Aside from perhaps the Emperor or Tojo Hideki, the most well known Japanese person of WWII is Yamamoto Isoroku. He is the man who planned Pearl Harbor and he is the only major Japanese leader who was assassinated by the US during the Pacific War.

Though born Takano Isoroku, later in his life, realizing that his older brothers would make him unable to lead the family, he was adopted into the Yamamoto family, who had no male heirs, and took their name. This is unusual in Western families, but not in the Orient where carrying on the family name is paramount.

After entering the Japanese Naval Academy, he proved himself to be a superlative student and once in the fleet, rose through the ranks rather quickly. Interestingly, he did not have a wealth of command experience, serving a lot of his time on staff duties, which included the delegations to the various treaty conferences limiting naval sizes during the 1920s and 1930s. His time in the US made him realize that war with the US would not be favorable for Japan.

As big a nationalist as just about any Japanese officer, the did make his feelings known, but when over ruled by his seniors, towed the line. He did know that Japan would do well in the early war with the US, but also knew it was a war that Japan would not win, something his fellow decision makers did not seem to understand.

In terms of his battle record in WWII, it was average at best. His battle plans were complex and prone to going awry. Pearl Harbor was, at best, a pyrrhic victory, while his handling of the Guadalcanal operations frittered away his resources when a major attack early on would have undoubtedly routed US forces. His greatest victory is considered to be the Battle of Santa Cruz.

With the US breaking the Japanese Naval Code, his itenerary for a visit to units near the front lines was compromised. The USAAF sent P-38s with extra long range fuel tanks to intercept his aircraft. Right on time as usual, the two planes carrying Yamamoto and his staff were located and shot down with Lt. Rex Barker eventually getting credit with his death.

Yamamoto is highly revered in Japan and so most of the myths surrounding him have been perpetuated over the years. As many readers know, the Japanese hold on to their myths tenaciously so piecing together the real story on his life and character has not been easy. Author Mark Stille has done an excellent job of giving us what I feel is a balanced look at one of the most famous men of WWII.

It makes for an excellent read and is something that every enthusiast and history buff must have on their book shelf.

July 2012

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