The Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy under the command of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto allowed the Empire of Japan to expand rapidly in the early years of World War II. His skillful use of air and sea operations led to Japan's great victory over the United States at Pearl Harbor in 1941, and earned him the honor of becoming one of the most influential architects of aircraft carrier-based military operations.
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Yamamoto was born on April 4, 1884 in Shin-tan, into a samurai family, and was the sixth son to be named Hato Isoroku, and later officially adopted his adoptive father's surname Yamamoto. Shortly after graduating from the Japanese Naval Academy in 1904, Yamamoto took part in the Battle of Tsushima as part of the fleet led by Admiral Heihachiro Higashigo, defeating Russia. During the war, Yamamoto suffered several injuries and lost two fingers of his left hand, a disability that nearly led him to retirement.
After the war with Russia, Yamamoto was assigned to different shipboard positions, during which time he also received a higher military and civilian education. In 1915 Yamamoto was already an advocate for the development of seaplanes. From 1919 to 1921, Yamamoto studied at Harvard University, which was his first association with the United States. After returning to Japan, he served in various command missions and served as an observer for several European naval operations, and Yamamoto returned to the United States in 1925 as a naval attaché at the embassy in Washington, D.C., for three years.
During his time in the United States, Yamamoto also went to Harvard University for further study, and had in-depth study and understanding of war theory in the United States and even Europe. Among them, Yamamoto Isoroku secretly analyzed the key battles of the Anglo-German naval battle in World War I, summarizing the lessons learned from the successes or failures of all sides. In addition, he systematically studied the American military theorist Mahan's Theory of Sea Power. It was then that he understood that the real opponent of the Japanese Navy was not Russia, but the United States, which occupied half of the Pacific.
For this period of history, there have been rumors that Yamamoto Isoroku's war manuscript is rumored to have been circulating, and it is said that he planned in detail the development route of the Japanese Navy in this manuscript, as well as the strategic deduction of the two navies in the future if the United States and Japan go to war. Unfortunately, historians have studied this for many years and have never found the rumored manuscript. However, Yamamoto's experience in the United States did greatly increase his insight and made his war ambitions expand sharply.
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After returning to Japan in 1929, Yamamoto served as commander of the aircraft carrier Akamako and was promoted to rear admiral. In the years that followed, in addition to briefly attending various international naval conferences, Yamamoto's career was devoted to the operation of naval aviation and aircraft carriers. Because of his innovation and determination in securing priority guarantees of funding from the government, Yamamoto set sail in the late 1930s for the world's most advanced and powerful naval formation, with aircraft carriers at the heart and workhorse of his fleet.
In 1939, most of Japan's military and political leaders recognized the United States as the only possible resistance to their rule in East Asia. These leaders believed that the elimination or weakening of the U.S. Pacific Fleet with a single attack would lead to isolationist Americans seeking peace and allowing Japan to achieve their goals without any resistance. Because of his long mission to the United States, Yamamoto was familiar with American ideas and ingenuity, and he expressed his opposition to the attack, fearing that the United States' strong industrial base and abundant natural resources would eventually overwhelm their small island nation.
Despite his reservations about this decision, Yamamoto carefully drew up a battle plan for a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Yamamoto was confident in a successful sneak attack on a U.S. port, while also expressing concern that Japan would enjoy a short-term victory, and that the Americans would not back down and would eventually win. Yamamoto commanded six aircraft carriers and a supply fleet from Japan on November 26, 1941, along the rarely used Northern Route toward the Hawaiian Islands.
On the morning of December 7, U.S. officers in and around Pearl Harbor were stunned by planes taking off from Yamamoto's aircraft carrier, destroying most of the island's planes on the ground, sinking four battleships and damaging four others. In less than two hours, Yamamoto caused the worst defeat in U.S. naval history.
The first two rounds of the attack were so successful that Yamamoto canceled plans for a final attack on pearl-dried docks and oil storage equipment. This small mistake later proved to be comparable to failing to annihilate the Fleet of American aircraft carriers, which happened to be out of port for maneuver. Despite these shortcomings, Japanese leaders were delighted that Yamamoto had attacked Pearl Harbor almost perfectly.
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Between January and March 1942, Yamamoto's victories in the East Indies followed, followed by victories in the Indian Ocean in April 1942. In June 1942, Yamamoto arranged for a feint attack on alaska's Alyush Islands while personally directing a major offensive against Midway. Yamamoto planned to re-attack the Hawaiian Islands after capturing Midway.
On July 4, Yamamoto approached Midway and encountered only a fleet of American carriers, who had deciphered the Japanese radio code and were prepared. Yamamoto's own intelligence agencies were wrong in estimating the number of U.S. aircraft carriers left behind after the recent Battle of Coral Island.
The Japanese fleet encountered more problems, and when American aircraft appeared, most of them were still reloading weapons and refueling on the flight decks of aircraft carriers. Toward the end of the war, four of Japan's nine carriers sank to the bottom of the sea, along with three hundred aircraft and the best pilots. The enemy's superior intelligence system and his own lack of luck led to the first defeat of the Japanese Navy in 350 years. He continued to command naval operations, trying to take the initiative, even as his resources were shrinking and the enemy's strength was rapidly expanding.
Although the Japanese fleet could no longer be on the same level as the American fleet, Yamamoto remained the most feared commander of the Pacific, and for Admiral Nimitz, Yamamoto was still a great threat for a day in the army, a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of americans.
When the U.S. communications department learned in the same way that it deciphered the midway attack intelligence that Yamamoto intended to patrol the Japanese defense forces on Bougainville, the U.S. command decided to take a rare operation to assassinate the leader of the enemy army directly. On April 18, 1943, American fighter jets shot down two planes carrying Yamamoto and his fifty-nine colleagues on Guadalcanal.
On the day of Yamamoto's death, the Japanese headquarters promoted Yamamoto to admiral. Although the outcome of the war may not have changed even if Yamamoto lived, the loss of his ability to continue the war in Japan was severely impaired, and the loss was heavy for the morale of soldiers and people. His successor, Admiral Koga, described the feeling most precisely at the time, "There is only one Yamamoto, and no one can replace him."
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Yamamoto had a huge influence on the development and progress of aircraft carrier military operations, proving their ability to attack from a distance. After Pearl Harbor, no country could dominate the world without aircraft carriers demonstrating their global power. Yamamoto is full of Bushido spirit and has always demonstrated a high level of dignity, loyalty and dedication. His leadership skills and innovations in ship-based aviation tactics made him Japan's greatest admiral after Heihachiro Togo.
References: The Fall of Japanese Imperialism, The Complete Documentary of World War II, Pacific War