Another publication where the title aptly describes the purpose and content of the book. The author has produced several titles within this series, although this is the only one I have read and reviewed to date. The essence of this book is the collection of photographs, many of which are from U.S. Marine Corps or U.S. Army sources. As such, as is implied in the title of this book, most of them I have not seen before in print.

Armoured warfare in the Far East during the Second World War can be overlooked, as it is overshadowed by the tank battle fought in the U.S.S.R. and North-West Europe. The role of the tank proved to be important throughout the campaigns in this theatre. The outbreak of war between China and Japan in 1937 is this covered in the first chapters in the book. Each of the twelve chapters commencing with a short, written precis, before moving onto the photographs relevant to that chapter. Chapters Three, Four and Five cover the little known conflict between Japan and the Soviet Union, in which armoured warfare was a significant factor in the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army by 31 August 1939. This section contains several interesting photographs, and good explanatory content.

Chapter Six covers the Japanese invasion of Malaya and Singapore, but in my view, this book underplays the role of the Japanese armour in the series of defeats suffered by the British, British-Indian and Australian forces in Malaya. Chapters Seven and Eight cover the U.S. and Australian campaigns in the Pacific islands, and naturally, as many of the photographs are sourced from the U.S., there are several interesting ones used in these chapters. Chapters Nine and Ten cover the British led campaign in South-East Asia (Burma and India). Here again, in my view, the role of the armoured units in this campaign is understated. In addition, some of the photographs in this section do not appear directly relevant to the subject of armoured warfare. Chapter Eleven details the final Soviet/Japanese fighting, and Chapter Twelve is a summary of Japanese armoured vehicles, weapons and outcomes.

The author has written over twenty book, mainly about armoured warfare, and is clearly very knowledgeable on this subject. The photographs are of good quality, and the captions informative. The introductory sections for each chapter are well written, but only provide a summary of the events relevant to that chapter.

In conclusion, I found this book very useful and informative, and it is a welcome addition to my library. For me, the unique selling point of this book is the coverage of the Japan/China and Japan/Soviet conflicts, and the photographs of that period. On that basis, I recommend this book to any student of the Second World War, and armoured warfare in particular. ( )