Carrier raids force Japan to defend a vast perimeter

Repeated attacks at separated points could force Japan to defend its home islands and recent conquests against carriers whose next target was unknown. In this interpretation, that concern produced a defensive mindset distinct from the earlier plan to expand and then draw an enemy into a prepared perimeter. Ships, aircraft, and troops assigned to protect each position were unavailable for concentrated offensive action. The same problem appears along long land borders and in the Royal Navy's early First World War reluctance to distribute ships among convoy escorts. Defending a vast empire encouraged a preference for attacking the source of the threat. A force that waits for attacks also gives its opponent more control over when combat occurs. Sustaining that control requires enough strength to keep attacking while preventing the enemy from recovering and counterattacking. Coral Sea and Midway are interpreted here as Japanese attempts to regain that control of the pace of operations.