Operation BRUTUS, also known as the Ides of March Plan or The Great Revenge, was a broad assassination initiative against the Japanese Empire authorized by President Joseph Robinson in 1927 that was carried out on March 15, 1928. While five out of six targets were killed, many of the American assassins were caught and executed and the ensuing debacle was a major stain on Robinson's record in an election year, despite the success of the assassinations in crippling the Japanese war effort. The operation was named after Junius Brutus, the assassin of Caesar, and was planned for March 15 to coincide with the death of Caesar. The term "Great Revenge" refers to the notion that the assassination was authorized to exact revenge for the murder of Robinson's predecessor, President Al Smith.