Yamamoto just happened to be in Italy when the British whalloped the Italian navy in Taranto harbour; they refused to come out to play after that, that gave him the idea for Pearl Harbour. But in the spirit of British fair play the Italians had declared war on us first.
http://www.suite101.com/content/the-battle-of-taranto---inspiration-for-pearl-harbour-a307392 Lagopus.....
Having done some study on your civil war I never could understand how the south lost as they semed to outclass the union at every turn; except the one that counted.
