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 comprehensive overview of the strategy, operations and vessels of the United States Navy from 1941 to 1945.Although slowly building its navy while neutral during the early years of World War II, the US was struck a serious blow when its battleships, the lynchpin of US naval doctrine, were the target of the dramatic attack at Pearl Harbor. In the Pacific Theatre, the US was thereafter locked into a head to head struggle with the impressive Imperial Japanese Navy, ...

Meticulous detail and insightful analysis combine with a gripping chronological narrative to provide the essential guide to the Pacific Theater of World War II.On December 7, 1941, Japanese fighter planes appeared from the clouds above Pearl Harbor and fundamentally changed the course of history; with this one surprise attack the previously isolationist America was irrevocably thrown into World War II.This definitive history explores each of the major battl...

Fully illustrated, this is a history of airpower in the decisive stage of the New Guinea campaign, when the Allies could finally go on the offensive to shatter Japanese forces.In mid-1943, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF) took over responsibility for New Guinea air operations from the Imperial Japanese Navy. In its first large-scale contest against the USAAF, the IJAAF was challenged to defend its bases, defend the sea lanes supporting numerous Japanese...

A highly illustrated examination of the key ships, tactics and operations of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the War in the Pacific in World War II.The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was the third most powerful navy in the world at the start of World War II, and came to dominate the Pacific in the early months of the war. This was a remarkable turnaround for a navy that only began to modernize in 1868, although defeats inflicted on the Russians and Chinese in successiv...

The rival battlecruisers first clashed in January 1915 at Dogger Bank in the North Sea and although the battle was a British tactical victory with neither side losing any of its battlecruisers, the differences in the designs of the British and German ships were already apparent.The two sides responded very differently to this first clash; while the Germans improved their ammunition-handling procedures to lessen the risk of disabling explosions, the British drew the...

The savage naval battles of Guadalcanal, New Guinea and the Solomons were transformative for the US Navy. Fully illustrated, this analyses the fleet's capabilities and combat in this period.The naval battles of 1942–43 around Guadalcanal and in the Solomons were some of the fiercest and most closely contested of the Pacific War. The campaigns included most of the surface actions of the war, as well as two carrier battles, three major amphibious landings, and a subm...

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...

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...

The dramatic conclusion to the Battle of the Atlantic series, highlighting how the Germans lost their edge in the water at the end of the war.In May 1943, Admiral Dönitz's U-boat force suffered a decisive loss in the North Atlantic. Forced to abandon the attacks, he switched the focus of U-boat operations to the central Atlantic, but was met and defeated by US Navy escort carrier groups. In September 1943, Dönitz attempted to resume North Atlantic operations. Howev...

Illustrated throughout, an expert account of the US Pacific Fleet in the crucial six months between Pearl Harbor and its revenge at Midway.Despite the damage inflicted at Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet still had the ability to hit back. In this book, US Navy expert Mark Stille explains and assesses the fleet's response to the apparent disaster, and how its actions led to the decisive victory at Midway.He explains how although unable to mount a large-scale ...

Aircraft carriers were the US Navy's principal weapon against Japan during the Pacific War.Development of the Essex class began in 1939, becoming the largest class of carrier ever to be built. Early in the Pacific War it became renowned for its 'Sunday Punch' of 36 fighter planes, 36 dive bombers, and 18 torpedo planes. Alongside the lighter Independence class, these carriers formed the formidable Fast Carrier Force in the Pacific.Featuring artwork detailin...