Did you miss this recent historically-accurate World War 2 movie?

In this post, I wanted to alert you to some books that I’ve been reading, and post a couple of videos that review a recent movie that fits in with those books. I’m trying to encourage everyone to ween themselves off of fiction, self-help, sports and modern movies. And in order to get people to do that, I have to find something better.

So, in World War 2, the Allies (UK, USA and USSR) were fighting in two main areas of the globe: Europe and the Pacific Ocean. Previously, I had ignored the Pacific, because island fighting didn’t seem to me to be as interesting as fighting in Europe. It just seemed too “close quarters” for any real tactics or strategy. But I had stupidly neglected the naval battles, which are full of tactics and strategy. So, I’ve been reading books about American aircraft used in the Pacific theater, the US submarine forces, as well as the major battles of our surface fleets.

Here are some of the aircraft books:

Here are some of the submarine books:

And a few surface ship books:

These are all available as audio books.

I wanted to specifically highlight the book on the Battle of Midway, by Craig L. Symonds. There was a recent movie made about the battle, and it had surprisingly few historical mistakes. This 2-part video review was excellent.

Part 1:

Part 2:

The movie is from 2019, and you can still stream it, or get the DVD. It will help you to have a broad overview of the battle, and then when you read the book, it makes sense. If you have never seen a war movie, this is an excellent one to start with. It really sticks to the historical facts. It is superior to the previous 1976 Midway movie with Charleton Heston and Henry Fonda.

What makes this particular battle interesting is that the American Navy was actually outnumbered and outgunned by the superior Japanese Navy at that time. They had more ships, better planes, and better trained airmen and sailors. But we had a secret weapon – you’ll have to watch the movie to find out what it was. Midway was the turning point of the Pacific War. It’s a good reminder why we always need to keep our “blue water” naval force in the trim. I wish we spent more on our armed forces than we do on all these spending programs to transfer wealth from taxpayers to other people – subsidies and welfare. At least when we spend money on the armed forces, it’s Constitutional, and we get something useful for it.

We really should not know the names of famous actors, artists, musicians, athletes, etc. These people are pretty and talented, sure. But they never did anything to fight against evils like Marxism and Japanese Imperialism. Christianity is a faith that pits good against evil, so naturally, I am very interested in people who battle against evil. The American armed forces have an excellent record of battling against evil, often at great personal cost. Something that the current generation of entertainers cannot match.

5 thoughts on “Did you miss this recent historically-accurate World War 2 movie?”

Perhaps you should look closer at the strategic use of island hopping by the allies and the strategy of Japan in their effort to dominate the western pacific and the tactical blunders on both sides with the attack on Pearl Harbor, Midway and the Marianas island group.

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I have read and watched a lot about WW II—one of the defining moments in history. It is always nice to see suggestions from someone else about what to read or watch. Thank you.

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Hi, it was a very well done movie. And highlighted one of the least celebrated U.S. heroes in WW2 (Lt. Dick Best), who single-handedly sank the flagship Akagi (his two wingmen missed) and was likely in on a second flattop sinking later in the day. 2 hits on different flattops in one day. Lung damage put him on the beach for the rest of the war.
As to the Americans being outnumbered, not quite true. It was pretty even in terms of planes and carriers (4 for Japan, 3 for the U.S. plus the island of Midway which was loaded with planes).
The Japanese fondness for overly intricate battle plans proved their undoing. If the main battle fleet had been in front rather than hundreds of miles behind, the U.S. aircrews would have likely wasted their attacks on battlewagons and cruisers. Putting fragile carriers out in front showed the recklessness of the Japanese.
Japanese damage control was also far inferior to that of the U.S. navy. Obvious evidence is that all four carriers were wrecks almost instantly while the Yorktown survived two separate torpedo and bomb attacks only to be sunk by a sub the next day.
The best book on Midway is likely Shattered Sword, which destroys many of the “Miracle of Midway) myths.
The Americans won because they had flawless intelligence which gave them the element of surprise and even odds. Nimitz was not reckless. He saw a chance to bushwhack the Japanese and he took it. the U.S. navy never played defence again during the Pacific war.

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Wintery Knight says:

06/08/2022 at 12:53 PM

I like Shattered Sword, but the new later book by Craig Symonds is more readable. I didn’t like all the Japanese words in Shattered Sword.

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1. Paul says:
  
  06/09/2022 at 10:33 AM
  
  Thanks. I will pick it up!
  
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