![]() Yamamoto Isoroku, commander in chief of the Combined Fleet from 1939, ordered his staff to study the feasibility of a surprise attack by carrier-borne air forces on the U.S. On April 10, 1941, the 1st Air Fleet was formed with four regular carriers as its nucleus. The 11th Air Fleet, the mainstay of the Navy’s land-based air force, was pulled out of mainland China to prepare for the ocean operations. The Japanese Navy began gradually mobilizing its forces. Naval Historical Center (Photo number: NH 63430) In 1940, simultaneous efforts were made to strengthen air and submarine forces. As early as 1934, two monster battleships, to be equipped with 18-inch (46-cm) guns, had already been planned despite the limitations of the treaty, though actual construction began only afterward. strength by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and that Japan in 1934 gave notice of withdrawal from that treaty as from 1936. It was for this strategic reason that the Japanese Navy had made strenuous efforts to build up its auxiliary strength while its battleships were limited to 60 percent of the U.S. fleet would be destroyed before reaching Far Eastern waters. Navy as a prerequisite for victory over the United States-on the assumption that 30 percent of the main U.S. Japanese naval policy had also long considered a strength equivalent to 70 percent of the total strength of the U.S. ![]() The Navy had been armed and trained accordingly. It was assumed that decisive battles would be fought mainly by the big guns of the battleships, supplemented by light cruiser and destroyer attacks and by air attacks from carriers. Mitsubishi Zero © KuntalSaha-iStock Editorial/Getty ImagesĪs late as 1939 the Japanese Navy was still a firm believer in gun power. fleet would have to come to the Western Pacific sooner or later to challenge the Japanese aggression, in which case it would be intercepted on its way by Japanese submarines and land-based air forces and then destroyed once and for all by Japan’s main fleet in a concentrated attack (as the Russian main fleet had been destroyed in the Battle of Tsushima in 1905). The assumption here was that the main U.S. In the event of war with the United States, the plan called for the Japanese Navy to destroy the enemy’s Far Eastern fleet at the outset of hostilities, to occupy Luzon and Guam in cooperation with the Army, and then to intercept and destroy the main enemy fleet when it sailed to Far Eastern waters. Until 1941, however, the basic assumption was that Japan would be fighting only a single enemy, not two or three enemies simultaneously. Except for a few occasional revisions, the gist of this war plan remained nearly unchanged until 1936, when France was removed from the list of hypothetical enemies and China and Great Britain were included. From the geostrategic standpoint, the Army would have the major role in a war against Russia, the Navy in one against the United States. Since 1907, when Japanese military planners first defined hypothetical enemies, Russia, the United States, and France fell into this category. Learn about Japan's pre-World War II invasions, joining of the Axis powers, and attack on Pearl Harbor Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today. ![]() Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more. ![]() From tech to household and wellness products. Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.
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