[yarddog]

I read a book by one of the German generals. He commanded the fighter division of the Luftwaffe.

He said Germany was around 2 years away from being ready for the war. Despite early victories they knew they would lose a protracted war.

I think Yamamoto thought the same.

[sparklite2]

Despite early victories they knew they would lose a protracted war.

I think Yamamoto thought the same.

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By destroying the US fleet at Pearl Harbor, Yamamoto hoped the US would sue for peace. With the long supply lines, if nothing else, Japan knew they could not invade the US.

The Japs had a bad case of victory fever and went out to destroy the American carriers to finish things off. That’s what Midway was all about.

[Vigilanteman]

It is no doubt that Yamamoto thought the same. He warned Tojo and company point blank that if the war was not won (or at least turned into a negotiated peace) within the first month, then it would be lost.

Japan was ill prepared to launch the pivotal battle of Midway. They even had to cheat in a simulation which showed a near 50-50 of loss against two large carriers (not knowing we would repair the Yorktown in record time from the Battle of the Coral Sea and have it available at Midway), but understood there was no better opportunity for a decisive battle, so went for it anyway.

Even after Midway, they invaded Guadalcanal and attempted to keep offensive operations moving forward on another front. We all know how that campaign turned out.