Nagumo was a capable tactical commander who could execute a defined plan, but the dispersed force structure left him making strategic choices without Yamamoto nearby. One explanation favours growing confidence and ambition over vengeance after the B-26's near strike on his bridge. In that interpretation, Nagumo assumed the American carriers would respond only after Midway fell and saw another island strike as a safe opportunity. He treated the burden on the occupation force as a matter outside his own command. Rearming the reserve was therefore an attempt at adaptation made at the wrong command level, despite evidence that the Americans already knew Japan was coming.
Notable Point · 2:08:52-2:13:10
Nagumo's tactical skill did not fit strategic command
One explanation of Nagumo's rearming error distinguishes his tactical skill from strategic improvisation based on overconfidence about American carrier movements.