On the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, the world, and our nation’s place in it, was forever changed. The sneak attack by Japanese Naval aircraft killed more than 2,400 sailors, Marines, soldiers, and civilians. Half a dozen ships were destroyed, many more damaged, and hundreds of airplanes were put out of commission. Though American leaders had long expected conflict with Japan, this sneak attack put us at a disadvantage as the war began.
It was pure luck, or perhaps divine providence, that the US carrier fleet was at sea the morning of the attack. Aircraft carriers were a relatively new invention, having been developed in the years since World War I and therefore still untested in battle. The battleship remained the centerpiece of naval power, which is why Japan targeted them at Pearl Harbor.
Early 20th century doctrines of naval warfare were established by an American strategist named Alfred T. Mahan in his 1890 work The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783. Mahan established that winning a war meant controlling supply lines, which meant controlling the sea. To control the sea, then, meant establishing naval supremacy. To accomplish this, Mahan advocated that nations build the most powerful fleet possible, keep it concentrated, and use it to destroy the enemy fleet and then maintain that control.
Both Britain and Germany attempted to follow this doctrine during World War I. While Germany engaged in unrestricted submarine warfare, both surface fleets stayed close to home for fear that losing a naval battle would be catastrophic. The only major naval battle of the war was the Battle of Jutland in 1916, which ended inconclusively.
Japan had learned Mahan’s doctrines as part of their efforts to modernize and catch up to the West after the Meiji Restoration. The Japanese Navy decisively defeated Russia in the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, leading to a favorable end to the Russo-Japanese War. It was therefore no surprise that Japan entered World War II looking to replicate their naval success.
There is always a danger for military strategists to try to fight the last war. The advent of the airplane had changed everything, even if military leaders did not yet realize it. Indeed, the attack on Pearl Harbor itself was a stunning validation of the new factor of air power. Despite intelligence suggesting an attack on Hawaii was imminent, some American leaders dismissed the idea, believing there would be enough warning should the Japanese fleet get close enough to launch the attack.
One man saw it coming. General Billy Mitchell rose through the ranks of American pilots in World War I, eventually commanding all American air combat units in France. He was one of the first to recognize the potential of air power, begging his superiors to see that warfare was about to change. He arranged a demonstration where airplanes sunk a captured German battleship at sea, but military leadership continued to focus on building surface forces. His public criticism of military leadership led to his court martial and resignation.
Pearl Harbor, and the remainder of World War II in the Pacific, proved Mitchell more than correct. Just three days after the surprise attack, Japanese bombers and torpedo planes sunk two British ships, the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse. In early 1942, the US Navy engaged with their Japanese counterparts in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval battle conducted entirely by airplane. The following month, the US turned the tide of the war by destroying four Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway, once again entirely by air. The age of the battleship was over, and the aircraft carrier was now the symbol of naval superiority.
Not even Japan realized the extent to which naval warfare had changed. Just over a week after Pearl Harbor they commissioned Yamato, the largest battleship every constructed. At nearly 900 feet long, displacing nearly 72,000 tons, and armed with nine 18 inch guns, Yamato was a behemoth, one of the wonders of the military world. Yet her time had passed before she had a chance. The Japanese Navy used Yamato sparingly, worried about what her loss would do to their prestige. By the end of the war, with fuel growing scarce, Yamato was sent on a one-way mission to defend Okinawa but was sunk by American bombers.
Today, the aircraft carrier is the center of American military power. The newest and most powerful ship is USS Gerald R. Ford, the first of a new class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. At more than 1,100 feet long, displacing 100,000 tons, and transporting more than 75 aircraft consisting of fighter jets, helicopters, and drones, Ford is a testament to American ingenuity and industriousness. She cost nearly $13 billion to construct and costs an additional $2.5 million each day to operate.
Gerald R. Ford truly is an amazing achievement in military technology, but there are fears that she represents the last war. Military strategists, both of the professional and armchair variety, fear that new technology could render the aircraft carrier as obsolete as Yamato was in 1941. I don’t claim to have a deep understanding of military strategy and technology, but in an era of drones, hypersonic missiles, and guided energy weapons, it seems to me that parking 4,500 sailors on a big metal target in the middle of the ocean is a dangerous gambit.
Hopefully our military leadership is listening to the Billy Mitchells of this day and age and are prepared for a changing landscape.
The temptation to fight the last war is present in politics as well. We look back at successful campaigns like Ronald Reagan’s 1984 landslide and try to duplicate them, not realizing how much times have changed. Watching the GOP primary debates feels like a time capsule as candidates cover their eyes and repeat decades-old slogans, hoping to recapture the magic that led to victories in 2004 and 2010. Who outside of Vivek Ramaswamy and perhaps Gov. Ron DeSantis are talking seriously about a weaponized federal bureaucracy, demographic replacement, and the constant drumbeat of lies foisted upon us by our government and media?
It’s the same situation here in Idaho. It’s not enough to simply mouth the corrupt shibboleths about being pro-life, pro-2A, and for low taxes. Idahoans are increasingly concerned about public morality, the degradation of our cities, and the loss of a cohesive cultural and national identity. Old guard Republicans hit the campaign trail and talk about lowering taxes, cutting regulations, and investing in education and industry, while ignoring the elephants (and rhinoceroses) in the room.
Let us not be like the military leadership of the 1920s that court martialed General Mitchell for having the audacity to speak the truth about the way naval warfare was changing. We must be open to new ideas while resting on the timeless principles that made our country great in the first place. America honored the lives lost at Pearl Harbor by doing what was necessary to win the next war, and that is a lesson we must take to heart.
Just returned from Hawaii after attending the Pacific Air Museum Gala that is dedicated to preserving the history of Pearl Harbor. Myself like many others have only a vague understanding or a movie image of what actually happened that fateful day. Visiting the actual site, seeing the Arizona Memorial, seeing all the names of those that perished that Sunday morning, walking through the museum of planes and photos should be a requirement for every high school student in America. This is history that we as a nation must acknowledge not only as our entry into WW2 but the massive joining of Americans across the nation to stand and fight together! As 21st century American we are once again faced with an assault on our nation by forces that seem determined to turn our free nation into a Marxist controlled country - will we Americans rise to the occasion and say once again “Not on our watch”?