Books by Mark (Author) Stille

Details the history, weapons and tactics of the Japanese destroyers that was built before the war. This book includes the famous Fubuki class called Special Type by the Japanese, which were, when completed in the late 1920's, the most powerful class of destroyers in the world.

During the Pacific War the most successful component of the Imperial Japanese Fleet was its destroyer force. These ships were larger and, in most cases, better-equipped than their Allied counterparts. This volume details the history, weapons and tactics of the Japanese destroyers built just before and throughout the war.

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 book details the Japanese ships which fought in the Pacific and examines the principles on which they were designed, and how they were armed.

This book will cover the fierce night naval battles fought after Guadalcanal between the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during late 1943 as the Allies advanced slowly up the Solomons Islands toward the major Japanese naval base at Rabaul. During this period, several vicious actions were fought around the American beachheads on the islands of New Georgia, Kolombangara and Vella Lavella in the central Solomons. These battles featured the most modern destroyers of both navies. Throughout most of 1942, the Imperial Navy had held a marked edge in night-fighting during the six-month long struggle for Guadalcanal. A key ingredient of these Japanese successes was their destroyer force which combined superior training and tactics with the most capable torpedo in the world, known to the Allies as the "Long Lance". Even into 1943, at the battles of Kula Gulf and Kolombangara, mixed Allied light cruiser/destroyer forces were roughly handled by Japanese destroyers. After these battles, the Americans decided to stop chasing Japanese destroyers with cruisers so the remainder of the battles in 1943 (with one exception) were classic destroyer duels. The Americans still enjoyed the technical edge provided to them by radar, and now added new, more aggressive tactics. After four more destroyer duels during the second half of 1943, the final result was the defeat of the Imperial Navy''s finely trained destroyer force and the demonstration that the Japanese were unable to stop the Allies'' advance.

The battle for Guadalcanal that lasted from August 1942 to February 1943 was the first major American counter offensive against the Japanese in the Pacific. This title details the fortunes experienced over the intense course of naval battles around the island throughout the second half of 1942 that did so much to turn the tide in the Pacific.

Despite myth, the Japanese carrier force was not destroyed at Midway but survived to still prove a threat in the Pacific Theater. Nowhere was this clearer than in the battle of Santa Cruz of October 1942. The Japanese were able to gain a tactical victory at Santa Cruz. This book deals with this topic.

"Tora! Tora! Tora!: Pearl Harbor 1941".

"Imperial Japanese Navy Light Cruisers 1941-45".

Offers an insight into the Standard-type classes of US battleships. This book provides an investigation into the histories of each of the warships in the Standard-type battleship classes, the first three of which, the Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Mexico, formed the US Navy's main force in the inter-war period.

In less than one day, the might of the Imperial Japanese Navy was destroyed and four of her great aircraft carriers sank burning into the dark depths of the Pacific. Utilizing the research and combat maps, this book tells the dramatic story of the Japanese assault on Midway Island and the American ambush that changed the face of the Pacific war.

In 1916, in the seas near Jutland, two fleets of armoured dreadnoughts met in open battle. This book tells the story of the British and German battleships of these two great fleets - from their development as the first generation of fully- armoured warships - to their combat experiences.

"Italian Battleships of World War II".