[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.

[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.