Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is one of the Japanese officers that planned the air attack on US naval forces at Pearl Harbor. He worked as a naval attache for the Japanese embassy in Washington, DC, which enabled him to speak perfect English. Yamamoto experienced many promotions until he finally ended up as commander in chief of Japan's Combined Fleet. Yamamoto saw the US Navy as a folly, but also feared that prolonged conflict with them would end with Japan losing. Because of this, Yamamoto saw a surprise attack on the US Navy as the only way they could achieve victory and so planned the air strike on the US naval base. This strike, which happened at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, did exactly what Yamamoto had hoped - it hurt the US Navy and aircraft - but it did even more. Not only were there dive bombers, torpedo planes, and fighters destroying the US battleships, but there were more than 3,400 American casualties. Admiral Yamamoto met his end, however, when US forces ambushed his plane and shot him down over Bougainville Island in 1943.
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