Researchers mark death of Pearl Harbor mastermind Yamamoto

[mhansen2]

Researchers mark death of Pearl Harbor mastermind Yamamoto

I'm surprised they waited this long.

 

[Mikeoxenormous]

Researchers mark death of Pearl Harbor mastermind Yamamoto

I'm surprised they waited this long.

Yeah, it was the perfect storm that finally got him. Lightning was in the forecast that day, he got struck by it, as was deserved.

 

[harmonica]

“As long as he lived, the Japanese navy was a threat,

...not really ..by April 1943 there was no stopping the US--no matter who's in charge of the IJN
..the interception was a great feat of navigation for the P38s

 

[whitehall]

Guadalcanal was hanging on by a thread after starving Marines managed to cobble heavy weapons together and withstand the Japanese invasion force. Marine Sgt.John Bassalone from Raraton N.J. was awarded the MOH for repairing weapons under fire and supporting his thin machine gun platoon during a night of Japanese suicide waves and ultimately using a .45 at point blank range. That's how close it came to losing Guadalcanal. The P-38's were barely functional and it was practically a suicide mission to fly to their fuel limit and expect to return while wasting fuel waiting for a speck that may or may not appear in the sky. It was the greatest intelligence/combat mission in the Pacific war.

 

[Moonglow]

THe reason he got it was because of the ability of the US to intercept messages and decipher then...

 

[whitehall]

THe reason he got it was because of the ability of the US to intercept messages and decipher then...

The decoded Japanese messages were Navy Intelligence coups and could have been disregarded. We may never know which Navy intelligence operator gets credit for putting the message on the front burner but when you consider the fragmented and sometimes incoherent relationship between Intel and front line commanders you have to say that the operation was quirky at best and showed that Military commanders in the Pacific were able to make critical decisions on the fly.

 

[harmonica]

Guadalcanal was hanging on by a thread after starving Marines managed to cobble heavy weapons together and withstand the Japanese invasion force. Marine Sgt.John Bassalone from Raraton N.J. was awarded the MOH for repairing weapons under fire and supporting his thin machine gun platoon during a night of Japanese suicide waves and ultimately using a .45 at point blank range. That's how close it came to losing Guadalcanal. The P-38's were barely functional and it was practically a suicide mission to fly to their fuel limit and expect to return while wasting fuel waiting for a speck that may or may not appear in the sky. It was the greatest intelligence/combat mission in the Pacific war.

no it was not too close
DEATHS
Tenaru Battle August
Japanese ----- US
700 ------------- 40
Bloody Ridge Septmeber
700 ------------ 60
look at the huge difference
these previous battles are WITHOUT M1s !!!!!!!!!!!!
--jungle fighting--at night--M1s put out much, much more firepower--semi-auto vs the USMCs bolt action !!!!
MGs and BARS put out firepower but the M1s guard the autos/etc

then Guadalcanal gets a regiment's worth of M1s--about 1/3rd of the total force
they are put into the frontlines:
Battle of Henderson Field..late October
Japanese------US
...2500----------- 80
..the USMC beat the Japanese with bolt action as the standard infantry weapon
..then we see the Army come in with M1s and look at the death toll go even higher for the Japanese
..Eric Hammel specifically states this in his book Starvation Island
..please note the title of the book STARVATION Island
continued in next post

 

[harmonica]

Guadalcanal was hanging on by a thread after starving Marines managed to cobble heavy weapons together and withstand the Japanese invasion force. Marine Sgt.John Bassalone from Raraton N.J. was awarded the MOH for repairing weapons under fire and supporting his thin machine gun platoon during a night of Japanese suicide waves and ultimately using a .45 at point blank range. That's how close it came to losing Guadalcanal. The P-38's were barely functional and it was practically a suicide mission to fly to their fuel limit and expect to return while wasting fuel waiting for a speck that may or may not appear in the sky. It was the greatest intelligence/combat mission in the Pacific war.

part 2:
Starvation Island the Japanese called it because they were not getting enough supplies
logistics is over half the battle
..they kept landing more and more troops but not getting enough supplies, thus exponentially making the supply problem worse

..the US is on the defense--much easier [making some offensive attacks ]
..their lines of communication are shorter
..they can move troops-arty-etc/plug holes/ easier --which is what they did at the Battle for Henderson Field with the 164th

Halsey stated unequivocally that he was going to reinforce Cactus no matter what
he was bringing in more air/ships/etc

. The Admiral knew that Guadalcanal must be held, and promised the support of all his available forces

By the end of November, with the lessening of Japanese attacks against the Lunga area and the increase of Allied strength in the South Pacific, the Guadalcanal air force had increased in size although as late as 10 November the shortage of fuel prevented heavy bombers from using Henderson Field. General MacArthur on 14 November promised to send eight P-38's to the South Pacific.

Chapter 7: Decision at Sea
it was not a ''shoestring'' operation as much as people would think

the Japanese are losing ships/troops/aircraft also

...throughout The Canal operation, we see the beginning of America's industrial might/logistics/superior numbers/etc gradually taking the lead--maturing--and beating the Japanese