191 - Ladies and Gentlemen, We Got Him - Yamamoto - WW2 - April 23, 1943

by Panzer
So he’s told them which army is making the main attack?
Okay, cool, what does Monty say since it’s not him?
Huh?
He’s gonna try to make it anyhow?
But, um, that’s not what his boss wants.
Is that just how things work in Tunisia?
Cause the Axis were doing that too and it didn’t work out for them.
April 23, 1943 It was he who masterminded the surprise attack
against Pearl Harbor, he who predicted that the Japanese would have six months to run
wild and secure their empire before having to fight to defend it, he who has been pulling
the strings time and time again and guiding the Japanese Navy’s course in this war in
his capacity as Commander of the Combined Fleet.
He- Isoroku Yamamoto.
And this week…
He…
Yamamoto dies.
I’m Indy Neidell; this is World War Two.
Last week, the Axis in Tunisia pulled back to their Enfidaville positions near Tunis.
Soviet attacks in the Kuban failed, the Germans made plans for a huge offensive to hit Kursk
this summer, and Isoroku Yamamoto’s aerial offensive, Operation I-Go came to an end the
16th, and he decided to go to the Solomons and congratulate the air crews in person.
There are many sources that document the events that follow, but the book “2194 Days of
War” does a good timeline breakdown, and I mostly used that for the following.
If you want more detail about this story, and the intelligence war in general, check
out our Spies and Ties series that Astrid hosts.
It’s very good stuff.
Anyhow, a radio message from Yamamoto’s flagship Yamato is picked up.
Even encrypted, the radio operators recognize the name Yamato and send the message to Washington
DC.
It’s deciphered and passed on to Naval Secretary Frank Knox, and not only says Yamamoto is
about to tour the Solomons bases, but the timetable of his flights, the flight plans,
the strength of the fighter escorts- EVERYTHING.
At 1100 the 17th Knox talks to Henry Arnold, Air Force Chief of Staff, Charles Lindbergh,
consultant, and Lockheed’s Chief Engineer.
Him because the Lockheed P-38 Lightning is the only long range fighter on Guadalcanal.
“Knox weighs up the advantages and disadvantages of mounting an operation to shoot down Yamamoto’s
aircraft; on the one hand the danger of letting the Japanese know that the Americans have
their secret code; on the other, the possibility of getting rid of one of the most brilliant
enemy strategists, a man of legendary charisma able to inspire his men to acts of fanatical