Why the Admiralty held accounts of Pacific battles

British involvement in the Pacific included submarines operating from Australia and personnel serving in forces beyond the main Royal Navy battle fleet. Britain also had major commitments in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, reflecting the Allied allocation of theaters. Australian crews, Admiralty-supplied personnel, and British intelligence helped information about Pacific actions reach London. That produced British accounts of battles including Guadalcanal, Java Sea, Coral Sea, Midway, and Leyte Gulf. Their assessments of command decisions could use restrained language, with criticism expressed through phrases such as an unwise maneuver or an unsound proposition.