The Doctrine of Surprise

The Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor was not the first time they did something like that. The battle of Port Arthur on February 8, 1904 was quite similar with similar effects. Further back in history in 1860 there was a surprise attack by the forces of Nobunga Oda on the forces of Yashimoto Imagawa.

When you are on the verge of a war you really want to know what the enemy had done in the past but apparently this concept didn't attract enough attention on the part of U.S. military leaders.



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