Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
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On the morning of December 7th, 1941, it was by
no stroke of luck that the Imperial Japanese Navy Had caught the United States
Navy off-guard. Their commander, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, had spent much of
his young adult life in America. He had attended college at Harvard University
in Boston as well as the US Naval War College in Rhode Island. During the 1920s,
he worked as a Japanese Diplomat to the US Navy in Washington D.C. His studies
concentrated on Business Management and Naval Aviation. These skills led to his
command of the cruiser Isuzu and then the Aircraft Carrier Akagi.
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After his brief two-year stint as Captain, he rose
through the ranks of the Imperial Japanese Navy, attaining Rear Admiral in 1930
and Vice Admiral in 1934.
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It wasn’t until 1940 that he was promoted to Admiral of the
Navy – its highest post. It was unexpected, however, since the Japanese Prime
Minister (their President), Hideki Tojo had been the General of the Japanese
Army. At that time, the Navy and Army had disagreed over how the military
should be run and many thought that Tojo would simply demote Yamamoto and put
him in charge of an out-of-the-way island.
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As the War in the Pacific neared, many of Japan’s military
leaders sided with Yamamoto and his plan to strike at the heart of the American
Navy in Pearl Harbor. Only then could Tojo and his Army continue the fight.
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For Yamamoto’s Grand Plan, he would assemble all of his
minor fleets and task groups into one massive fleet, called the Kido Butai.
This combined fleet would contain Japan’s six aircraft carriers, two battleships,
three cruisers, nine destroyers, and over 400 war planes.
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Yamamoto hoped that, with one decisive battle, this would
cripple the American Navy enough to discourage an all-out war.
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