Battle at the Blackett Strait - Pacific War #68 DOCUMENTARY

[@Based_n_Boredpilled]

Already at 68 and I imagine this series is near the half way point. This is one amazing project, thanks much for it!

[@lordofbats3601]

Yeah man this has been great so far, so much detail

[@alexoolau]

You can predict how long this series will be = 4 years.

[@mathieusimoneau3358]

I am a little sadden to the fact this wonderful series is wearing down most viewers. The average views are around 100k now down from the 400k at the start. it makes me wonder if we will ever see a WW2 Europe 39-45 series with the same format.

[@extrahistory8956]

@@mathieusimoneau3358 Probably has to do with the fact that they are currently covering obscure battles. Most World War 2 documentaries kinda skip the battles of 1943, since progress was very slow in the Pacific, as well as in the China-India-Burma fronts throughout most of the year. Aside from Tarawa, the documentaries do a poor job at covering the battles for New Georgia and New Guinea. Even in 1944, only the battles taking place in the Central Pacific get the attention, while the battles for control of western New Guinea are largely ignored as well. This is why I like this series so much, since it covers gaps in my knowledge of the war in the Pacific, China and Burma.

[@xe2594]

@@extrahistory8956 I think it can just tire peoples interest out. Variety is good or shorter series it seems for the numbers. A shame because having this sort of depth is so crucial.

[@erikvanderheeg5729]

Best day of the week: A new installment of "The Paific War" from Kings and Generals!

[@MicaiahBaron]

Am I the only one that would watch this whole series in s single video? :P

[@KingsandGenerals]

I don't think there will be a single video :D We will probably combine various campaigns into long videos. But the whole thing? No :-)

[@MicaiahBaron]

@@KingsandGenerals Awe man; that would have been funny (and murder on the algorithm, but really funny).

[@TheStryder400]

Great series - I'm following it religiously every week

[@nooneatall8072]

same here.

[@FinnishDragon]

According to the Nihon Kaigun website regarding the destroyer Murasame both Captain Masao Tachibana and Lt. Commander Tanegashima survived that engagement and later reached the Japanese lines. Lt. Commander Uesugi, who was the captain of Minegumo perished. One should note that the Japanese Navy lost in that battle 174 killed men which is roughly equal to the crew of one destroyer which means that the other half their crewmen were able to save themselves.

[@aegystierone8505]

Really satisfying to see the US Navy and war industries finally catching up with tactics and improved weaponry, finally turning the tables to outmatch the Japanese.

[@GeorgeEstregan828]

But they never outcrazy the japanese

[@djeto2525]

The US was adapting to Japanese warfare tactics and was taking advantage of weaknesses, a classic Sun Tzu principle.

[@projectunknown5159]

@@GeorgeEstregan828 Actually, they do, especially for the marines. Though for the most of them, if they are going to hell for killing almost every Japanese on the island, which happened on every island, then so be it.

[@eggtarts286]

​@@projectunknown5159 by comparison, the Japanese set a goal for themselves to die for every island, which they accomplished. ...not that it was a good thing for them.

[@jakedode]

​@@projectunknown5159 eliminating evil is not crazy

[@jaythompson5102]

Li Xiannian appears to have had a pretty legendary career. He was president of the PRC in the 80s which is crazy to think nearly 40 years later he was still a major player in world events.

[@MARKINAU8]

He's a very good military leader and better political leader than most

[@ThealmightyMatt]

Thank you for making sure to cover sino-japenese theatre, especially given the amazing amount of detail provided. As you said, this is often a forgotten theatre of war, and yet so important. Keep up the tremendous work!

[@han-eihan2145]

Yes, whole world forgot the Chinese theater. Besides that, the author made up a good fake stories one after another.

[@Ccdddttt]

These are so good!

[@Roberto-tu5re]

Great series and so informative and yet entertaining. I saved a few episodes up so to watch them in hospital. Even took my mind off my operation and the pain ............... well almost.

[@benjaminwilliams9673]

Just found this channel and now I’m hooked!

[@UnNuclear]

F6F Hellcats and F4U Corsairs joining the fray is a huge deal. The Corsair and the Hellcat were hands down the best fighters in the Pacific theater and it isn't even close. Japan had lost a lot of good pilots by this point, while the US had spent considerable resource to making sure their pilots came home, even if their planes didn't. These veteran pilots would be key in training the next batch of pilots and more than just doctrine, they had experience that could be taught. At the start of the war, the IJN had a force of elite airmen, but were _highly_ selective in choosing new pilots, so replenishing their numbers was difficult. It was very difficult to graduate and get your wings, and when you did, you were expected to fly until you died. There was no rotation, no going home, and no breaks. That meant all those experienced pilots died without being able to help the next class of pilots. New hardware + veteran pilots + better trained pilots = Japanese air superiority was essentially at an end.

[@n1k2jfan96]

The IJN did eventually counter with the Kawanishi N1K2-J "Shiden-Kai" (紫電改), one of the best dogfighting aircraft produced by either side. Along with high speed, the Shiden-Kai offered pilots an agile aircraft with a roll rate of 82°/sec at 386 km/h (240 mph) - which means it could out-roll the Hellcat - backing four powerful 20 mm cannons in the wings. Unfortunately for the Japanese, only 406 N1K2s ever entered service after the aircraft was rushed into production in late 1944 - literally too little too late to make any meaningful difference in the outcome of the war.

[@UnNuclear]

@@n1k2jfan96 The Hellcat still dominated the matchup up 5:1 (_Genda's Blade_ by Henry Saikaida) against the Shinden-Kai (or George). While it could out-roll the Hellcat, it couldn't out-turn it. Honda Minoru, a Japanese ace pilot who flew the Shiniden-Kai late in the war, complained about the 20mm armaments, saying that the muzzle velocity was low and it dropped off, "like a stream of piss." On paper, the Shinden-Kai should've been a good matchup for the Hellcat, but due to the rushed production and dwindling supply of good pilots, it didn't pose much more of a threat than any of the other IJN aircraft.

[@n1k2jfan96]

@@UnNuclear I own a copy of Genda's Blade and consider it one of the best researched books on military aviation, in addition to being the definitive book on the combat history of the (second) 343 Kokutai and the Shiden-Kai. I have also seen the Honda Minoru interview in which he made that amusing comment about the 20 mm armaments - quite a character I must say. Not all Shiden-Kai pilots shared Honda's disdain for the 20 mm cannon though. Ens Akio Matsuba, another Japanese ace pilot under Lt Takashi Oshibuchi, Squadron 701, claimed a Hellcat of VBF-17 with one burst at the start of the 19 March combat, then another while covering the lead aircraft and his wingman. After returning safely to Matsuyama Airfield with only minor injuries, he reported directly to Capt Genda, advising, in his opinion, that the power of the 20 mm cannon was "enormous". "If our range is right," Matsuba told Genda, "...the enemy can be knocked out with one burst!"

[@grimkupid8478]

A great series covering many topics in this theater I was never made aware of. Thanks for this

[@chrisnizer5702]

Excellent documentary, very high quality production. Thanks for another great video on the Pacific campaign, Semper Fidelis!

[@br549fried4]

Excellent episode.

[@cornishdiaspora918]

Superb as always, any distances mentioned are very helpful for visualizing the events.

[@Daniel_McDonald]

Thanks for sharing this interesting piece of World War II history with us. It's amazing to learn about the strategic military operations and how different countries were fighting for power during that time. I appreciate that you offer exclusive videos through memberships and Patreon as it helps to support your channel and keep history alive for all of us to learn from. Keep up the great work and can't wait to watch more of your content!

[@alexoolau]

You can predict how long this series will be = 4 years.

[@fuyu5979]

Awesome upload with those graphics n well researched information. Many technical strategies was involved during this operation. Superior technical support; leadership n some luck seems to have been involved. Kudos for vid. Anticipating ur next one. Peace

[@firesuppressionequipment]

This series is a winner when the 4 years are over I'd love to see the same format for other wars or just other theaters of ww2 or both!

[@shawncarroll5255]

When you continue the Burma campaign, please track the arrival of allied hardware, especially the Lee and Grant. From what I understand they were surprisingly useful for a tank severely obsolete in Europe. I am only aware of them deployed in Burma in 1944, as I haven't really studied that campaign. The artillery may become more interesting, depending on who has what. Hand carrying all your ammo over jungle trails I would suspect makes ammo supply the limiting factor, not gun tubes. Both sides in Burma have railroads for supply, so there can be actual artillery duals!

[@timothywilliams4806]

Thanks!

[@tg1982]

What an amazing series! Thank you K&G

[@tomriley5790]

Radar really did give the US Navy a huge advantage, without it the Japanese training on night combat would probably have seen teh USN at a large disadvantage.

[@beachboy0505]

Excellent video 📹 Brilliant coordination ambush

[@glennhalila8279]

There's a Good KZbin video that interviews Navy Pilots from the USS Enterprise and there's a Pilot in particular who was invited to the Guadalcanal Commander in charge. He explained how they had to bomb the Japanese transport Vessels that were shuffling troops into Guadalcanal. It's a very good interview.

[@ZVella]

Would you ever consider doing a Korean War series in this sort of extended format? Thanks

[@KingsandGenerals]

Yep, one of the options!

[@royouyong2131]

Another 4 months to Operation Cartwheel... Can't wait!

[@Geckobane]

In depth and interesting, things we would have had to buy a rare book or go to college to learn about like this. Thank you.

[@timfirth977]

Brilliant series! Keep them coming.

[@bismarck7758]

Again, Thank you so much for this detailed story of the Pacific.

[@treverblanco]

Thank you.

[@denniscleary7580]

A video posted by kings and generals! Now it is a good day.👍

[@robbabcock_]

Fantastic video series! 🇺🇸⚔🇯🇵

[@thehistorybox1163]

Cheers 🎉

[@irishpsalteri]

Really helpful to see this detail.

[@-RONNIE]

Thanks for the video

[@Jorge-xq7us]

Hola. Tu trabajó muestra la situación del pacifico y el proceso de la derrota de Japón

[@carrabellefl]

You never see listed the Troop Carrier units and their complement of aircraft. This along with the lack of listing of Navy logistic ships goes a long way in explaining the lack of knowledge of how logistics factors in a war of attrition. A true understanding of how Japan lost the war is the fact that Japan could not supply the expanded pie they attempted to swallow.

[@nickgraff9413]

To further expand on the Japanese logistical situation, once they could no longer use larger transports to supply their overseas bases and had to resort to transport via warship, they made a bad situation even worse since their naval ships consumed far more oil than their transports, which meant less and less reaching the forward operating areas. This means that those units on the periphery of their seized possessions struggled to remain combat effective units. And to compound that, the dedicated logistical supply chains are being frayed more and more every month as more and more shipping is sunk through either submarine, air, or surface attack. Civilian merchantmen are being pressed into military service, which means less could be used to import resources from China and Southeast Asia for the civilian populace, so they are going to start going hungry and running low on essentials. Imperial Japan's inability to protect their transports, as well as the lack of raw materials needed to replace their losses, meant that there was no way for them to ever win a war of attrition at sea. Japan could honestly not have picked a worse enemy to fight than the United States. They could afford to humiliate the European nations, but not a nation with massive reserves of natural resources, and one that could afford to prosecute a multiple front world war, as well as one that could keep its manufacturing base completely undamaged and untouched. The same couldn't be said for Japan.

[@minoru-kk]

K&G is doing the best to detail of the battlefield and probably cannot explain both sides' supply chains. They're important but this series would take more 5 years to explain

[@chrisnizer]

The Japanese weren't counting on a long protracted war of attrition. They were well aware of the Alliies "Europe first" strategy and given the circumstances felt that they might not ever get a better opportunity. They would strike hard and fast, gain as much territory and resources as possible. The Allies would then sue for peace rather than sacrifice the lives and material necessary to retake all those far flung islands thousands of miles away, especially when Europe was the first priority. Admiral Yamamoto even said "I will run wild for 12 months, after that I have no expectations for success." He had no illusions about their industrial capacity and knew it would be impossible to provide material for a long war of attrition.

[@Matthew10950]

Smoke on the water?? Da da daaaaaa Da Da, Dada!

[@n1k2jfan96]

Captain Arleigh "31-knot" Burke, commander of the destroyer squadron, was on the bridge of his flagship, USS Waller, looking out for the Japanese destroyers Murasame and Minegumo. When his radar operator picked up a ship close to shore, Burke hesitated to fire at first. Sure enough, the contact had been one of the Japanese ships, and Burke’s hesitation allowed them to get within weapons range. Thankfully the ensuing battle resulted in the sinking of both enemy destroyers. Burke, frustrated with himself, asked one of the Ensigns standing watch what the difference was between a good officer and a poor one. After listening to the young man’s response, Burke offered his own: “The difference between a good officer and a poor one,” he said, “is about ten seconds.”

[@boldbearings]

Awesome. I'd like to see your take on the Fallout series.

[@glenngroves2315]

Very informative

[@blockmasterscott]

Just think, the Pacific War was not even a year and a half old yet, and the Essex carriers were just starting to come into service.

[@Theearthtraveler]

Great video!!

[@briancooper2112]

Great channel!!

[@minoru-kk]

Brilliant as always! From this time on Allies had clearly surpassed JPs in all of quantity, proficiency and tech. K&G and viewers will probably enjoy more spectacles ahead, and I would watch my ancestors killed and their country burnt

[@extrahistory8956]

Yet, the Japanese are going to remain determined to the bitter end, and for the meantime, the Allies are going to be forced to move at a crawl's pace. It wouldn't be until 1944 that the Allies would get enough resources to truly breach the Japanese outer defenses and strike the heart of the empire.

[@martinlye2748]

Excellent.

[@davidryan9008]

Great content

[@AmeerHamza-mz4nr]

Very satisfying but you can cover the war of Spanish succession me and my sister really like that time period and which for some is boring but is very knowledge full for as

[@richardchisholm2073]

I have been enjoying this documentary series very much. It is much better than a 60 minute video trip through the S. Pacific/China Sea war. One comment though, it would be nice if in addition to KM and KMPH you had Miles and MPH in your notes for those of us stuck between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

[@ronjohnson6916]

More excellent stuff.

[@coconutperson1985]

You will never see this, but I recommend (weirdly) to do a series on the main events of the warriors series. Warriors as in Erin hunter’s cats. The books have good battle scenes.

[@KingsandGenerals]

I will take a look

[@zainmudassir2964]

Hope you talk about Burma soon.

[@TheIronChancellor]

Can you please make a series about Hannibal like 1 video a week

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Firing accurately with efficiency? now that's gunnery.

[@nolanlewis538]

I would really like to see a documentary on the chinese civil war between communists and the nationalists in the future.

[@Martijn_Steinpatz]

General consensus: "After Guadalcanal the Japanese offensive capability was depleted." Imperial Japanese 11th Army: "Excuse me?"

[@nanderwinthant1655]

The exam is the day after tomorrow but F*ck it i'm watching this🤣.

[@lkzhang820]

3:21 Decades latter，between 1983 and 1988 this person was the president of mainland China.

[@brokenbridge6316]

Yep it was in 1943 that the allies were finally starting to turn the tide against the Axis.

[@ramal5708]

This is the era where the USN surface tactics and ability was getting better, they allowed the destroyers and destroyer squadron to have more freedom in maneuvering to engage enemy surface force before the friendly main force of bigger ships would fire the first shots and basically scout the enemy at night, fire torpedoes at the enemy and then run away, with the information of the enemy dispositions, location, bearing, lure the enemy fire at them and probably with the weaken enemy Force, the cruisers and battleships would open fire at the enemy and then finish them off. This USN tactic was evident during the Surigao Strait engagement where USN PT boats and destroyers carried out independent torpedo attack and weaken the enemy force, probably lure the enemy's fire as well, then the gunline of cruisers and battleships would finish the surviving enemy ships off.

[@markusskram4181]

Love The vid

[@kylelee9474]

[@calebjohnson9406]

I enjoy this channel a lot I just don't have the attention span to watch more than a couple a week

[@RVideos3]

🔥🔥🔥

[@captaincharlemagne]

I know this is off topic but does anyone know if kings and generals ever do a video on the history of the French Musketeers such their origins and what eventually lead to their being Disbanded

[@rwarren58]

Weren’t their some Japanese aces left? The last carrier battle hasn’t been fought either. Some air action please. Thank you!

[@extrahistory8956]

If air action you want, then air action you'll get during the first weeks of April. The Japanese _Operation I-Go_ will be their final big aerial offensive of the entire war. Later on, the bombings of Rabaul, Truk and Saipan are going to see plenty of aerial action too, but those will have to wait until early next year.

[@TheQuickchair]

Would you be able to cover D-day? Unless you already did.

[@jasonsacchi]

In loving memory of Margaret Sacchi. (1930-2023)

[@oscarf5433]

Wait have you really spent 68 videos exclusively telling us about the Pacific War? It's gonna be nearly imposible for me to track every video from the start.

[@KingsandGenerals]

+7 prelude episodes

[@arkitsingh97]

I want to support you on Patreon ,however am unable to do so because the available payment methods are not functional in my region , is there any other way to watch your members only videos?

[@KingsandGenerals]

Thanks for considering it! You can do it via KZbin membership - join button under the video

[@markgatz6127]

Why did they send Marines in to take control of the air strips?

[@Mr.BlueOfficial]

Are you doing the American Revolution soon?

[@limogesfarmer6326]

Thank You!!!

[@baronred919]

Picture of Chen YI seems not correct, #3:06

[@markgatz6127]

That’s zero zero hours , not O O hours, btw.

[@chadrowe8452]

If you just woke from a coma and heard the add 5 dollar cup of coffee you would die from a condition called "future shock"

[@crimsonking70]

again, a minor quibble with your maps and areas of control. Why does Choiseul island appear blue or nominally Allied-controlled on your maps? Granted, there were no permanent Japanese bases on Choiseul, their numbers in late 1943 would be roughly 4,000 - 5,000 in transit from the Lower Solomons via barge stations to Bouganville. But still, definitely within Japanese area of influence (red) on the maps. The same is true in the SW Dutch New Guinea sector - the Tanimbar Islands and Aru Islands should be shown in the Japanese-controlled areas.

[@onthatrockhewillbuildhisch1510]

BTW..... The Tanimbar and Aru Islands were captured by the Japanese from Dutch and Australian forces in July of 1942

[@crimsonking70]

@@onthatrockhewillbuildhisch1510 yes, exactly.

[@bigsarge2085]

👍👍

[@Kunati001]

Let me say first I'm a big fan of the channel and I've seen most of the videos. This series on the Pacific War started out well but the last 30 or so videos have been real slog, too slow and detailed. I guess some may like it this way but I'm giving up on this series, and will try to find something that captures the pacific war in less than 50 or so hours..

[@tonyharms7430]

Fixed

[@antoniosimonetti8263]

The Japanese forgot how to fight a war in a couple of months

[@johnsteiner3417]

Claiming you can only release two or three videos a week before the algorithm suppresses your reach isn't true. I watch channels that release two or three videos a day.

[@KingsandGenerals]

You know about every KZbin niche? Impressive

[@chickenfist1554]

Love the channel and content but the over pronunciation in the commentary makes it hard to listen to

[@eragonfreedman9228]

unit 731

[@davidecasarin4953]

in the last map the red region looks like a pig

[@zheyiwei]

f6f yyds

[@TheMormonPower]

I don't really care for videos about the Chinese / Japanese conflict in China. It's hard to relate to. It's just not very interesting 🥱

[@KingsandGenerals]

Well, what can I say. Be better, I guess?

[@extrahistory8956]

I think they are a fascinating window into battles that are usually ignored in conventional narratives of the Second World War.

[@TheMormonPower]

@@extrahistory8956 Exactly, it's boring, that's why it's not covered usually. It takes place in geography I have no idea about. Honestly, how can you relate to a map that doesn't have one city on it you ever heard of before. 🥱

[@extrahistory8956]

@@TheMormonPower Um, after the whole Covid-19 pandemic, I'm surprised that you haven't heard of Wuhan being mentioned once. It will be around Wuhan in the Hubei province where most of the battles of the Sino-Japanese War are going to be fought, alongside the iconic Yangtze (Yellow) River.

[@ianb9028]

@@TheMormonPower you can always try learning something new.

[@nickmcgookin247]

We saw the vedios its not you tube. We just dont like ww2 vedios. There so much on that war

[@extrahistory8956]

But this is special. This covers the Pacific War with such detail it, it breaks new grounds, covering obscure battles that are rarely discussed elsewhere. This is one such battle. It also provides exquisite detail on the battles of the Second Sino-Japanese War like no other series has ever done.

[@han-eihan2145]

You made up a good fake Chinese side war stories. First, the communist rarely fought against Japanese regular army. 2nd, Wang hai-Shan was never captured by Japanese since the communist rarely fought against Japanese regular army. Also, there was no general ever captured by Japan, not like the western armies, in Chinese theater. Be careful, lots of Chinese can read English.

[@stevelebreton3489]

Thanks for the video 👍

[@davidshaon]

Great video