Quote:
Originally Posted by Xracer
Actually, these "Alternative Military History" and "What If" questions remind me that If Pigs Had Wings They Could Fly......and the State of Iowa would have the world's largest Air Force! 
Yamamoto was a supurb strategist....but he was also a pragmatist:
""I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."
"In the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will run wild and win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success."
I agree with most here......yeah, it would've taken longer, but final defeat of Japan was inevitable. |
Yamamoto was certainly no fool, X, and deep down I don't think he believed Japan could win a full scale Pacific conflict with the U.S. He had served as the Japanese naval attaché in Washington during the 1920s and understood the war-making capabilities of the this country far better than the political leadership. When ordered to fight, like any good soldier, he fought, and used the tactics he believed gave Japan the best chance of success, i.e., a strategy geared toward a quick victory. The problem the Japanese faced, even with their early conquests, was industrial capacity and resources to sustain a war over the vast expanse of the Pacific. Once the Japanese were forced over onto the defensive--after Midway that is--the issue was no longer even remotely in doubt.