Quotes from Ian W. Toll

The subhumans of 1941 had mutated into the superhumans of 1942.

The result, in the words of a radio intelligence officer, "was confusion superimposed upon disaster.

Anyone middle-aged or older could remember the repressive censorship regime imposed during the First World War. The "dignity" of President Woodrow Wilson had been held inviolable, and any criticism of the president or his policies, no matter how mild or well-meaning, had been grounds to prosecute or shut down an offending newspaper.

H. L. Mencken, recalling the travesties of 1917–1918, warned his colleagues that it was their duty, in wartime even more than in peace, "to keep a wary eye on the gentlemen who operate this great nation, and only too often slip into the assumption that they own it.

what had once been men." As in the Philippines and Malaya, the initial Japanese airstrikes had come quickly, over a shockingly long range, and were conducted much more skillfully than the Allied airmen had expected.

THE MARINES ENDURED.

That was the sole instance in the entire war to come in which shore batteries turned back an amphibious invasion force.

War, once declared, must be waged offensively, aggressively. The enemy must not be fended off, but smitten down." The enemy must be met and destroyed in a "decisive battle

CBS broadcaster Elmer Davis famously quipped: "There are some patriotic citizens who sincerely hope that America will win the war—but they also hope that Russia will lose it; and there are some who hope that America will win the war, but that England will lose it; and there are some who hope that America will win the war, but that Roosevelt will lose it!

In four months, Nagumo's carriers had traveled more than 50,000 miles, spreading terror and devastation a full third of the way around the earth, from Hawaii in the east to Ceylon in the west. But the mileage was beginning to wear. The ships and crews had been sent on too many missions in too many directions; they had traveled too many miles with too little rest; they had been pushed to the limits of endurance by commanders who were loath to accept that such limits even existed.

forces in Batjan on June 11.61

again and again, throughout the pages of history, a united fleet had hunted down and destroyed the scattered elements of a divided fleet.

than it had ever been before:

Hiroyuki Agawa describes a meeting in which an army officer seated next to the admiral rose to his feet "and began to harangue those assembled at interminable length." Yamamoto stealthily edged the man's chair back several feet. When he had finished speaking and tried to sit down, the officer missed the chair and fell sprawling on the floor. The admiral kept a straight face, looked straight ahead, and continued the meeting as if nothing had happened

TURKEY TROTS TO WATER GG FROM CINCPAC ACTION COM THIRD FLEET INFO COMINCH CTF SEVENTY-SEVEN X WHERE IS RPT WHERE IS TASK FORCE THIRTY FOUR RR THE WORLD WONDERS

A navy's supreme purpose, he declared, must be to range across the oceans, relying upon secure overseas bases if necessary; to hunt and destroy the enemy fleet. "War, once declared, must be waged offensively, aggressively. The enemy must not be fended off, but smitten down.

War Plan Orange seemed to recap the dismal career of the Russian fleet under Admiral Rozhestvensky in 1905, and who could say with confidence that the result would not be the same?

At stations along the way, they debarked to stretch their legs and buy a hot dog or a sandwich, but as they stepped down onto the platforms, an officer told them that any man who was not back aboard when the train left the station "would be considered AWOL and subject to courts-martial.

the Soviet leader had hoped that the U.S. president would issue a formal request for the USSR's participation in the East Asian war, providing a pretense for the Russians to abrogate their neutrality pact with Japan.

Britain would work its influence gently, so as not to chafe the fragile American ego—Churchill informed his war cabinet that the Americans "were not above learning from us, provided that we did not set out to teach them.

Shortly before nine, Edwards returned to the air. In a quavering voice he pleaded with his listeners to believe him: "This is no maneuver. Japanese forces are attacking the island. This is the real McCoy!

Amari did as he was told. At

It's the age of the strong eating the weak.

The truth was that no one, not even Admirals Fletcher or Spruance, knew precisely how the battle was unfolding. It was too big, too spread out; too much was happening at once, and what little data could be pieced together may or may not be reliable. They were all feeling their way through the fog of war.