Isoroku Yamamoto quotes

Isoroku Yamamoto was a Japanese admiral and commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II. Known for masterminding the attack on Pearl Harbor, his strategies had a profound impact on the Pacific theater. He was recognized for both his brilliance in naval tactics and his ultimately controversial role in Japan’s military history. Here are 10 of his quotes:

I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.

Isoroku Yamamoto

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.

Isoroku Yamamoto

The fiercest serpent may be overcome by a swarm of ants.

Isoroku Yamamoto

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.

Isoroku Yamamoto

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.

Isoroku Yamamoto

Anyone who has seen the auto factories in Detroit and the oil fields in Texas knows that Japan lacks the national power for a naval race with America.

Isoroku Yamamoto

Japan has always regarded the aircraft carrier as one of the most offensive of armaments.

Isoroku Yamamoto

You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.

Isoroku Yamamoto

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 Rabaul, American fighter planes were up and waiting for him.

Isoroku Yamamoto