The following are some of the battles of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...

(IJN):

By war

Boshin War (1868–1869)

Naval Battle of Awa The occurred on 28 January 1868 during the Boshin War in Japan, in the area of Awa Bay near Osaka. Involving ships of the Tokugawa shogunate and Satsuma vessels loyal to the imperial court in Kyoto, the battle was the second naval battle in Ja ...

, 28 January 1868. * Naval Battle of Miyako, March 1869. *

Naval Battle of Hakodate The was fought from 4 to 10 May 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate navy, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy. It was one of the last stages of Battle of ...

, May 1869 (Imperial Navy victory over the remnants of the ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamak ...

''s Navy of the

Republic of Ezo The was a short-lived separatist state established in 1869 on the island of Ezo, now Hokkaido, by a part of the former military of the Tokugawa shogunate at the end of the ''Bakumatsu'' period in Japan. It was the first government to attempt t ...

First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895)

Battle of Pungdo The Battle of Pungdo or Feng-tao (Japanese: ) was the first naval battle of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place on 25 July 1894 off Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea, between cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy and components of the Chines ...

(First naval battle of the war) *

Battle of Yalu River (1894) The Battle of the Yalu River (; ja, 黄海海戦, translit=Kōkai-kaisen; ) was the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War, and took place on 17 September 1894, the day after the Japanese victory at the land Battle of Pyongy ...

(Major naval victory over China) *

Battle of Weihaiwei The Battle of Weihaiwei (Japanese: was a battle of the First Sino-Japanese War. It took place between 20 January and 12 February 1895, in Weihai, Shandong Province, China, between the forces of Japan and Qing China. In early January 1895, the ...

(Decisive Japanese victory in Land/Naval battle)

Japanese Occupation of Korea 1895

Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)

Battle of Port Arthur The of 8–9 February 1904 marked the commencement of the Russo-Japanese War. It began with a surprise night attack by a squadron of Japanese destroyers on the neutral Russian fleet anchored at Port Arthur, Manchuria, and continued with an e ...

(February 1904, tactically inconclusive) *

Battle of Chemulpo Bay The Battle of Chemulpo Bay was a naval battle in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), which took place on 9 February 1904, off the coast of present-day Incheon (then called Chemulpo), Korea. Background The opening stage of the Russo-Japanese W ...

(February 1904, Japanese victory over small Russian squadron off present day Inchon) *

Battle of the Yellow Sea The Battle of the Yellow Sea ( ja, 黄海海戦, Kōkai kaisen; russian: Бой в Жёлтом море) was a major naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 A ...

(August 1904, tactically inconclusive, Japanese strategic victory) *

Battle off Ulsan The naval Battle off Ulsan (Japanese: 蔚山沖海戦 ''Urusan'oki kaisen''; Russian: Бой в Корейском проливе, ''Boi v Koreiskom prolive''), also known as the Battle of the Japanese Sea or Battle of the Korean Strait, took pl ...

(August 1904, minor Japanese victory) * Battle of Tsushima (May 1905, major Japanese naval victory over Russia)

World War I (1914–1918)

Battle of Tsingtao The siege of Tsingtao (or Tsingtau) was the attack on the German port of Tsingtao (now Qingdao) in China during World War I by Japan and the United Kingdom. The siege was waged against Imperial Germany between 27 August and 7 November 191 ...

. Naval actions against German interests in the Far-East, in particular the capture of the

Tsingtao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

peninsula. * Few ships diverted to Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea for escort duties cooperating with the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. In the Mediterranean, a fleet consisting of one armoured cruiser, '' Nisshin'', and eight of the Navy's newest destroyers under Admiral Satō Kōzō, was based in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and efficiently protected allied shipping between

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

and ports in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

until the end of the War. * Seizure of the former possessions of Germany in

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

(the Mariana Islands (excluding

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the ce ...

and

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

Interwar (1918–1941)

Shanghai 1932

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
(1937–1945)

Besides support for

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

operations, the Navy operations involved many landing operations by the

Special Naval Landing Force The Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF; ja, 海軍特別陸戦隊, Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai) were naval infantry units of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and were a part of the IJN Land Forces. They saw extensive service in the Second Sino ...

s along the coasts and rivers of the Republic of China,

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

and along the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

and its tributaries. The Navy provided much of the air support for operations in the first few years of the war in central and southern China. *

Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) of the Empire of Japan The also ...

Battle of Beiping-Tianjin A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

Battle of Nanking The Battle of Nanking (or Nanjing) was fought in early December 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War between the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army for control of Nanking (Nanjing), the capital of the Repu ...

Amoy Operation The Amoy Operation, also known as the Battle of Xiamen () was part of a campaign by Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War to blockade China to prevent it from communicating with the outside world and importing needed arms and materials. Con ...

* Battle of Wuhan *

Canton Operation The Canton Operation (; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu Zhànyì) was part of a campaign by Empire of Japan, Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War to blockade Republic of China (1912-1949), China to prevent it from communicating with the outside world ...

Hainan Island Operation The Hainan Island Operation (), or in Japanese, was part of a campaign by the Empire of Japan during the Second World War to blockade the Guangdong mainland and prevent it from communicating with the outside world and from receiving imports ...

Battle of Nanchang The Battle of Nanchang () was a military campaign fought around Nanchang, Jiangxi between the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and the Japanese Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was the first major conflict to occur ...

* Swatow Operation * 1st Battle of Changsha *

Battle of South Guangxi The Battle of South Guangxi () was one of the 22 major engagements between the National Revolutionary Army and Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In November 1939, the Japanese landed on the coast of Guangxi and captured ...

* 1939-40 Winter Offensive * Indochina Expedition * 2nd Battle of Changsha * 3rd Battle of Changsha

World War II (1941–1945)

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

(7 December 1941, major Japanese tactical victory; destruction of much of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

(USN) battleship fleet, strategically inconclusive) *

Battle of Wake Island The Battle of Wake Island was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on Wake Island. The assault began simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor naval and air bases in Hawaii on the morning of 8 December 1941 (7 December ...

(8–23 December 1941, Japanese victory against US) * Attack on Prince of Wales and Repulse (10 December 1941, decisive Japanese victory; destruction of the British

(RN) in Malaya) * Battle of Balikpapan (23–24 January 1942, Allied tactical victory, Japanese strategic victory) *

Battle off Endau The Battle off Endau was a Second World War battle that took place off Endau town on 26–27 January 1942. Part of the Battle of Malaya, it was the first notable naval engagement since the sinking of the battleship ''Prince of Wales'' and th ...

(26–27 January 1942, Japanese victory against Allies) *

Battle of Makassar Strait The Battle of Makassar Strait, also known as the Action of Madura Strait, the Action North of Lombok Strait and the Battle of the Flores Sea, was a naval battle of the Pacific theater of World War II. An American-British-Dutch-Australian (AB ...

(4 February, 1942, Japanese victory against Allies) *

Attack on Darwin The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Empire of Japan, Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked th ...

(19 February 1942, Japanese victory against Allies) *

Battle of Badung Strait The Battle of Badung Strait was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 19/20 February 1942 in Badung Strait (not to be confused with the West Java city of Bandung) between the American-British-Dutch-A ...

(18–19 February 1942, Japanese victory against Allies) * First Battle of Rabaul (20 February 1942, US tactical victory, Japanese strategic victory) * First Battle of the Java Sea (27 February 1942, major Japanese victory against Allies; IJN sinks five warships without loss) *

Battle of Sunda Strait The Battle of Sunda Strait was a naval battle which occurred during World War II in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java, and Sumatra. On the night of 28 February 1 March 1942, the Australian light cruiser , American heavy cruiser , ...

(28 February–1 March 1942, major Japanese victory against Allies; IJN destroys Allied fleet) * Second Battle of the Java Sea (1 March 1942, decisive Japanese victory; destruction of the Allied naval force in Indonesia) * Battle of Salamaua-Lae (8-13 March 1942, Allied tactical victory, Japanese strategic victory) * Operation C (31 March 1942, Japanese victory against Allies) * Battle of the Coral Sea (4-8 May 1942, Japanese tactical victory, Allied strategic victory) *

Attack on Sydney Harbour In late May and early June 1942, during World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy submarines made a series of attacks on the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, three ''Ko-hyoteki''-class midget submarin ...

(31 May–8 June 1942, Japanese tactical victory, strategically inconclusive) *

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under ...

(5 June 1942, major US victory; IJN loses four carriers, while USN loses one carrier) *

Battle of Savo Island The Battle of Savo Island, also known as the First Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , and colloquially among Allied Guadalcanal veterans as the Battle of the Five Sitting Ducks, was a naval battle of the Solomon Islands cam ...

(9 August 1942, major Japanese tactical victory against Allies; IJN sinks four heavy cruisers without loss, strategically inconclusive) *

Battle of the Eastern Solomons The naval Battle of the Eastern Solomons (also known as the Battle of the Stewart Islands and, in Japanese sources, as the Second Battle of the Solomon Sea) took place on 24–25 August 1942, and was the third carrier battle of the Pacific cam ...

(24 August 1942, US victory) *

Battle of Cape Esperance The Battle of Cape Esperance, also known as the Second Battle of Savo Island and, in Japanese sources, as the , took place on 11–12 October 1942, in the Pacific campaign of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and United States Na ...

(11-12 October 1942, US tactical victory, strategically inconclusive) *

Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, fought during 25–27 October 1942, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Santa Cruz or Third Battle of Solomon Sea, in Japan as the Battle of the South Pacific ( ''Minamitaiheiyō kaisen''), was the fourt ...

(26 October 1942, Japanese tactical victory, US strategic victory) *

Battle of Guadalcanal The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the ...

(12 November 1942, major US victory; USN repulses major IJN troop convoy) *

Battle of Tassafaronga The Battle of Tassafaronga, sometimes referred to as the Fourth Battle of Savo Island or, in Japanese sources, as the , was a nighttime naval battle that took place on November 30, 1942, between United States Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy warsh ...

(30 November 1942, Japanese tactical victory against US, strategically inconclusive) *

Battle of Rennell Island The took place on 29–30 January 1943. It was the last major naval engagement between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Guadalcanal Campaign of World War II. It occurred in the South Pacific between Rennell ...

(29-30 January 1943, Japanese defensive victory against US) *

Battle of the Bismarck Sea The Battle of the Bismarck Sea (2–4 March 1943) took place in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) during World War II when aircraft of the U.S. Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attacked a Japanese convoy carrying troop ...

(2-4 March 1943, major Allied victory; Allied aircraft destroy major IJN troop convoy) *

Battle of Blackett Strait The Battle of Blackett Strait (Japanese: ビラ・スタンモーア夜戦 (Battle of Vila–Stanmore)) was a naval battle of the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on 6 March 1943 in the Blackett Strait, between Kolombangara ...

(6 March 1943, US victory) * Battle of the Komandorski Islands (26 March 1943, tactically inconclusive, US strategic victory) *

Operation I-Go was an aerial counter-offensive launched by Imperial Japanese forces against Allied forces during the Solomon Islands and New Guinea Campaigns in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Taking place from 1–16 April 1943, during the operation, ...

(1-16 April 1943, Japanese tactical victory against Allies, strategically inconclusive) *

Battle of Kula Gulf The naval Battle of Kula Gulf (Japanese: クラ湾夜戦) took place in the early hours of 6 July 1943 during World War II. The battle involved United States and Japanese ships off the eastern coast of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands. It took ...

(6 July 1943, US tactical victory, strategically inconclusive) *

Battle of Kolombangara The Battle of Kolombangara (Japanese: コロンバンガラ島沖海戦) (also known as the Second Battle of Kula Gulf) was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the night of 12/13 July 1943, off the northeastern coas ...

(12–13 July 1943, Japanese tactical victory against Allies, strategically inconclusive) *

Battle of Vella Gulf The was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of 6–7 August 1943 in Vella Gulf between Vella Lavella Island and Kolombangara Island in the Solomon Islands of the Southwest Pacific. This engagement was t ...

(6-7 August 1943, major US victory; USN sinks three destroyers without loss) *

Battle off Horaniu The Battle off Horaniu (Japanese: 第一次ベララベラ海戦) was a minor naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought near Vella Lavella, in the Solomon Islands. On the night of 17–18 August 1943, four U.S. Navy destroy ...

(17-18 August 1943, Japanese defensive victory against US) * Battle of Vella Lavella (6 October 1943, Japanese defensive victory against US) *

Battle of Empress Augusta Bay The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, on 1–2 November 1943 – also known as the Battle of Gazelle Bay, Operation Cherry Blossom, and in Japanese sources as the Sea Battle off Bougainville Island (ブーゲンビル島沖海戦) – was a naval ba ...

(1 November 1943, US victory) * Second Battle of Rabaul (2-11 November 1943, Allied victory) *

Battle of Cape St. George The Battle of Cape St. George was a naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on 25 November 1943, between Cape St. George, New Ireland, and Buka Island (now part of the North Solomons Province in Papua New Guinea). It was ...

(25 November 1943, major US victory; USN sinks three destroyers without loss) * Battle of Truk (17-18 February 1944, major US victory; IJN loses 15 warships and 32 merchant ships) *

Battle of the Philippine Sea The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a major naval battle of World War II that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took place during the United States' amphibious invas ...

(19 June 1944, decisive US victory; IJN loses three carriers and hundreds of aircraft) * Battle of Formosa (12-16 October 1944, major US victory; IJN loses hundreds of aircraft) * Battle of Leyte Gulf (23-26 October 1944, decisive Allied victory; IJN loses 28 warships, including four carriers and three battleships) *

Battle off Samar The Battle off Samar was the centermost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one of the largest naval battles in history, which took place in the Philippine Sea off Samar Island, in the Philippines on October 25, 1944. It was the only major a ...

(25 October 1944, Japanese tactical victory, US strategic victory) * Battle of Ormoc Bay (11 November-21 December 1944, US victory) * First Battle of Kure (19 March 1945, Japanese defensive victory against US) *

Battle of the Malacca Strait The Battle of the Malacca Strait, sometimes called the Sinking of ''Haguro'', and in Japanese sources as the Battle off Penang (ペナン沖海戦), was a naval battle that resulted from the British search-and-destroy operation in May 1945, calle ...

(15-16 May 1945, RN victory) * Operation Kikusui (6 April–22 June 1945, Allied defensive victory) *

Operation Ten-Go , also known as Operation Heaven One (or Ten-ichi-gō 天一号), was the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The resulting engagement is also known as the Battle of the East China Sea. In April 1945, t ...

(7 April 1945, major US victory; destruction of the last IJN battle fleet) * Battle of Yokosuka (18 July 1945, Allied victory) * Battle of Tokyo Bay (22–23 July 1945, US victory) * Second Battle of Kure (24-28 July 1945, major Allied victory; most of the remaining IJN warships are sunk)