The problem was that only a very few Japanese leaders had ever been to the United States, and none from the Imperial Army (the pro-war faction). Yamamoto had been here for three years in the 1920s and had traveled extensively in the country. He'd seen the steel mills of Pittsburgh and the auto factories in Detroit, and understood the pow…
The problem was that only a very few Japanese leaders had ever been to the United States, and none from the Imperial Army (the pro-war faction). Yamamoto had been here for three years in the 1920s and had traveled extensively in the country. He'd seen the steel mills of Pittsburgh and the auto factories in Detroit, and understood the power they represented. Which was why he advocated against war with the US and when finally ordered to do so told his superiors he would "run wild" for six months, but could "promise nothing" past that. He was off by three days (Midway happening on 4 June 1942, 4 days short of six months after Pearl Harbor)
When I was a kid I saw a lot of films on the war on a local unaffiliated channel that used them for filler on weekends. These, of course, were mostly propaganda films. So by the time I was old enough to read real histories of WWII I was fairly well maxed out of interest. Too bad for me. These posts are really tight. Thanks for doing this series, TC.
The problem was that only a very few Japanese leaders had ever been to the United States, and none from the Imperial Army (the pro-war faction). Yamamoto had been here for three years in the 1920s and had traveled extensively in the country. He'd seen the steel mills of Pittsburgh and the auto factories in Detroit, and understood the power they represented. Which was why he advocated against war with the US and when finally ordered to do so told his superiors he would "run wild" for six months, but could "promise nothing" past that. He was off by three days (Midway happening on 4 June 1942, 4 days short of six months after Pearl Harbor)
When I was a kid I saw a lot of films on the war on a local unaffiliated channel that used them for filler on weekends. These, of course, were mostly propaganda films. So by the time I was old enough to read real histories of WWII I was fairly well maxed out of interest. Too bad for me. These posts are really tight. Thanks for doing this series, TC.