First Shot: The Untold Story of the Japanese Minisubs That Attacked Pearl Harbor

by John Craddock

Unheeded warnings, missed opportunities, a failure to connect the dots—more than 60 ago, America was rocked by a devastating surprise attack on its Pearl Harbor naval base, one that destroyed a big part of our nation’s Pacific fleet. To this day historians argue over whether that attack could have or should have been detected ahead of time. In First Shot , John Craddock investigates a little-known but clear eleventh-hour warning that, had it been heeded, might have enabled the Navy’s Pearl Harbor command to blunt the Japanese assault and save ships and lives. Craddock reveals that the attack plan of Japan’s Admiral Yamamoto included five midget submarines, each carrying two men and two torpedoes. First Shot vividly recreates the action on the deck of the USS Ward on the morning of December 7 as the outmoded relic of an earlier war engaged a tiny, state-of-the-art undersea fighting machine. Reconstructing these events from original and primary source materials as well as new revelations from the discovery in August 2002 of the minisub sunk by the Ward , Craddock poses and answers a number of Why was the Ward’s urgent message ignored by Pearl Harbor command? Why would Admiral Yamamoto, son of a samurai warrior and a brilliant strategist and tactician, jeopardize his surprise attack by trying to penetrate Pearl Harbor's sea defenses with five midget submarines that could inflict only limited damage? How might an advance warning of even one hour have changed the American response to the attack? Craddock further reveals that Japan's use of midget submarines was not limited to the Pearl Harbor attack. Hundreds were built, and Yamamoto deployed them repeatedly as the war unfolded. Even in the Pearl Harbor attack the two-man crews knew they had little chance of survival; as Japan’s early successes were replaced by stalemate, then losses, and finally a desperate endgame, the crews accepted—even welcomed--that their missions were suicidal. Kazuo Sakamaki, the only survivor among the midget sub crews in the Pearl Harbor attack, was also America’s first Japanese POW. To be captured was to dishonor his family and his motherland, and Sakamaki repeatedly attempted suicide after being shipped to a prison camp in Wisconsin. His is a poignant story of a soldier’s defeat, despair, and ultimate redemption. First Shot molds a forgotten piece of history into a fascinating narrative—a bittersweet tale of duty done and duty shirked; bold successes and calamitous failures; and the undeniable fact that, in the broad course of historic events, the actions of ordinary individuals can change everything.

Genres: History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2005

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a book either with the wrong title or a lack of focus. I was expecting an in depth research into the use of the midget subs at Pearl Harbor. Instead this book covered in a truncated history the use of all Japanese minature submarines. At that not even a good truncated history. There are some nuggets of good stuff here but nothing earth shattering. If you are looking for a Pearl Harbor history move on. If you want a kmikaze book I would refer to Kamikazes by Edwin Hoyt which is a mostly comprehensive history of the Kamikaze Corps. To understand the motivation of the Japenese Hoyt's book is good and In Danger's Hour by Maxwell Taylor Kennedy. I would not recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a good naval History.

[Carmen wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting account of the once secret Japanese submarines used in the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the failure of the US military's response to warning calls made hours before the attack. Made me think about what could have been had things been handled differently, or if luck hadn't been involved (on both sides) during several situations.

[Lon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Japan's mini-subs in WWII. Interesting, only if you want history about Pearl Harbor and WWII.