Nagumo Chuichi

Chuichi Nagumo (南雲 忠一 1886 - July 6, 1944) was an admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, successful commander of the attack on Pearl Harbor and loser at the Battle of Midway.

After graduating from the Japanese Naval Academy in 1908, he took various jobs (mainly in aircraft carrier tactics) in the IJN, until he gained control of a Japanese Carrier Striking Force. While commanding this force, Nagumo executed the brilliant attack on Pearl Harbor, and fought brilliantly in the 1942 campaigns in the Pacific Theatre. However, he lost four carriers in the turning point of World War 2 in the Pacific Theatre, the Battle of Midway. After this, he was criticized, placed in command of naval forces in the Marianas, and in the final stages of the US capture of Saipan, committed suicide rather than surrender.