I sincerely desire to be appointed Commander in Chief of the air fleet to attack Pearl Harbor so that I may personally command that attack force. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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Peter Rodrick was one of only around 4,000 men in the world qualified to land jets on a carrier after dark. - Stephen Rodrick

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The most important thing we have to do first of all in a war with the U.S., I firmly believe, is to fiercely attack and destroy the U.S. main fleet at the outset of the war so that the morale of the U.S. Navy and her people goes down to such an extent that it cannot be recovered. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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I felt from the start that America was not likely to relinquish lightly positions established at the cost of such sacrifices, and I pressed the view that a high degree of preparation and willingness to make sacrifices would be necessary on our side, but everybody here always persists in facile optimism until the very worst actually happens. -Isoroku Yamamoto

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I was once the captain of Akagi, and it is with heartfelt regret that I must now order that she be sunk. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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In the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will run wild and win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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Even a burglar hesitates to go back for more. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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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

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I'm against war with the United States. But I am an officer of the Imperial Navy and a subject of His Majesty the Emperor. - Isoroku Yamamoto

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If a war breaks out with the United States, the navy will have to put all its strength into interceptive operations, so... massive sea-borne supplies might be momentarily interrupted. -Isoroku Yamamoto

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