godofthunder9010
Active member
World War II saw some spectacular naval battles. The misnamed Battle of the Atlantic pitted the minds of Admiral Raeder and Admiral Dönitz against the very potent British Royal Navy. That chessmatch did not completely end until the final surrender of Germany by Admiral Dönitz in 1945. (I find an overall lack of documentation of notable British commanders for some strange reason and that makes no sense to me.) The Italian navy was the star "lets sit here and do nothing at all" player in that game.
The Pacific War saw the largest naval conflict in history. The Japanese had built an extremely potent navy and scored a brilliant victory at Pearl Harbor under the command of Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. The star players of the Japanese were Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Victorious early on, but ultimately overwhelmed by the USA's superior production in the long run. On the USA's side, some brilliant victories against superior forces shortly after Pearl Harbor put an exclamation on the brilliance of the US Naval leadership. Best known stars: Admiral William "Bull" Halsey and Admiral Chester Nimitz. Other stars worth noting: Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher captured victory against the odds at the Battle of the Coral Sea and then, perhaps the most amazing victory, the Battle of Midway under the direction of Nimitz, although Admiral Raymond A Spruance deserves more credit that Fletcher at Midway as the man on scene that got it done. Of course, the overall victory at Midway belongs to Nimitz.
With all the outstanding stars, who deserves to be called "the Greatest Naval Commander of World War II"?
The Pacific War saw the largest naval conflict in history. The Japanese had built an extremely potent navy and scored a brilliant victory at Pearl Harbor under the command of Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. The star players of the Japanese were Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. Victorious early on, but ultimately overwhelmed by the USA's superior production in the long run. On the USA's side, some brilliant victories against superior forces shortly after Pearl Harbor put an exclamation on the brilliance of the US Naval leadership. Best known stars: Admiral William "Bull" Halsey and Admiral Chester Nimitz. Other stars worth noting: Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher captured victory against the odds at the Battle of the Coral Sea and then, perhaps the most amazing victory, the Battle of Midway under the direction of Nimitz, although Admiral Raymond A Spruance deserves more credit that Fletcher at Midway as the man on scene that got it done. Of course, the overall victory at Midway belongs to Nimitz.
With all the outstanding stars, who deserves to be called "the Greatest Naval Commander of World War II"?