Yamaguchi was considered to be Yamamoto's likely successor as CINC-Combined Fleet... It wasn't until Sep '42 when Yamamoto and Ugaki (Chief of Staff) issued orders that captains and flag officers were NOT to go down with their ships unless they were casualties. Just as they issued orders to JNAF pilots to wear parachutes on combat missions... Experienced officers and pilots were badly needed.
Taken in the context of the resurgent warrior culture that was a front for nationalism their choice to commit what they saw as honorable suicide was them taking the better alternative than returning alive but in defeat and in their minds (and the minds of others probably) carrying a mark of shame. Not saying it was smart...it WAS a dumb move, but there was a rationale to it, just not one that was practical in the larger scheme of the war.
@@benjaminbierley2074 I think there's another explanation. While I've read a fair amount, I'm not an expert, but I think this aspect of Bushido was a product of the Shogunate period. This is why I referred to the Big 3 who unified Japan. If you want to win, you don't follow these rules. But if you want to PRESERVE the Shogunate and prevent successful revolts, having your enemies kill themselves is a cunning plan. So it was great for preserving the internal order of Japan but a disaster when it came to an external war.
Japanese naval pilots (kido butai) also refused to add any armor for themselves (allies' planes had at least a big metal slab just behind the pilot's seat). All for a slight combat edge and to avoid the shame of surviving a loss. Combined with their planes' light construction they had a mortality rate of about 90%. The actual main reason for kamizae's was because almost all the experienced pilots were dead by mid 1944, they had neither the time or fuel to train competent replacements and sending the ones they could train was suicide anyway.
@@LAG09 The IJN also thought the extra range they got thanks to not providing self-sealing fuel tanks and armor was worth the risk. Probably a mistake. The USN had a program to train new air crews AND to recover aviators who were shot down. There would usually be some combination of submarines, Catalinas, and PT boats to save aviators and return them to duty. The Japanese watched these activities with amazement but never really copied them. You would almost think they were TRYING to lose the war. Their weak anti-submarine efforts, considering Japan's dependence on seaborne trade, was similarly confusing but had similar logic (good officers avoided that duty as it wasn't as honorable.)
@@johnkelley8647 USA prob should of kept its d*ck out of Asian affairs, if the USA didnt cut off Japans oil they would of never attacked us. Think it through
At the beginning of the war, Yamamoto, upon being asked about Japan's prospects of victory, told the Japanese cabinet, "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." The Battle of Midway was almost exactly six months after the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
I wonder, if the Japanese had somehow managed to win a crushing victory at Midway, for example sinking all three of the Pacific Fleets' carriers without loosing any of their own, how long would they have been able to "run wild" and keep the initiative?
@@derworfnet it would have taken a lot to make Midway a decisive victory. The cards were stacked against Japan since the beginning but Pearl Harbor and, more importantly, the loss of the Phillipines put America on the back-foot. The "six to twelve months" mentioned by Yamanoto referred to how long the momentum Japan would have from these victories was expected to last, before the American navy managed to finally shake off the surprise, form strategies, and actually start committing the country's industry towards military production, at which point attrition would set in and Japan would start losing, which they did. As to how a victory would have affected the theatre overall, it likely would have made things tougher for the American navy but at the end of the day, the numbers were still stacked against Japan.
The Japanese were unprepared for a lengthy war. They had numerous carriers at the start of the war, but no standard design for high volume production. Akagi and Kaga were entirely different from each other and modified from capital ship hulls. Hiryu and Soryu were somewhat similar, but had the islands on opposite sides and Hiryu was longer in the hull. Japan also has some light carriers and some merchant ship conversions (like Hiyo and Junyo) Only heavy carriers Shokaku and Zuikaku were a common design (they didn't participate at Midway due to damage received at Coral Sea) but their design was too complicated for high volume production, the Japanese had to come up with something simpler. IJN eventually came up with the Unryu class, but it came along too late in the conflict and Japanese industry couldn't replace the losses fast enough. Only 3 Unryu class were completed before the end of the war and only one of them was commissioned and saw combat. Meanwhile the USA produced 24 Essex Class carriers during the war of which 14 saw combat, not to mention 10 Independence Class light carriers and 50 Casablanca Class escort carriers. And that was just America, the British also had fleet carrier task forces closing in on Japan. Japan really had no chance taking on all that production capability, it was madness on the part of their government to go to war with the Allies.
To begin with, the Japanese military wanted an early peace. They understood that they could not beat the U.S., so their objective was to deal a heavy blow to the U.S. to make the Americans lose their will to fight and bring about peace. However, in his New Year's speech in 1942, the Prime Minister announced that the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere would be the war objective, which differed from the objective at the start of the war in December 1941. This would result in the Western powers losing all of their Asian colonies, so they plunged into an all-out war.
@@amane0306 If they thought they could inflict heavy casualties on the USA at Pearl Harbor and the Philippines and America would lose the will to fight they badly miscalculated. That's just not how Americans react to treachery. 'Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere' or not, Japan was doomed the moment they bombed Pearl Harbor. Midway may have accelerated their demise but it was cast in stone regardless. Japan had no hope of eventual victory, regardless of what strategy they pursued or what their final objectives would have been. They lacked the industrial base and the military capability to conduct a war on that scale.
Japan wanted to take as much as they could as quickly as they could and crush American will to fight with swift decisive victories. Yamamoto said they could run roughshod over the Allies for 6 months, then no guarantees. He was right. Japan badly miscalculated Americas willingness and ability to fight.
@@LarryWater I wouldn't say gigachads, unless you consider it's a gigachad to execute non-combatant. I would say it's an age of great yet deeply flawed heroes
@@samuelphanoto4565 I think the heroes were fine. It's the screwed up leaders they were serving. The Fuhrer, Tojo, and all the other racist psychos trying to take over the galaxy.
Yamaguchi's decision was brave, honorable, and foolish. In choosing to go down with his flagship he deprived the IJN of the services of an able and effective flag officer.
Yes, but back then staying alive would make him lose the respect of everybody else, for the rest of his life. Such was the attitude of Japanese society at the time. Besides, disappointing his boss would not be a problem after he was dead.
A live Yamaguchi limping back with Hiryu would not have been of much use to Yamamoto however. As revered Yamamoto was being Japan's naval CINC, covering for Yamaguchi and using him again in any active battle would have expended too much political capital he most certainly would NOT have after the loss at Midway. Look at how the Japanese Army treated General Homma after he took the Philippines. It wouldn't have been so different for Yamaguchi had he returned alive.
Given that Yamaguchi botched Hiryu's positioning in the battle when Nagumo was out of contact...I think Yamamoto probably was better off without him...as tragic as that sounds.
Two movies that came out around this time that really changed how I viewed WWII was Midway and Jojo Rabbit. I liked how it showed a perspective from the Axis side. It really just shows that no matter what side you are on or who you think the good or bad guys are, war is just terrible and it sucks for anyone caught in it.
If you're interested in more movies from the Axis perspective, I would recommend Downfall Grave of the Fireflies Das Boot Letters from Iwo Jima Stalingrad (1993) Generation War Cross of Iron The Human Condition Die Brucke Fires on the Plain
@@canaanclb To add to that, Mediterraneo Tutti a casa Roma città aperta Il generale della Rovere La ciociara For the Italian POV and Tuntematon sotilas for Finland
The exchange between Yamaguchi and his junior officer absolutely broke my heart. I was able to understand most of their conversation without subtitles. It’s a lot different than just subtitles. When you can understand another language; you can also understand the emotions.
@@IJN_Guy yeah, I mean I get what the op is getting at but it kinda undermines good translation. Sure, understanding a language and not being distracted by subtitles helps comprehend what’s going on but with a good translation and the will to watch a movie a couple times you are not doomed to losing out on foreign films just because you don’t speak a certain language. When it comes to comprehending a foreign language speakers in a film you are at the mercy of the translation, not your linguistic ability. Hence my 🙄
Yamaguchi was one of the best the Japanese Navy had. Unlike Nagumo he actually had experience with commanding Aircraft Carriers, and he is more proactive, even if he was too aggressive at times. It sucks he went down with Hiryu, but he was honorable until the end.
There's a reason why Yamaguchi is a Top Tier Commander in WOWS. The man was a legend of the IJN and his death was an extremely heavy blow to the Kaigun's Strategic Arm. He could have made a serious difference in the remaining naval battles to come. He loved the Hiryu dearly though. More than any ship he Commanded. There was no way he was going to let her go to the bottom on her own.
I don't care what anyone says. You can be on the side fighting for "good". But war has a funny way of bringing out both the best and worst in people. Doesn't matter what your culture is like, where you're from. Everyone is human, and it all comes down to what those people are generally like.
Stupidest thing I’ve ever head. Germany and Japan in WWII show just how easy it is to manipulate people. Very few Japanese soldiers would have given you the time of day. More likely they would have shot you and stolen your cigarettes and Spam. Japanese soldiers were NOT encouraged to be individuals. Individuality was stifled by all means necessary. Officer were actually encouraged to beat individuals who showed any signs of thinking on their own. The Japanese soldier was trained to be little more than a walking weapon platform. A mindless brute who followed orders mindlessly was the Japanese ideal for their military.
This movie also showed the Japanese drowning an American POW and committing war crimes in China. I liked that it displayed both the courage and savagery of the Japanese in WW2.
I hated the fact that they drowned the Airmen. But upon researching the incident, I read that the crew of the Japanese destroyer had just learned that these pilots were part of the task force that killed over 2500 of their friends on the Carrier they were escorting. This was inexcusable, but I get it. Even Americans killed enemy prisoners if they were angry enough about their own friends dying.
One of the carriers missing from the battle of Midway was absent not because it was damaged... but because they didn't have the pilots to fly after the battle of the coral sea. That's right, there just wasn't anyone to fly in case, you know, they lost the current guys. An entire carrier, absent from the most important battle of the war because Japan just didn't prepare for a long war.
Not quite. One carrier was severely damaged and needed extensive repairs, however its airplanes, pilots, and aircrew were operational. Another carrier was operational, but had lost no planes, pilots, and aircrews. Due to the complete shitshow that was Japanese military organization and planning, and the total lack of common sense, they were incapable of simply moving the planes from the damaged carrier to the operational one and sending a fifth fully functional and crewed carrier to Midway.
@@FEDEXLuchs if they had good training standards they would rotate their pilots and get rid of the kamikaze bullshit. But they didnt, and thats the reason why their training programmes weren't good.
This made me cry because this humanizes the Japanese. They are often known for their warcrimes and incompetence. Yet they are people too. They feel the same as us. Once an american veteran brought home a japanese flag he found on a fallen japanese soldier. The veteran took the flag to the family and they were forever grateful.
They where not that different from soldiers from other countries. The american soldier is remembered as a hero by some, my Family remeber them as rapists. There where every kind of people in every army, and the experiences with soldiers from every country differ.
@@nein236 They were the same if you ignore the bayoneting babies, beheading POW's, forcing women to work as prostitutes, weird fascination for their emperor and much more weird shit only the Japanese pulled.
@@otten5666 I have just told you my families experiences with american soldiers. They had women for a few days and they sometimes wouldnt come back. Being held as prostitutes by them. Also this is not a competition. Im saying every country had soldiers like that. Not defending anyone. Also we all know about the japanese and the germans. Its the fact nobody ever cared enough about the allies crimes. You do you ig.
@@otten5666 in Iraq and Afghanistan's american soldiers were founder of democracy yeah 👍 if u believe it..lol 😂.. War crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan's were all supersed becuz of image of global Power and every body cries about Putin army now.
After the battle Admiral King announced that the Navy scored a great victory over the Japanese Navy. The press went on a media blitz that the Chicago Tribune even reported that U.S. Navy cracked the Japanese Navy codes, but the Japanese didn't believe it. It was the opposite in Japan they went on the biggest military cover up and never told the public. The survivors were reassign to the South Pacific the wounded were treated with contemp. The Japanese people weren't told what happened after the War.
They were lied to more and more as the war progressed westward...such that the inexorable B-29 strikes were beyond their comprehension. In a sense, I see that as playing into the recurring themes of "alien invasion" in Japanese anime stories.
It's depicted really well in the movie "Grave of the fireflies". The kids of a japanese navy sailor had received no information on his whereabouts once his ship went under along with him. Only after the war ended did the little boy learn, by pure chance, that their navy was destroyed
Unlike the other 3 IJN carriers, Hiryu's engines and steering gear were still operational. A determined skipper could have limped her westward, out USN strike range by dawn, and gotten her back to the inland sea for an overhaul. Yamaguchi's decision to scuttle was hot-headed, as so many of the IJN brass were.
@@shellshockedgerman3947 A couple of details to clarify: (1) TF 16/17 began retiring toward Pearl immediately after Hiryu was knocked out. Fletcher and Spruance did not want to push their luck, having lost Yorktown, so there were now just two carriers intact between San Francisco and Yokohama. (2) Mikuma and Mogami were loafing along at 6 knots after the collision, after having made a mad dash for Midway for a good 10 hours. Enterprise diverted to bring herself within striking range on her southward trip. (3) Hiryu was still capable of 28 knots; proceeding due west overnight would leave her well beyond retribution range by the next morning.
@@westlock Better to die in battle than face a shameful defeat,the real reason why the Hiryu charge towards USN, Japanese can attack well beyond USN carrier's can, instead of staying out of thier enemies strike range,the Hiryu charge along side the surface fleet
Don't know if true or not but it was said that when Adm Yamaguchi ordered the men to abandon the aircraft carrier Hiryu he told the crew "You answered the Emperors call to fight for your country" (maybe he saw that Japan would have to surrender) "Now you must strive to live and help him to rebuild Japan, there will be much to do, but I know that you will be up to the task"
One thing that bewilders me about the Japanese in WW2 was that when things went south for them, they simply refused to take a step back and say “Yeah, we might want to rethink a few things here.” We always talk about “fuhrerbefeil,” but the strategic inflexibility of Japan was far worse. You look at their decision making and think “Did they actually WANT to lose that war??”
Easy to say with hindsight. With the same doctrine and attitude you criticise, the japanese conquered huge swathes of asia, so it makes sense that they didn't just throw everything over board and started from scratch after their first real setback. In fact, they were so successful that they became the only asian great power within about fifty years, they wouldn't even have been able to go to war with the US in the first place if their doctrine and strategy wasn't so damn good. Yes it was inflexible, yes they should have adapted, but it's understandable that they didn't and really couldn't, too.
Oddly enough, this scene made me more emotional for the Japanese than the Americans (and I got completely caught off guard when Bruno and his pilot got drowned with anchor tied to them). It reminded me that while I support the Allied Powers through and through, war is a terrible endeavor for all sides involved.
Like anywhere in the world, there are good and bad guys. Yamaguchi and Rommel were stellar commanders who are also ethical and sensible, but there are those who are stupid and cruel, creating excessive amounts of suffering. But the whole command structure's directives matter, and Axis Powers just had shit command structure that all but encouraged evil, so the bad actors got emboldened while good people had to enact their goodness in secret, lest they be censured. America and her allies had command structures that enforced ethics, and although some bad actors did get to have their way some times (executing POWs, rapes, war crimes on civilians, etc.), the tone set by command made sure these people could not act freely, and any caught would be punished accordingly.
"The loss of this battle falls on the heads of your commanders, not you" Then later, the commanders went on with their jobs without reprimand while the crews were kept in isolation and not allowed to see their families before being sent off to the front lines - even as ground units.
Admiral Yamaguchi and the Captain of Hiryu reportedly committed sepuku in their cabins. Captain Aoki of the Akagi attempted to go down with his ship ad well but was forcefully removed. The Captain of the Kaga was killed outright and Soryu's Captain actually jumped into the fires after ordering her survivors off. I believe it is call senshi, Battle death.
"I'll offer to stay with the captain. His honor demands that he go down with the ship, and he will send me away with my honor and respect of the men preserved" *Watching the the torpedoes streaking in* "Bad plan..."
In 1941 Lord Louis Mountbatten, a second cousin to Kings Edward VIII and George VI, was in command of the destroyer HMS Kelly when it was sunk by German aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea. Unlike Yamaguchi, he did not pose theatrically on the deck of his doomed ship and commit suicide. Instead he swam ashore and organized the rescue of his remaining crew. He continued by serving in a number of WWII command roles at the direction of Winston Churchill. After WWII he was appointed the last Viceroy of India which proved to be one of the most difficult diplomatic missions in world history. Experience counts.
You are assuming that this dramatical account here is historically accurate. Given this commander's willingness to lay down his life, I assume that he had considered the condition of his ship to be hopeless given how stubborn the Japanese were in giving up. You are being too hard on him.
@@antonioacevedo5200the real account is even MORE dramatic: after it was apparent that Hiryu was doomed, Yamaguchi got everyone he could on deck, gave them this speech, had them drink ceremonial sake, and then had everyone on deck turn in the direction of Japan and do 3 banzais to the emperor. THEN he let everyone go, refusing the offer of the young officers to go down with the ship.
I love how this film doesn't dehumanize the Japanese, I'm glad they didn't because in reality they were not always evil, they were all human beings Edit: also yes I do know about the rape of Nanking and Japanese war crimes especially Unit 731, but I'm also trying to say that not all Japanese soldiers were horrible
Well, there's the slaughter of Chinese civilians and brutal execution of a captured American, so they definitely aren't shown as the unfortunate good guys they still officially say they were. And, considering the movie also portrays the Doolittle Raid, it acknowledges the U.S. targeting urban areas.
@@LarryWater if youre talking about the battle yes. if youre talking about the aftermaths of the horror done by japanese imperial armies over the years then no. raping civilians and killing civilians seems like a viable thing to you? i consider no man who was part of the japanese imperial army a human.
If you want to understand the Japanese military mindset, study Bushido and the Samurai. Most believed it was their final duty to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as an atonement for having failed their lord. Yamamoto considered acts like these to be a waste of life and a futile gesture at best; which, among other beliefs, gave him troubles with the Japanese Army as well.
True, but ask yourself what Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, or Tokugawa Ieyasu would have thought of this stupid idea. To win a war you have to live and learn from your mistakes.
@@MakeMeThinkAgain Think Again Bushido Mindset Is If You Lose, Enemy Can't Capture and Torture You, If You Die. Bushido Mindset Is Capture By Enemy Is Shame For Nation and For Yourself
@@MakeMeThinkAgain You cannot learn if you are dead, in war all commanders make errors, to simply kill yourself for it, means you deprive your forces of much needed exprience
@@MakeMeThinkAgain to have a better look at it you can see the actions of the Japanese a few decades earlier in the Russo- Japanese war. While they were still fierce fighters and bayonet charges were still costly and used they didn’t have the same suicidal mindset you see in WW2. As well their treatment of POWs was very respectful and on par with places like the UK. It really goes to show how massive the propaganda had become to make a new version of “bushido” the new law of the land. Japan I would say was one of the most successful at propaganda in the world, not externally but internally, the guys writing it used key parts of their own culture like not burdening others, their religion, and select pieces of their history to influence the whole nation into what they wanted. It’s honestly a cruel shame what it turned people into and the cruelty both to the Japanese and those that fought against them which came about because of it, as much as they are depicted in a lot of media as monsters they were normal people in too deep with a system playing them like puppets. After all every human being is capable of unparalleled kindness and brutal barbarity, no matter who we are.
@@rottytherottski522 That's a good point. They continued to fine tune the indoctrination even after Shanghai. Kids were taught about a soldier who had been captured by the Chinese while unconscious and then released. He returned to his unit and then killed himself. That was the only honorable thing to do. The IDEA had been to create the best light infantry in the world, where every soldier was eager to die to the last man. But this was based on the realities of 19th century warfare. With the 20th century it became ruinous for your best, most highly trained soldiers and officers to be so eager to throw their lives away. It's one of history's most unusual cases of unintended consequences. The defense of Iwo Jima was more effective than the defense of Okinawa BECAUSE Okinawa had BETTER troops who couldn't wait to die and forced the commander to send them in charges.
While there is honor is going down with your ship it was ultimately a self defeating event. A commander who lets themselves die as payment for a defeat are unable to learn and adapt to how they were beat.
"You have all fought valiantly; but we must scuttle this Ship so that it does not fall into enemy Hands. The Loss of this Battle falls on the Heads of your Commanders, not you. For this Reason, I have decided to go down with the Ship. I command you to carry on your loyal Service to the Emperor."
The only way to "save" the carriers would have been to return them to Japan. This would have meant taking them under tow, which would have slowed the towing vessels to a crawl in an area where the United States now held not air superiority, but air supremacy. This almost certainly would have resulted in the loss of the carriers, their towing vessels and escorts; increasing the Japanese losses and gaining them nothing. So, no, the carriers could not be saved.
A stupid and needless sacrifice. Depriving the IJN of an experienced, competent commander and his subordinate is little more than posturing at a crucial time in the war.
According to the Japanese government's data on the U.S. line, the industrial production capacity was said to be 10 to 1. I knew that it would be difficult to win a long-term battle based on the data provided by Japan's top minds at the time. But Japan wanted oil. And while the United States was preparing for war against Japan, it had no choice but to launch a preemptive strike.
And you should add this and remember this very well too, the US Navy military line production of the first Essex-Class carrriers would have been finished and join USS Enterprise CV-6 on early 1943. Until then Enterprise was pretty much the only fully operational carrier with varius dmg that was stopping japan left and right, in fact on the deck or somewhere on the ship was written "Enterprise vs or VS Japan",so this battle victory give time to the US line production to kick in alongside doing battles of attrition with japan on multiple battles on the South Pacific. Plus Japan had this very old and absolutely outdate doctrive for the Navy, the Kantai Kessen en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantai_Kessen read for yourself here on Wiki, otherwise i gonna end up with a very long reply here. And ty god japan followed this doctrine it cost them war, plus many other factors cost them the war, the Army and Navy hated each other very badly, and kept secrets from each other such has the defeat at Midway. Plus by 1944 japan manage to actully rebuild their naval carrier forces, but without much oil, no vetars that can train new pilots and varius material quality problem, and very outdate technology, it was obvious they were fully doomed anyway.
Stifle your crying Genda. Now you have to act like an officer and LEAD. You have several hundred enlisted men the Emperor placed in your care. Now get to work. Don't get me wrong folks. I'm a lifelong military historian and like most of us, I cut my teeth on War Two. I'm not a fan of the Japanese or their conduct in the War. But I can recognize a courageous, but conflicted man when I see one. Respect and support are two different things. Lt. Cmdr. Genda Minoru was a skilled operational planner and a talented aviator. Recognizing that is just giving credit where it's due.
I guess it's a fortunate thing the allies faced an enemy that was so willing to kill themselves if things went bad. That took out a lot of their admirals, generals and countless soldiers who didn't save themselves for the next fight.
Tamon Yamaguchi was Japan's best carrier admiral. Yamamoto should have intervened directly to stop him committing useless suicide, either by speaking to him or by having him arrested and detained.
Yamamato was hundreds of miles away and unable to do anything. Nagumo had command of the fleet, but the simultaneous destruction of three carriers appears to have stunned him, perhaps understandably. I can't think of any other naval commander who had to bear witness to such a catastrophe in battle in WW2, literally watching Japan's naval power getting annihilated before his eyes and on his watch.
@@Cailus3542 sooooo the Japanese Navy didn't have radios? "Captain, please tell Admiral Yamaguchi to evacuate immediately. If he refuses, escort him under guard."
When a captain goes down with the ship they go down with the ship to make sure that everyone else survives because no one on board survives they have to die with the ship
The movie was not that bad. It was even historically pretty accurate. The complicated plan and the lack of air warning radar were fatal for the IJN carrier divisions.
And the lack of concentration of forces, the 2 carriers sent to the Aleutians was a complete waste, the additional air power they could have provided could have made the difference.
@@stevenbaer9061 indeed. Only a tiny portion of the combined fleet participated in the battle while the main body was hunderts of miles away. Yamamoto as the CIC was inferior to Nimitz.
@@nod5394 By being cowardly and surprise attacking your enemy without a declaration of war? Or what about them bayoneting babies? Or what about them drowning US sailors because they were mad they got rekt at Midway? Yeah sounds like bravery to me lol, fuckin cowards.
Honor was so highly regarded that it triumph even the will to win the war. I mean, having one of your most experienced admiral going down with his CV when they need all the experienced CV admiral they can for the war to come is really stupid.
Yamaguchi should have been allowed to withdraw Hiryu to the west after Nagumo blundered the Battle of Midway that resulted in the loss of Akagi, Kaga and Soryu. The IJN carrier division could still be reconstituted with Hiryu, Zuikaku and Shikoku. Midway was just the turning point in the war which established parity between the USN and IJN. Compared to the U.S. industrial capacity, Japan was in no position to lose any of their carriers. There’s a reason why Yamamoto did not hold Nagumo in high esteem. But alas, positions in the IJN were attained through seniority above all else.
Propaganda, but NOT History, has led us to believe that the Empire of Japan began its territorial expansion in the 1930’s, invading China, creating the puppet State of Manchukuo and “Provoking” the war with the Western Powers. But, Was this really, how events happened? Did Japan invade China and South East Asia? It seems so. However, the Propaganda does NOT say that for centuries, all Asia was invaded by Western Powers. England occupied India, Burma (Myanmar); Singapore, Malaysia and China (Hong Kong, Nanking, Shanghai, etc). France dominated all Indochina. The Netherlands intervened by the Force of its Arms, to all of Indonesia. And Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and of course, also the United States were in South East Asia cuz, for example this country, the US, occupied the Philippines since 1898. (Spanish-American War). Thus the panorama in the 30's, the Empire of Japan, when defeating to the Tsarist Russian Empire, it also decided to "Grow" by invading its neighbors. In those years, all European nations had colonies in Africa, India, the Middle East, Asia and America. (England came to occupy almost ¼ part of the planet). For its part, the US, in 113 years of existence as a nation in those years, had "Grown" 711 the size of its territory from its original 13 colonies. Now is the picture clear? Japan for its part, had fought on the side of the winners in World War I (1914-1918), and they, the Japanese, not awarded any "Gain". The western victors of WWI divided the world. Japan was excluded. Thus, Japan's motives for attacking and expanding as the Europeans and the US did seem clearer, right? Then they, the Japanese, attacked China in 30’s, which was occupied by 6 Western Powers for almost a century. None of the Western Powers occupying China at this time, OPPOSED or fought Japan for Invading China. NONE! Then, 11 years later after having occupied the territory of China and coexisted without any problem with the Western Powers within China, they, the Japanese, attacked Hawaii, which in turn, this Island had been occupied and annexed by the US in 1898. (In 1900-01, Hawaii became US territory and Hawaii ceased to be an independent nation after more than 630 years of sovereignty. By the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States had just completed the 40th anniversary of the military occupation and annexation of Hawaii). They, the Japanese, attacked Singapore, which was then a Colony of England. They, the Japanese, attacked the Philippines, which were occupied by the US and whose Gov’r, Douglas MacArthur reined as Emperor. Yup… Truly like an Absolute Autocrat. Therefore, the Japanese did NOT attack (In the 40’s), Singapore, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Borneo, Timor, the Philippines, etc. In reality, the Japanese attacked England, France, Belgium, Holland, the US, etc. That is, the Japanese attacked the Western Powers invading all of Asia. That is the verifiable truth. But, Propaganda has made us believe that the good guys were us, the US. And of course… Nanking was a horrendous Genocide committed by Japan, but, it was no more horrendous than the 12 Genocides committed by the United States in his History and all over the world. Nor was it less horrendous than the Genocide committed by King Leopold II of Belgium, in Central Africa. Nor was Nanking more or less horrendous than the Genocides that the British Empire committed in America, Africa, Australia, Middle East, India and also in China too. And now, the Japanese are our friends and allies... Yup… But, to fight against China, AGAIN!!! Well… No More. No More British Malaya nor British Borneo nor British wherever. No More French Indochina. No more Dutch Indies. No More Portugese Domains. No More US Domain here. Asia is for Asians and “The China Sea” belongs to CHINA. Westerns powers have nothing to do in Asia.
Reconstituted with Zuikaku and Shokaku? What are you talking about, they both were in the home islands. The 2 carriers in the Aleutians should have been sent down to form up with Hiryu and I think there was another light carrier with Yamamoto.
@@stevenbaer9061 The point was Hiryu survived the initial attacks that destroyed Akagi, Kaga, Soryu back to back. Hiryu could have been withdrawn west and been out of reach of the U.S. carrier strike force. Basically the proverbial “live to fight another day”. Reconstituted as in Hiryu withdraws from the Battle of Midway. Rather than attempting a comeback resulting in the needless destruction of fleet carrier the IJN could not replace. As a result of the disastrous Battle of Midway, Zuikaku and Shokaku were shifted from the Fifth Carrier Division to the First Carrier Division (formerly made up of Akagi and Kaga) . A light carrier, Zuiho was also attached to the newly reconstituted First Carrier Division. Had Hiryu survived it was likely she would have taken Zuiho’s place until Taiho came into service. Where perhaps Taiho and Hiryu would have been grouped into their own carrier division. I’m not saying Hiryu should retreat and then join up with Zuikaku and Shokaku in the midst of the battle. Of course, Zuikaku and Shokaku were at the home islands. Yamamoto would very much wished they were present but damages and the depletion of the air wing at the Battle of Coral Sea meant they missed out in Midway.
@@kevinkim271 I understand your point. In reality Yamamoto could have pulled the Hiryu to the west and then brought down from the Aleutians the 2 carriers assigned to that task, the Ryujo and the Junyo as well as the Zuiho which was assigned to Kondo's 2nd fleet. So then the Japanese would have 4 carriers to renew their assault. Granted only the Hiryu was a fleet sized carrier, but by that point the US was down to the Enterprise and Hornet with somewhat depleted air wings.
Japanese wasted soldiers and sailors with the command calls to commit suicide by grenade or banzai charges. Many could have escaped and fought another day. This commander threw his life away instead of returning to battle. I under the cultural significance of these actions, but it was one among many reasons Japan lost the war.
If the IJN was this casual about their firefighting and abandon ship procedure I can see why they lost. You've got enlisted men there fighting a fire there in the foreground who apparently don't know they need to abandon ship, the ship is sinking and these guys are standing back there doing something which looks like a retirement ceremony or uniform inspection.
Shokaku was even worse. The crew were kept on deck for an hour of speeches when a large explosion occurred, causing the ship to start sinking and many of the assembled crew to slide into the burning hangar deck.
By going down there ship they deprived Japan of 2 experienced officers ,not a good move , the Japanese officer class seem to do a lot of that killing them selves and leaving there troops to fend for them selfs .
Axis or allies. War criminals or not, all were brave, all sacrificed something. Not all were bad, some were good on both sides, others were bad. But in war there is no black and white, all sides, fight, for what they believe is right.
read from Craig Symonds book that some details in this clip is roughly accurate - Yamaguchi accepting all responsibility - Hiryu's captain staying to enjoy the beauty of the moon
I want to see a movie that show the entirety of the Battle of Jutland. Sadly ww1 is not so popular to make producers and directors want to make movies about it
@@admiralj6988 If done well, a movie about the battle of Jutland that would be great Although what perspective would it follow? I’d say the German Empire because they got Reinhard Shneer on their side and he has a funny name but that’s really all I got lol
If each side understood the other is equally brave and valiant, they would not have gone to war eagerly. The US did not take the Asian seriously, and Japanese took the other's culture of entertainmen and enjoyment as weakness to casaulties.
Yamamoto had lived in the US and toured it extensively, including many industrial sites. He knew the US would grind Japan into the dust and was against the war. He warned TOJO. Too bad he didn't listen. But then, Germany made the same mistake based on arrogance.
My father served in 11th Airborne Division in the Philippines and Guam, and then in the occupation after the war. During the occupation he met a Japanese officer who spoke perfect English, and it turned out he had studied at Fordham University in the Bronx in the early 1930's, and lived about 3 miles from my dad. He told my dad that because of his knowledge of the US he knew from day 1 that there was no chance of Japan winning, but as a Japanese Marine, he had to follow his emperors orders.
Unlike the 2011 film "The Admiral" aka "Isoroku", the actor, Tadanobu Asano, in Midway actually looked like Tamon Yamaguchi. While Hiroshi Abe did a fine job portraying Yamaguchi in "The Admiral", at 6' 2" it didn't fit the role, imho.
well he didn't he will Drown with the ship. he said he will go down with the ship and not particular on how deep down. hes probably somewhere in the Philippines after that drinking coconut juice in a white sand beach
Someone needed to instruct the makers of this film that, on a ship, Port is the left side and Starboard is the right side. So the line should have been "Battlestations Torpedo Starboard Side" not Port. Just one of many errors that are in this film. At least they got the target bearing correct.
Japan lost its best air officers/leaders in the first two years. And there were lot's of them down the line written off with no support. Left afloat in the broad Pacific to die, with no help from the Homeland. Through a stupid philosophy of death and not rescuing their airmen (and now airwomen) at sea. Whereas the USA, UK, RAAF and Dutch forces rebuilt/retrained/recycled their airforces (and survivors) in real time for final victory in 1945, with recovery as an essential part of their thinking. Lesson ? Draw your own thoughts as new challenges emerge.
