Francis Pike is a renowned historian, journalist, and author specializing in Asian economics, politics, and history. A Cambridge-educated scholar, he has spent over 20 years living and working in Japan, China, and India, providing him with a deep understanding of the region. His acclaimed works, Hirohito’s War: The Pacific War, 1941-1945 and Empires at War: A Short History of Modern Asia Since World War II, offer compelling insights into military and geopolitical history. Beyond his writing, Pike has served as an economic and geopolitical adviser to financial institutions and governments. Currently in town to speak at the NATO War College, we are honored to host him for two special lectures during his visit.
Join us on Tuesday, March 25th, at 6 p.m. as Francis Pike presents Victory at Midway: More luck than judgement. By the end of the Pacific War, the US Navy had become an extraordinarily capable military machine. But this was not the case at the beginning of the war. Japan had better aircraft carriers, better trained technicians, better aircraft, better torpedoes, better admirals and better pilots. At Midway Japan also had more fleet carriers than the United States. So how did the US carriers defeat the Japanese at Midway? Although the US Navy had a significant advantage because of intel gained from codebreaking, nevertheless the US Navy’s spectacular victory owed a great deal to extraordinary strokes of luck. Francis Pike will explain how the main beneficiary of this luck was the squadron of Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers that decided the outcome of Midway.
Copies of Hirohito’s War: The Pacific War, 1941-1945 will be available for purchase in the Museum Store! Francis Pike will be signing books before and after the lecture.
Members enjoy free admission and an exclusive meet-and-greet with the author starting at 5 p.m. A bar and light snacks will be available. Don’t miss this fascinating discussion on a pivotal yet often forgotten aspect of World War II history!
