Book Review: Preemptive Strike: The Secret Plan that Would Have Prevented the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Alan Armstrong, The Lyons Press, 2006

Could the attack on Pearl Harbor have been stopped? Could the thousands of lost American lives in the horrific fighting in the Pacific been prevented? According to Alan Armstrong, the answer to both questions is a resounding yes. In Armstrong’s Preemptive Strike, he presents his case that an aerial attack in the months preceding Pearl Harbor would have ensured the above events never occurred. In fact, Armstrong goes one step further by providing significant detail that the attack was well into the planning and preparation phases and simply waited Roosevelt’s execution order. It is truly one of those classic “what if” books that spark great interest and debate.

Subscribe Today

• Subscribe to Armchair General Magazine
• Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!
 

Armstrong, an aviation lawyer first became interested in this subject while writing an article on Claire Chennault and the Flying Tigers (American Volunteer Group). During his research, he came across extensive material related to the planning and preparation of bombing raids on Japan to be conducted in the late summer and fall of 1941. These documents sparked Armstrong’s interest and an article on Chennault expanded into a book focused on preemptive strikes on Japan.

In providing an overview of the book, perhaps, the best place to begin is to list a series of questions Armstrong tells his readers in his preface that Preemptive Strike will answer. These questions are:

• How did the American government become involved in the formation of a mercenary air force in China?
• How did Chennault develop his plan to mount bombing raids on Japanese interests, using American planes and airmen–ostensibly as agents of the government of China?
• What were the legal and political impediments to the implementation of Chennault’s plan?
• Who supported the plan, and who opposed it?
• How much did the Japanese know about American ambitions to bomb Japan before the attack on Pearl Harbor?
• How did the formation of the American Volunteer Group, training in Burma for combat in China, and the American initiative to bomb Japan from bases in southeastern China and the Philippines ultimately prompt the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor?
• What lessons can America learn from her failure to mount preemptive bombing raids before the attack on Pearl Harbor?
• How has American foreign policy changed in the decades following the attack on Pearl Harbor?

In regards to responding to these questions, Armstrong does a very credible job in most instances. He is especially effective in several areas. First, the author presents extensive treatment on the life and intriguing career of Claire Chennault. In a concise number of pages, he is able to provide readers with a solid background on the man who was the central figure in the planning and preparation phases of the potential bombing raid on Japan. This background enables readers to better understand the relationships Chennault cultivated with the other key players involved, especially Chaing Kai Shek and his wife and his ability to promote his ideas through political channels.

Second, and related to Chennault is Armstrong’s discussion on the formation of the Flying Tigers. Armstrong again is able to present readers with a succinct history on an organization that is often ignored in discussions of World War II. Hidden in the China-Burma-India (C-B-I) Theater, the Flying Tigers executed one of the toughest missions during the War and were virtually ignored. Armstrong aptly describes their fascinating creation, their psychological impact on the Japanese, and their potential role in the bombing of Japan. As with his discussion on Chennault it is truly a book within a book.

Help Armchair General by bookmarking to