The Corts Foundation proudly online presents the final publication of translations from the Senshi Sōsho series, titled: “The Invasion of the South: Army Air Force Operations and the Invasion of Northern and Central Sumatra”.
Between 1966 and 1980, the War History Office of the National Defense College of Japan (now the Center for Military History of the National Institute for Defense Studies) published the 102-volume Senshi Sōsho (War History Series). The currently published book completes the trilogy of English translations of the sections in the Senshi Sōsho series on the Japanese operations against the former Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). The first volume (The Invasion of the Dutch East Indies, 2015) details the army operations, the second volume (The Operations of the Navy in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal, 2018) the navy operations, and this third volume the army air force operations.
The three volumes consisting of 1900 pages provide an unparalleled insight into the Japanese campaign to capture Southeast Asia and the oil fields in the Indonesian archipelago in what was at that time the largest transoceanic landing operation in the military history of the world. It was also the first time in history that air power was employed with devastating effect over such enormous distances, posing complex technical and logistical problems. The task of the air forces in the Southern operation was two-fold: (1) neutralize enemy air forces on the ground and in the air as well as (2) give support to the ground troops’ advance in addition to and over longer ranges than the artillery. The publication will be available in the USA in July 2021 by The University Press of Chicago and through Leiden University Press worldwide through their webshop.
This publication can be obtained by:
The Leiden University Scholarly Publications
[Download PDF >>] [Bestel een exemplaar >>][University of Chicago >>]
The publication has been reviewed by Stone&Stone in California (USA) and can be read here >>>
Prior publication of volume 3 and volume 26 of the Senshi Sōsho series has been done by The Corts Foundation in 2015 (Read more >>) and 2018 (Read more >>).
