If you want a true historical account of The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor watch Tora Tora Tora ---
I'd say more accurate. FAR more accurate actually. But true.... No.
Even Tora Tora Tora has it's mistakes.
Some of which have imprinted themselves so much onto our national psyche that they are taken as actual history.
Yamato's Sleeping Giant quote: Never said it. It was invented for the film, though it does accurately describe his attitude towards the attack.
Nagumo cancelling the third strike wave:There never was a third wave planned from the beginning or suggested by Fuchida after the second strike as shown in the film. This is one of many lies told by Fuchida that has been debunked, but for decades was accepted as truth, even made it into a few historical accounts based on interviews with Fuchida for which the scene in Tora Tora Tora was taken.
Fuchida was a pathological liar.
And numerous other smaller mistakes or alterations from actual history. Bratton running all over DC trying to get the brass to heed him and send a warning. Didn't happen the way in the film and Bratton actually deserves some small portion of blame for the delays, having given up after one failed attempt to phone another department, then going home for the night to resume attempting to alert higher-ups in the morning.
I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!
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indy_go_blue44
9 years ago
I'm currently reading "At Dawn We Slept"; I'm only around page 180 so I have a long ways to go to the attack. Prange did rely a lot on Fuchida; unfortunately (or not, depending on the POV) Nagumo, Yamamoto, and many of the Japanese top brass involved with the PH planning weren't around after the war. I know a third wave wasn't planned, but I've never read anywhere that it was never requested. Nagumo allegedly was 1) satisfied with the results of the first two attacks, which was designed to destroy the US Pacific fleet, and 2) was concerned with the whereabouts of the US carriers and feared being ambushed, so didn't authorize a third wave (most J. losses were in the second wave; despite the damage, the US responded pretty well to the second wave.)
As an aside, perhaps the movie would've been more acceptable if TPTB had stuck with the "love" story including the attack, and stayed away from revising history, which was a miserable fail. I say more acceptable (or maybe less scathed); it still sucked.
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CGSailor
9 years ago
I know a third wave wasn't planned, but I've never read anywhere that it was never requested.
Several Japanese Officers that were present to include Minoru Genda, has denied any such suggestion ever came from Fuchida. And in fact not a single person can recall or verify that Fuchida DID suggest such a thing.
I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!
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