This lecture is part of a larger biography of a WWII-era Japanese destroyer named Yukikaze, or Snowy Wind. Yukikaze fought at most of the major battles of the Pacific Theater, including Java Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, and through the Solomon Islands, the Philippine Sea, Leyte, and Okinawa. In 1944, as Japan faced imminent defeat, the Imperial Navy made a series of tactical decisions that have puzzled military historians and strategists. By concentrating on the years 1944 and 1945, this lecture argues that the obligations to history, more than larger strategies, covered Imperial Navy conduct in the final years of WWII.

Brett L. Walker is Regents Professor of History at Montana State University, Bozeman. He is a former Guggenheim Fellow and author of six books, including a forthcoming book from Cambridge University Press. He also possesses U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner captain credentials. He spends his time between Bozeman, Tucson, and the San Juan Islands. To register for this lecture, please click here.