Chūichi Nagumo
Imperial Japanese Navy admiral who led the Pearl Harbor attack.
Chūichi Nagumo was an Imperial Japanese Navy admiral who commanded the carrier strike force that attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.[1] He led the Kido Butai through successful raids on Darwin and the Indian Ocean before suffering a crushing defeat at the Battle of Midway in June 1942.[1] Nagumo killed himself with a pistol shot to the temple on 6 July 1944 on Saipan rather than be taken captive.[2]
Quick Facts
- Born
- 25 March 1887
- Died
- 6 July 1944
- Birthplace
- Yonezawa, Yamagata, Empire of Japan
- Place of death
- Saipan, South Seas Mandate
- Allegiance
- Empire of Japan
- Service years
- 1908–1944
- Rank
- Admiral (posthumous)
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
Nagumo was appointed commander-in-chief of the 1st Air Fleet on 10 April 1941 largely due to his seniority.[3] Nagumo oversaw the Pearl Harbor attack but was later criticized for not launching a third strike that could have destroyed fuel storage and repair facilities.[4] At Midway, Nagumo rearmed his planes with torpedoes after receiving a scout report of American ships, leaving half his aircraft armed with torpedoes and half with bombs.[5][6] After Midway, Nagumo commanded carriers in the Guadalcanal campaign and acknowledged that the attrition of experienced pilots was a "shattering strategic loss for Japan" despite tactical success at Santa Cruz.[7]
Because he was a surface warfare officer with little background in naval aviation, many of his contemporaries questioned whether he was the right choice for the command.[3] Admiral Nishizō Tsukahara remarked that Nagumo's "background, training, experience, and interest" made him "wholly unfitted" to hold a significant position in Japan's naval air arm.[3]
What the cited sources add
The Smithsonian magazine article notes that Nagumo operated under the erroneous assumption that no U.S. carriers were near Midway when he ordered rearmament.[5] The Breaching the Marianas account states that American maps estimated 15,000 enemy troops on Saipan, but the actual force was 30,000 under Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito and Vice Admiral Nagumo.[8] He was posthumously promoted to full admiral and awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Golden Kite.[2]
References
- Wikipedia, "Chūichi Nagumo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Klemen, "Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo", Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Chūichi Nagumo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Breaching the Marianas: The Battle for Saipan (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Chūichi Nagumo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Caravaggio, ""WINNING" THE PACIFIC WAR: The Masterful Strategy of Commander Minoru Genda", Naval War College Review, 2014, p. 85–118 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Chūichi Nagumo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Evans 1979, p. 529; Blair, "Silent Victory", Lippincott, 1975; Willmott, H. P. Barrier and the Javelin (United States Naval Institute Press, 1983); Holmes, "Double-Edged Secrets", United States Naval Institute Press, 1979 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- The True Story of the Battle of Midway, Smithsonian magazine, Meilan Solly, Nov. 8, 2019. This article focuses on how accurate the 2019 Hollywood movie is.. facts only, no text reused. smithsonianmag.com
- Wikipedia, "Chūichi Nagumo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The True Story of the Battle of Midway, Smithsonian magazine, Meilan Solly, Nov. 8, 2019. This article focuses on how accurate the 2019 Hollywood movie is. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Chūichi Nagumo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Prados, "Islands of Destiny: The Solomons Campaign and the Eclipse of the Rising Sun", NAL, 2012, p. 158; Hara, "Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway —The Great Naval Battles as Seen Through Japanese Eyes", Naval Institute Press, 2011-08-15, p. 125 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Breaching the Marianas: The Battle for Saipan. facts only, no text reused. ibiblio.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Chūichi Nagumo (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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