talk to camera by the experts and some veterans. The location of the battle as it is today is used as backdrop to aid the explanations of the developments. To balance the talk the film also includes maps, archive footage and re-enactor footage.
All in all it is good material well presented which kept me interested and entertained for the whole 80 minutes.

Pen & Sword Digital, 2013