American advances invert Japan's attrition plan

Japan's decisive-battle concept required the United States to accept mounting losses along a long approach before meeting the Japanese battle fleet near the end of its supply line. American commanders instead advanced deliberately, attacked scattered garrisons, and built protected logistical support behind them. Fast cruiser-destroyer raids helped turn Japan's dispersed ambush positions into targets that could be defeated separately. In this interpretation, Pearl Harbor damaged the Pacific Fleet enough to provoke a determined war but not enough to make the Americans follow Japan's preferred script. Japan was consequently forced onto a defensive strategy without enough ships or infrastructure to sustain the entire perimeter.