PDF DOWNLOAD --> Admiral Isoroku Yamamato, A Case for the Value of Professional Reading

The Canadian Air Force Journal ^ | Summer 2008 | Major Gerry Madigan, CD1, MA (Retired)

[wizkid]

Sometimes better articles on the net are in PDF download formats. This is one of them from the Canadian Air Force Journal. Here is the link if you want to inspect it first before trying:

http://airforceapp.forces.gc.ca/CFAWC/eLibrary/Journal/Vol1-2008/Iss2-Summer/Sections/03-Admiral_Isoroku_Yamamoto_e.pdf

It is 815 kilobytes so it is not enormous in size.

For any student of military history, the Admiral is a fascinating character. One who showed brilliance at Peal Harbor and a certain ineptitude at Midway. It is hard to find detailed information on the internet about this man. Most articles are simply rehashes of the same set of summarized information. Part of the problem is that he is Japanese so most of the best information regarding him has not been translated into English.

Currently, I am re-reading (re-reading because it is such a fine work of history) one of these sources, Shattered Sword. Its author is an American who went to Japan so he could document the battle using Japanese sources.

Shattered Sword

In any case, there are a lot of military history freeper buffs who may enjoy this article.

It would be great to get your thoughts on the Admiral and hear of any family stories that you may have of the Battle of Midway. My grandfather was at the Battle of the Coral Sea but he did not like to speak about it.

[Inyo-Mono]

My Father was at the Battle of Midway, but like your grandfather, he didn’t like talking about it. He passed 25 years ago.

[yarddog]

I once read a brief biography of Yamamoto. There is no doubt that he was a brilliant man. I am not sure that intelligence made him a great Admiral tho.

He was certainly a good one however Pearl Harbor was his high water mark. I guess we thought he was pretty good as we went to a lot of trouble to get him.

[Fiji Hill]

It seems there aren't many full-length books on Yamamoto, but one that has gotten critical acclaim is The Reluctant Admiral : Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy by Hiroyuki Agawa (New York: Kondasha, 1979). This was originally published in Japanese.

[cripplecreek]

I watched a show about the battle of Tarawa earlier tonight. Lots of new island assault methods came out of that one.

The American Heroes Channel has some great shows.

First thing this morning I watched a show about the Malmedy massacre and the German officer who managed to slip by without being convicted. He was killed in France in the 70s when his home was firebombed.

[wizkid]

Yes, he was a brilliant man but, like most brilliant men, he had his quirks.

For example, he was ostracized for being a supporter of the Washington Naval Treaty which limited the size of the Japanese navy. This made him an outsider who often clashed with the General Staff.

One way he redeemed himself was getting involved with carrier operations because carriers were a way to skirt these limits.

It can be argued that his greatest triumph, Pearl Harbor, was actually his greatest mistake. The Navy General Staff was opposed to it because they did not want to draw the US into the war. There are many who believe that the US would not have gone to war without being provoked by Pearl Harbor.

Further, instead of focusing on the real threats at Pearl Harbor like the submarines and carriers, he focused on the antiquated battleships. While the battleships were out on maneuvers during the attack, the Japanese had spies that could have let them pin point when they would be in port. They also missed the oil tanks which could have put the US Navy out of action for months.

[yarddog]

If my memory is still good, Yamamoto always finished at the top of his class going all the way back to early childhood. That is something he shared with Robert E. Lee.

Yamamoto had an advantage over most Japanese military officers in that he had toured the U.S. and was aware of our massive industrial might. Something we no longer have. That is one reason he opposed war.

He knew we would win unless he could bring it to a speedy conclusion, either by negotiations or military victories.

[CrazyIvan]

Later

[wizkid]

Oops, I meant to say that the US carriers were out on maneuvers during the Pearl Harbor attack not the battleships.

[Cry if I Wanna]

If US carriers had been at Pearl Harbor there may have been no Midway. It could have taken us much longer to have that fight. I know things were primitive in 1941, but I just don’t understand why Japanese spies on Ohau (there were many) couldn’t find a way to tell their fleet that the carriers weren’t in Port.

[yarddog]

Not necessary to correct it. We knew you meant the carriers.

[Mears]

Thanks for correcting that.

Old lady here and I thought maybe I was losing it.:-)

.

[yarddog]

The whole battle of Midway hinged on maybe 10 minutes. The Japanese fighters which were flown by some of the best pilots in the world, were drawn down to water level to dispense with the torpedo bombers. If the had known just how bad our torpedoes were at that time they may have just sent a few fighters after them.

Anyway just at that time the dive bombers free of Japanese fighters sank 3 fleet carrier or was it 4? We got the last one the next day.

[wizkid]

Yes, he did go to Harvard where he apparently became an expert at poker and used the winnings to tour the US.

Here is a good article from Harvard Magazine on the subject:

Lessons in Surprise

Here is a brief excerpt from the article:

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who led the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, was a special student at Harvard from 1919 to 1921. Seymour Morris Jr. ’68, M.B.A. ’72, of New York City, advances a theory that lessons Yamamoto learned at the University emboldened him to launch the attack, and that if the United States military had known their enemy as well as he knew them, they might not have been caught flatfooted, betting that he would first attack the Philippines.

[Inyo-Mono]

It is amazing. After enlisting in the Army Air Corps (not corpse) my Dad arrived in Pearl Harbor a little over a month after the Japanese attack. He told me that the ships were still smoking from fires even then.

[Flag_This]

" It can be argued that his greatest triumph, Pearl Harbor, was actually his greatest mistake."

But how could he have known about the F-14s?

[Cry if I Wanna]

I think we sunk three carriers. Was it Midway where we lost the Lexington?

[ealgeone]

Further, instead of focusing on the real threats at Pearl Harbor like the submarines and carriers, he focused on the antiquated battleships. While the battleships were out on maneuvers during the attack, the Japanese had spies that could have let them pin point when they would be in port. They also missed the oil tanks which could have put the US Navy out of action for months.

Let's keep this in some perspective. An attack on Pearl Harbor was not a novel idea. American war games had simulated this several times in the 1930 with attacks by carriers. There were also simulated raids on the Panama Canal.

There was a hope by the Japanese that the carriers would be in port on 12/7/41. They fortunately were not. But the battleships and the remainder of the fleet were in port that morning.

I don't think it's fair to say he focused on the battleships. At the time the battleship was still viewed by most naval experts as the "queen" of the sea. The carrier had not been fully proven to be the capital ship it later became. There were however, some believers in the carrier and Yamamato was one.

Recall that the main naval doctrine at the time, on both sides of the Pacific, was the Mahan doctrine. It called for a "decisive" battle that would settle the war. American plans at the time were to respond to a Japanese attack by sailing across the Pacific and then engage them.

Not launching a third strike to target the oil tanks and drydocks and other such installations, in hindsight does prove to be a strategic mistake. But this decision was made by Nagumo; not Yamamato.

Nagumo was concerned about the whereabouts of the American carriers which were still unknown during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The second raid also incurred more casualties than the first as American resistance become more organized. Would a third raid cost the Japanese more planes? Would the fleet be discovered?

Nagumo's primary mission was accomplished and that was the destruction of the primary battle fleet of the United States. Nagumo felt the mission was accomplished and it was his responsibility to return the fleet intact.

[Fred Hayek]

I believe that a third strike was planned, and the targets were the oil tank and docks. Nagumo did not want to push his luck, since he tended to play it conservative. If he had launched the third strike he may have run into the Enterprise just arriving at Pearl.

[hecht]

the oil tanks were left because Naguma called off the third wave.