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 (Kidō 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 theaters.
Volume 1 of The Darkest Hour describes the strategic planning and
opening moves of both sides in February-March 1942, including the
Japanese navy projections on the final steps of the first stage of the
Pacific War, and the Royal Navy's hopes to halt the enemy advance
without taking any significant risks. The Japanese offensive in the
Indian Ocean began in March 1942 with the invasion of the Andaman
Islands and Christmas Island. By securing both vital positions, the
Japanese navy planned to establish its advanced bases in the eastern
part of the Bay of Bengal.
In the next step, the invincible Kidō Butai consisting of five aircraft
carriers and their escorts, was 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 Kidō 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 first
volume examines events up to the capture of the Andaman Islands and
Christmas Island in early March 1942, and is extensively illustrated
with photographs and color artworks of the ships, aircraft and men
involved.
