Japan's WWII Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was the mastermind of the “sneak attack” on Pearl Harbour that dragged the United States into the Second World War. His strategy stunned the Allies and allowed the Japanese military to make gains across the Pacific that took years of hard, bloody fighting to reverse. But Yamamoto was a commander who understood the folly of war with the United States and its allies, yet paradoxically did more than most to bring war about. The failure to finish the job at Pearl Harbour, his overconfident, flawed planning at Midway and his unwillingness to commit to a decisive battle at Guadalcanal ultimately meant the very tools he had perfected were turned back against Japan with ruinous consequences. In the fourth episode of our Commanders series, we peel back the myth and propaganda to explore the enigmatic admiral at the very heart of the Pacific War. What can the real Yamamoto tell us about hubris, strategy, and the tragedy of inevitability? Joining us is the historian Mark Stille, who, after a nearly 40-year career in the intelligence community, is the author of numerous books on naval history in the Pacific theatre, including Pearl Harbour: Japan's Greatest Disaster and Midway: The Pacific War's Most Famous Battle. Produced and edited by Dougal Patmore. Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at . You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Japan's WWII Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is an episode from Dan Snow's HISTORY HIT by History Hit.

This episode is 58:36 long.

This episode was published on Mar 23, 2026.

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