A detailed re-examination of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Day of Infamy that saw the USA enter World War II.In this the first comprehensive treatment of Pearl Harbor since the early 1990s. respected Pacific War naval historian Mark E. Stille traces the road to war and the Japanese attack itself. He examines the role of the man behind the operation, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the plan. The American preparations ...

A detailed and comprehensive study of the carrier formations of the Pacific War, including their origins, development and key battles from the Coral Sea, through Midway and Guadalcanal to the battle of the Philippine Sea.The defining feature of the Pacific Theatre of World War II was the clash of carriers that ultimately decided the fate of nations. The names of these battles have become legendary as some of the most epic encounters in the history of naval warfare....

A detailed re-examination of Midway, one of the most significant battles in the Pacific Theater of World War II.In April 1942, the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy was at the zenith of its power. It had struck a severe blow against the US Navy at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, before spearheading the Japanese advance through Southeast Asia and rampaging across the South Pacific. Only a few months later, in June 1942, the US Navy managed to inflict a dec...

A fascinating re-examination of the battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval encounter in history and probably the most decisive naval battle of the entire Pacific War, and one that saw the Imperial Japanese Navy eliminated as an effective fighting force and forced to resort to suicide tactics.Leyte was a huge and complex action, actually consisting of four major battles, each of which are broken down in detail in this book, using original sources. The plans of both...

Launching Osprey's new Fleet series, this is a spectacularly illustrated, concise and comprehensive account of the Imperial Japanese Navy's striking force at the height of its power.The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) entered the Pacific War as one of the most formidable navies in the world, and its combat power was concentrated into one force, the Combined Fleet. In the months that followed Pearl Harbor it enjoyed an unrivaled string of victories, shattering American...

A detailed account of the first check of Japanese naval expansion in the Pacific.The Battle of the Coral Sea is unique in the annals of naval history. It is the first battle in which enemy fleets never came within sight of one another. Instead, aircraft launched from carrier decks were sent out to attack the enemy with bombs and torpedoes.In May of 1942, the Japanese fleet moved on Port Moresby, the last Allied base between Australia and Japan. Forced to re...

The first in a series of illustrated books exploring the longest and best-known naval campaign of World War II, focusing on the struggle between Allied naval and air forces and Hitler's U-boats.When fighting broke out in September 1939, neither the British Royal Navy nor the German Kriegsmarine were prepared for another war in the North Atlantic. Having defeated the U-boats in World War I, the Royal Navy was confident it would succeed again. This was quickly shown ...

The Imperial Japanese Navy was a pioneer in naval aviation, having commissioned the world's first built-from-the-keel-up carrier, the Hosho.Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, it experimented with its carriers, perfecting their design and construction. As a result, by the time Japan entered World War II and attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor in 1941, it possessed a fantastically effective naval aviation force.This book covers the design, development and...

The Imperial Japanese Navy of World War II surpassed the Allied and Axis fleets in innovation and technology.This illustrated guide covers the 12 Japanese battleships that saw service between 1941 and 1945, including the mighty Yamato. Each class is considered in light of its design and construction, its armament and wartime modifications. Mark Stille uses primary sources and dramatic photographs to tell the story of these mighty battleships at war, including their...

Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku was the defining Japanese naval commander of World War II.Yamamoto's career in the Imperial Japanese Navy started in the early years of the 20th century and he saw service in the Russo–Japanese War, being wounded in the battle of Tsushima in 1904. He went on to study at Harvard University and serve as a naval attaché in the inter-war years, an experience that was to give him a unique insight into the American psyche. Despite the success of ...

The Imperial Japanese Navy went to war with 17 light cruisers and another three cruiser-sized training ships.Of these, most were 5,500-ton ships designed to act as destroyer squadron flagships. This made them much different in capabilities and mission from their American counterparts. During the war, the Japanese built another five light cruisers, all but one of which maintained the design premise of being able to serve as destroyer squadron flagships. During the w...

Designed with little more than a passing nod to the international naval treaties of the inter-war period, the Imperial Japanese Navy's heavy cruisers were fast and heavily armed.Like the other vessels of the Japanese Navy, the heavy cruisers were technologically superior to and far more innovative than their Allied rivals, whom they met in many of the major Pacific Theatre battles, including Midway and Leyte Gulf.Mark Stille continues his study of the IJN o...