quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
Japan's success at pearl harbor exceeded their expectations. Their one big question was where were the US carriers? Without that knowledge, Yamamoto was unwilling to launch a third wave of aircraft which would have destroyed the repair and fuel depot areas of Pearl Harbor. We should be thankful that Japan had no true visionaries as we might have seen a ground invasion of Ohau. Had that happened it might have been game over from the start.

It was VAdm Nagumo who called off the 3rd attack at Pearl, it was also his indecision at Midway that allowed the USN to catch their planes on the deck switching munitions. Yamamoto was Japan's visionary, as he knew attacking the US hinged on a single-point of failure, destruction of the Navy via putting the carriers down. US battleships were already getting outclassed and naval aviation was rising quickly thanks to the demonstration of Billy Mitchell. The IJN was the best in the world at the start of the war, they innovated carrier tactics which are still used today.

For all their ambition, it was the Japanese General Staff that stretched out their military and pushed their leaders towards questionable goals, while not pushing their industrial base. Considering how active their carriers were at the beginning of the war, Pearl, Singapore, Coral Sea..you'd have thought they would've had several more already laid-down on a hot shipyard. Same with their Army: Korea, Manchuria, China, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaya, etc...that's a HUGE area to occupy for a small island nation.

Japan's biggest mistake at Pearl Harbor was attacking at all. They started a fight that they had absolutely no chance of winning. Most of their leadership knew this, but they were backed into a corner politically and really had no choice but to try to fight their way out. Taking out dry docks and fuel storage would only have delayed the inevitable.

quote:

Originally posted by JackBlundell:
The Japanese made one other critical mistake on that fateful day, one often overlooked even now: They did not attack the submarine base or the submarines in the harbor. They had cause to regret it. Our submarines commenced offensive patrols the following week, and by war’s end had sunk more than 5 million tons of Japanese merchant shipping.

This. Submarines weren’t sexy and much of what they did and where they went couldn’t be publicized. There’s no diminishing the contributions of the carriers in the war, but without a doubt it was the “Silent Service” that brought Japan to her knees by 1945.

quote:

Originally posted by mojojojo: This. Submarines weren’t sexy and much of what they did and where they went couldn’t be publicized. There’s no diminishing the contributions of the carriers in the war, but without a doubt it was the “Silent Service” that brought Japan to her knees by 1945.

At the beginning of the war, USN submarines were not that effective because of torpedo problems. What brought japan to here knees were two atomic bombs.

The atomic bombs were simply the last straw.

We had wiped out Japan's merchant fleet (55% sunk by our subs) and their navy. Carrier groups roamed at will off Japan, with battleships shelling Japanese coastal targets. Bombers incinerated their cities. We either took or bypassed every Japanese island garrison and all that was left was invasion of Japan itself.

Our subs and carriers together were vital in bringing the war to an end (B-29s could only reach Japan after amphibious operations took islands close enough to Japan, which, in turn, needed carrier support to subdue).

quote:

Originally posted by mojojojo:

quote:

Originally posted by JackBlundell:
The Japanese made one other critical mistake on that fateful day, one often overlooked even now: They did not attack the submarine base or the submarines in the harbor. They had cause to regret it. Our submarines commenced offensive patrols the following week, and by war’s end had sunk more than 5 million tons of Japanese merchant shipping.

This. Submarines weren’t sexy and much of what they did and where they went couldn’t be publicized. There’s no diminishing the contributions of the carriers in the war, but without a doubt it was the “Silent Service” that brought Japan to her knees by 1945.

William Halsey knew something about how the war in the Pacific was won: "If I had to give credit to the instruments and machines that won us the war in the Pacific, I would rate them in this order: submarines first, radar second, planes third, bulldozers fourth."