Shimada sought to replace Nagano by pointing to Japan's losses and Nagano's prediction that the war would go badly. He promised that Japan could carry on alone, with Italy out of the war and Germany treated as unreliable. The assessment gives him little credit for the navy's occasional successes, which it regards as occurring despite his involvement. It invokes the Philippines and Leyte Gulf to challenge his promise of better results. The Leyte Gulf example is chronologically misplaced: Shimada had already left the naval staff leadership before that battle. The argument about his pursuit of power therefore needs to be distinguished from that claim about his tenure.
Chapter · 8:16-9:21
Intrigue, command, and Japan's naval reverses
Shimada used Japan's losses to challenge Nagano and promised to keep fighting without dependable Axis partners. The criticism of his results includes a misplaced Leyte Gulf example.