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[[ImageFile:Yamamoto-Isoroku-improvedContrast.jpg|144px|thumb|In the first six to twelve months of a [[war]] with the [[United States]] and [[United Kingdom|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]].]]
'''[[w:Isoroku Yamamoto|Isoroku Yamamoto]]''' ([[4 April]] [[1884-04-04]] – [[1943-04-18 April]] [[1943]]) was a Fleet[[w:Japanese Admiralpeople|Japanese]] and Commander-in-Chief of the[[w:Gensui (Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN)|Marshal during World War II. He was a graduateAdmiral]] of the [[w:Imperial Japanese NavalNavy|Imperial AcademyJapanese Navy]] (IJN) and anthe alumnus[[w:commander-in-chief|commander-in-chief]] of the U.S.[[w:Combined NavalFleet|Combined War College and Harvard University. He diedFleet]] during an[[World inspectionWar tourII]] of forward positions in the Solomon Islands whenuntil his transport aircraft was ambushed by American P-38 Lightning fighter planes. His death was a major blow to Japanese military morale during World War II.
 
Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reorganizations, especially its development of [[w:naval aviation|naval aviation]]. He was the commander-in-chief during the early years of the [[w:Pacific War|Pacific War]] and oversaw major engagements including the [[attack on Pearl Harbor|attack on Pearl Harbor]] and the [[w:Battle of Midway|Battle of Midway]]. He was killed when American code breakers identified his flight plans, enabling the [[w:United States Army Air Forces|United States Army Air Forces]] to [[w:Operation Vengeance|shoot down his plane]]. His death was a major blow to Japanese military morale during World War II.
{{military-stub}}
 
== SourcedQuotes ==
[[ImageFile:Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.jpg|144px|thumb|A [[military]] man can scarcely [[pride]] himself on having "smitten a [[sleeping]] [[enemy]]"; it is more a matter of [[shame]], simply, for the one smitten.]]
* '''Should hostilities once break out between [[Japan]] and the [[United States]], it is not enough that we take Guam and the Philippines, nor even Hawaii and San Francisco. To make victory certain, we would have to march into Washington and dictate the terms of peace in the White House. I wonder if our politicians, among whom armchair arguments about war are being glibly bandied about in the name of state politics, have confidence as to the final outcome and are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices.
** As quoted in ''At Dawn We Slept'' (1981) by Gordon W. Prange, p. 11; this quote was stated in a letter to [[w:Ryoichi Sasakawa|Ryoichi Sasakawa]] prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Minus the last sentence, it was taken out of context and interpreted in Americathe U.S. as a boast that Japan would conquer the entire continentalcontiguous United States. The omitted sentence showed Yamamoto's counsel of caution towards a war that would cost Japan dearly.
 
* '''A military man can scarcely pride himself on having "smitten a sleeping enemy"; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten.''' I would rather you made your appraisal after seeing what the enemy does, since it is certain that, angered and outraged, he will soon launch a determined counterattack.'''
** Reply made to Ogata Taketora, the Editor in Chief of ''[[w: Asahi Shimbun| Asahi Shimbun]]'' (9 January 1942) as quoted in ''The Reluctant Admiral'' (1979) by [[w:Hiroyuki Agawa|Hiroyuki Agawa]]
* '''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.'''
** Statement to Japanese cabinet minister Shigeharu Matsumoto and Japanese prime minister [[w:Fumimaro Konoe|Fumimaro Konoe]], as quoted in ''Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan'' (1985) by Ronald Spector. This remark would later prove prophetic; precisely six months after the [[w: Attack on Pearl Harbor| attack on Pearl Harbor]], the Japanese navy would suffer a major defeat at the [[w: Battle of Midway| Battle of Midway]], from which it never recovered.
* '''The fiercest serpent may be overcome by a swarm of ants.'''
** Statement in opposition of the planned construction of the [[w:Yamato class battleship|Yamato class]] battleships, as quoted in ''Scraps of paper: the disarmament treaties between the world wars'' (1989) by Harlow A. Hyde. In this statement, Yamamoto implies that even the most powerful battleships can be sunk by a huge swarm of carrier planes. This remark also proved prophetic as both ''Yamato'' and ''Musashi'' would be sunk by overwhelming air attacks.
 
== {{Disputed ==begin}}
 
== Disputed ==
* '''I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.'''
** Statement made after the [[w:Attack on Pearl Harbor|attack on Pearl Harbor]] by Yamamoto as portrayed in the film ''[[Tora! Tora! Tora!|Tora! Tora! Tora!]]'', this is one of the most quoted remarks attributed to him. Though it is thought that it summarizes his sentiments well, a definite source for this quote has never been provided. William Safire wrote that there is no printed evidence to support this quote. [http://books.google.com/books?id=c4UoX6-Sv1AC&pg=PA666 ''Safire's Political Dictionary'', page 666.] For more information see the Wikipedia article "[[w:Isoroku Yamamoto's sleeping giant quote|Isoroku Yamamoto's sleeping giant quote]]".
{{Disputed end}}
 
{{Misattributed begin}}
== Misattributed ==
* '''You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.'''
** Some have declared this attribution is "unsubstantiated” even though it has been repeated thousands of times in various Internet postings. The quote is supposed to be in a letter, but the letter hasn’t been found or no longer exists. There is no record found yet of the commander in chief of Japan’s wartime fleet ever saying it. The jury is still out on this.
{{Misattributed end}}
 
== Quotes about Yamamoto ==
[[File:Yamamoto what do you say america.jpg|thumb|Yamamoto was an aggressive and inspiring officer, but he made the error of dividing his huge force five ways and of thinking that his foe would behave in a predictable way. ~ C.L. Sulzberger]]
 
* In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a single word favored above all others by Americans as best characterizing the Japanese people was "treacherous," and for the duration of the war the surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific fleet remained the preeminent symbol of the enemy's inherent treachery. The attack also inspired a thirst for revenge among Americans that the Japanese, with their own racial blinders, had failed to anticipate. In one of his earliest presentations of the plan to attack Pearl Harbor, even Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, who presumedly knew the American temperament firsthand from his years as a naval attache in Washington, expressed hope that shattering opening blow against the Pacific Fleet would render both the U.S. Navy and the American people "so dispirited that they will not be able to recover."
** [[John W. Dower]], ''War Without Mercy: Race & Power in the Pacific War'' (1986), p. 36
 
* '''Yamamoto was an aggressive and inspiring officer, but he made the error of dividing his huge force five ways and of thinking that his foe would behave in a predictable way.''' After his crushing defeat on Midway, he ordered a general retreat and took ill in his cabin. U.S. naval intelligence again was his undoing. When he took off on an inspection tour from [[w:Rabaul|Rabaul]], American fighter planes were up and waiting for him.
** C.L. Sulzberger, ''The American Heritage Picture History of World War II'' (1966), p. 212
 
==External links==
{{wikipedia}}
[[pl:{{Commons category|Isoroku Yamamoto]]}}▼
*[http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWyamamoto.htm Yamamoto biography] Fromfrom Spartacus Educational
*[http://www.ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=1 World War II Database: Isoroku Yamamoto biography]
*[http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/prs-for/japan/japrs-xz/i-yamto.htm Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Navy] U.S. Naval Historical Center
*[http://www.ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=51 World War II Database: Death of Yamamoto]
*[http://www.historypacificwrecks.navy.milcom/photosaircraft/prs-forg4m/japan/japrs-xz/i-yamto2656.htmhtml AdmiralPacific IsorokuWrecks] — Yamamoto,'s Japanesefatal Navy]Mitsubishi G4M USType Naval1 Historicalbomber Centercrash
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20101020040609/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1970/1/1970_1_11.shtml The Great Pacific War]▼
*[http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/g4m/2656.html Pacific Wrecks. Place where Yamamoto Type 1 bomber crash]
▲*[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1970/1/1970_1_11.shtml The Great Pacific War]
 
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[[Category:Military1884 leadersbirths]]
[[Category:Japanese1943 deaths]]
[[Category:1940s deaths]]
[[Category:Imperial Japan]]
[[Category:Military leaders from Japan]]
 
[[Category:Military leaders of World War II]]
[[cs:Isoroku Jamamoto]]
[[ja:山本五十六]]
▲[[pl:Isoroku Yamamoto]]
[[pt:Almirante Isoroku Yamamoto]]
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