Interception-attrition operations used submarines to observe and report an enemy's approach, aircraft to strike by day, and cruisers, destroyers, and fast battleships to attack at night. Submarines were valued first as reconnaissance assets because firing or transmitting could expose the information advantage. The surface attack was meant to become a strategic ambush built on Japanese knowledge of the enemy's position. British anti-submarine habits and constant zig-zagging could reduce, though not eliminate, the value of that night ambush.
Chapter · 1:17:24-1:25:34
Japan's layered attrition and ambush doctrine
The more applicable late-1930s concept used submarines, aircraft, and night attacks to wear down an approaching fleet.