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What are your sources on this? You write authoritatively and with seeming knowledge of Japanese discussions, commander psychologies and thought processes. Is this an original work of yours, basically synthesized from all the relevant facts that bounce around your head, or ?
I don't mean to sound doubtful or critical. Just curious. I love the overall approach and depth; it's been a great series. It just feels like it lacks citations. But it's already way beyond an "effortpost", so bravo!
I said in the very first post, but maybe I wasn't explicit enough. This series is a essentially an abridged version of the book Shattered Sword by historians Johnathan Parshall and Anthony Tully. I'm writing a narrative that focuses more on analyzing the battle without all the small details that they include. They devote, for example, several pages to talking about the performance parameters of Japanese carrier planes that I don't think are relevant if you're just trying to understand Midway broadly.
Ah, I'm sure I skimmed over the honorifics to try to determine my interest level and just plunged in from there. My bad.
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A good read as always. Keep them coming!
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I’m enjoying the series. Just wish it could come out a little faster :)
Did you ever read /u/mcjunker’s battle reports from the old country? I’m struggling to find them, but at least one was reposted here. (If anyone has other links, I’d really appreciate it!)
Me too, I wish the author would write faster :(
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Why do you call the japanese scouting efforts 'fucking stupid'(area of sweden etc) when you later note that they perfectly localized the enemy that day.
They got lucky, that's why. They cut numerous corners that no good commander would ever do. In no way could they have banked on learning with reasonable assurance if the Americans were there or not.
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Even a stopped clock-shaped search pattern can be right once a day.
And “perfectly” is a bit of a stretch!
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*grateful for a few hours plus every few years when I think about the article again
Is this the one you're thinking of: http://www.combinedfleet.com/economic.htm?
Yeah, it blew me away when I first read it. So many of the WWII histories I've read painted the struggle as a near thing but, when the economics are laid bare, it's clear that, if the war dragged on, the Axis were doomed.
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Hey, thanks for reading! Comments like yours motivate me to continue!
While I'm not sure what article you read, the authors do maintain an website which gives all manner of interesting details and comparisons between the Japanese and Americans during this time period. You can check out Grim Economic Realities to see them lay out the case for how stark the differences were.
Both you and @Emptybee nailed it. Man, the internet is amazing sometimes
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