Yamamoto Isoroku

Japanese: 山本五十六 - やまもといそろく

Born: April 4, 1884 in Niigata and Nagaoka
[Died] April 18, 1943. A Bougainville Island naval officer. Although he advocated avoiding war with the United States, he planned and led many victorious operations in the early stages of the Pacific War, including the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, but was later defeated in the Battle of Midway. Born as the sixth son of Takano Sadakichi, a samurai of the Nagaoka domain, he later inherited the Yamamoto family line. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1904, served in the Russo-Japanese War and was wounded in the Battle of Tsushima, and graduated from the Naval War College in 1916. He served as a resident officer in the United States (studying abroad), an instructor at the Naval War College, and vice-captain and headmaster of the Kasumigaura Naval Air Corps. He served as a military attaché at the U.S. Embassy for many years from 1925, and was also an attendant at the London Naval Disarmament Conference, so he was well-informed about overseas affairs. In 1929, he was an attendant to the London Naval Disarmament Conference. After returning to Japan, he became the Director of the Technical Department of the Naval Aviation Headquarters, and worked hard to reorganize and strengthen the aviation industry, domestically produce parts, and absorb new overseas technologies. In 1933, he became commander of the 1st Carrier Squadron, and in 1935, Chief of the Naval Aviation Headquarters, demonstrating his skill in naval aviation administration. In 1936, as Vice Minister of the Navy, he opposed the Tripartite Pact between Japan, Germany, and Italy, and also opposed the Pacific War from a strategic standpoint. In 1939, he became Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet. When the Tripartite Pact was signed in September 1940, Japan-US relations deteriorated, and he, who believed that there was no chance of victory in a war between Japan and the US, was forced to take charge of operational guidance as Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet. Judging that there was no chance of victory with ordinary operations, he planned the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor at the beginning of the war. After the war began in 1941, he led the war against the US, always taking an aggressive approach and making the first move, but his plan was thwarted in the Battle of Midway, and he was killed in action when his plane was shot down over Bougainville Island while he was trying to visit troops left behind by a new operation. He was posthumously promoted to a marshal.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

[生]1884.4.4. 新潟，長岡
[没]1943.4.18. ブーゲンビル島
海軍軍人。対アメリカ戦争回避論者でありながら，真珠湾奇襲など太平洋戦争緒戦での勝利の諸作戦を立案指揮し，次いでミッドウェー海戦に敗れた。長岡藩士高野貞吉の六男として生まれ，のち山本家を継いだ。 1904年海軍兵学校卒業，日露戦争に従軍し日本海海戦で戦傷，1916年海軍大学校卒業。アメリカ駐在員 (留学) ，海軍大学校教官，霞ヶ浦海軍航空隊副長兼教頭など歴任。 1925年よりアメリカ駐在大使館付き武官を長く務め，ロンドン軍縮会議の随員でもあったことから海外の事情によく通じていた。 1929年ロンドン軍縮会議日本全権随員。帰国後，海軍航空本部技術部長となり，航空工業の再編強化，部品の国産化，海外新技術の吸収に尽力。 1933年第1航空戦隊司令官，1935年海軍航空本部長となって，海軍航空軍政に手腕を発揮。 1936年海軍次官として日独伊三国同盟に反対，太平洋戦争にも作戦的見地から反対した。 1939年連合艦隊司令長官に就任。 1940年9月三国同盟が調印されると，日米関係は悪化し，日米戦に勝算なしとした彼が，連合艦隊司令長官として作戦指導にあたらなければならぬ立場となった。尋常一様の作戦では勝利の見込みなしと判断し，開戦劈頭の真珠湾奇襲作戦を計画。 1941年開戦後は対アメリカ戦を指導，常に先手を打つ積極策をとったが，ミッドウェー海戦で彼の構想は挫折，新作戦により後方に取り残される部隊を見舞おうとして，ブーゲンビル島上空で乗機を撃墜され戦死。死後元帥。

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