First Shot [Hardcover]

John Craddock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2005

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 questions: 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.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

“Sent ahead of the air assault on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese mini sub was destroyed, nearly destroying Japan’s deadly surprise. If we had only known even a bit of what John Craddock tells now, our own history could have been so very different.” —SHERRY SONTAG, co-author of Blind Man’s Bluff; The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage

THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF PEARL HARBOR AND THE JAPANESE WORLD WAR II NAVAL STRATEGY

America’s first shot of World War II was fired by a worn-out World War I destroyer. An hour before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S.S. Ward hit its mark—a tiny but lethal Japanese submarine--but no one heeded the captain’s report. Before the morning was out, more than 2,400 people were dead, thousands more were wounded, and more than 100 American warships were destroyed or crippled.

What became of the Ward’s message? Why didn’t Pearl Harbor command sound a general alarm? And what was the mission of the midget submarine and four others like it—deemed critical enough by Admiral Yamamoto, mastermind of Japan’s Pacific naval war, that he was willing to risk the element of surprise on which his entire plan depended? First Shot is the compelling examination of a missed opportunity and the role of midget submarines in Japan’s Pacific war strategy.

About the Author

John Craddock is the president of ProMedia, Ltd., a book packaging company, and helped launch a series of guidebooks for The History Channel. A former newspaper reporter and magazine publisher, Craddock has written several other books as well as articles for national publications, including The New York Times.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (October 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071437169
• ISBN-13: 978-0071437165
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,057,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could Have Been Better, May 1, 2008

By 

Jeffrey T. Munson (Dixon, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Shot: The Untold Story of the Japanese Minisubs That Attacked Pearl Harbor (Paperback)

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched the sneak attack on the American Pacific fleet based at Pearl Harbor. Over 300 aircraft operating from 6 aircraft carriers participated in the attack, but lost in the annals of history are the Japanese midget submarines, who's job it was to penetrate the harbor and launch torpedoes at the American ships.

The destroyer USS Ward was patrolling the waters surrounding the entrance to the harbor on that fateful morning. Suddenly, a lookout aboard the Ward spotted an object that looked like a periscope. Knowing that no American submarines were operating in the area, the Ward swung into action, attacking the sub with gunfire and depth charges. One shot hit the sub directly on the conning tower. The little sub then disappeared beneath the waves. The Ward immediately sent a report to Pearl Harbor but, the message failed to rouse any suspicion or action from the Americans. Approximately one hour later, the Japanese planes appeared, and the rest is history. Imagine what might have happened if the Americans would have taken the Ward's report more seriously and had planes in the air, anti-aircraft guns ready, and ships prepared to sail into open water? One can only wonder. As it turns out, the failure to act on the Ward's message is just another blunder committed by the Americans on this day of infamy.

I felt this book had some good points, but the title is somewhat confusing. When I purchased the book, I was hoping to read about the midget submarines and the role they played in the attack on Pearl Harbor. I've read numerous books on the Pearl Harbor attack, but the efforts of the mini-subs are not described in great detail. I was somewhat disappointed with this book, because the author only devotes perhaps one or two chapters of this book to the mini-subs. Instead, he talks about the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway and he devotes an entire chapter to the death of Admiral Yamamoto at the hands of American fighter pilots. He even mentions the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. This happened 3 1/2 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

This book has some interesting chapters, such as the narrative about the capture of officer Kazuo Sakamaki, commander of one of the Japanese min-subs. However, this book tends to concentrate on the Pacific war as a whole rather than solely on the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Overall, I rate this book as only average. The author should have kept to his original theme about the Japanese mini-subs' roles in the Pearl Harbor attack instead of branching out to cover the entire Pacific campaign.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Book Needs Focus, February 5, 2006

By 

Mark (Washington State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Shot (Hardcover)

On the plus side, the author does well in detailing the history of the midget sub by various countries before and during WW2. He also does well in telling the story of Japan's efforts to develop and put them into service throughout the war.

My main criticism with the author is that he didn't need 255 pages to tell that story. Craddock writes a great number of pages going over operations in which the mini-subs were not engaged. There are any number of books on the Coral Sea, Midway, and the other campaigns Craddock brings up. Also, why a chapter on the shootdown of Yamamoto? What does it have to do with the subs?

My final criticism is the accuracy of some of Craddock's facts. For instance, on page 35, he repeats the myth that the C.S.S. H.L. Hunley, the first successful operational submarine in history, was sunk because it was destroyed in the explosion that sank the U.S.S. Housatonic. This is not true. In 1995, the Hunley was discovered not where it's victim was sunk, but some distance away. The crew apparently died of asphixiation while waiting for the tide to change so they could return to base.

A second inaccuracy, on page 26 jumped out at me- "On November 4, the mock attack force took off- Betty bombers, dive bombers, torpedo bombers, and Zeros- and over a few days, carried out their tasks successfully." There could not have been any "Betty bombers" involved in the exercise, since they were land-based, two engine medium bombers. There were no "Bettys" involved in the air attack on Pearl Harbor.

These are simple errors that should have been remedied before the manuscript ever went to the printer.

However, I still give the book 3 stars because it does give a good account when it stays on the subject.

4.0 out of 5 stars A well written story in its proper context, July 27, 2011

By 

Carno Polo "adventure traveler" (Rome, Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Shot (Hardcover)

This is a well written book, keeps the reader's attention and is full of interesting information. It may be at times a bit simplistic and, as noted in other reviews, may contain the occasional factual error, but it does provide everything you ever wanted to know about Japanese midget subs. It is true, as others have noted, that this could have been done in many fewer pages, but as a non specialist I enjoyed reading the various chapters devoted to the historical context. The parts on the history of midget subs in other countries is welcome as it puts the Japanese boats and plans in context. Yes the book could have been shorter: but, as such, the "first shot" episode of 7 December 1941 would be just a footnote in history, while the wider context, which well described here, provides an interesting and new angle to the whole Pacific war. The persnal story of the sole midget sub survivor, POW n.1 in the U.S., receives adequate attention and personality of Yamamoto is explored in depth, which I think is relevant to the broader history.