A Discussion on Fleet Admiral Nimitz, with special guest Admiral James Stavridis

09/20/22 • 35 min

1 Listener

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War

Nimitz Pre War
Who was he and where did he come from?
Texas Hill Country, Fredericksburg
Too poor to go to college, worked his tail off to go to Naval Academy
Spent time in Japan before the war
Nimitz was a submarine officer in his early years
Commanded a DD in the Philippines
Commanded a cruiser division and battleship division
XO of SC, CO Chicago
Highly experienced in the realm of command
Nimitz Upon Assignment as CINCPAC
56 Years Old currently occupying the office of the Bureau of Navigation
Whose decision was it to promote Nimitz to the position?
FDR
He had been offered the job before December 41 and turned it down for fear of upsetting senior officers.
He was junior to some 50 other Admirals
He feared that taking the job and leapfrogging them would have created resentment and made it more difficult to do the job.
Nimitz the Leader
What kind leadership style did Nimitz utilize?
He was a people person
Never cussed, raised his voice or dressed men down in public
He gave his subordinates a lot of autonomy and assumed they knew their jobs until they proved they did not
If that occurred, he spoke in low tones, was blunt but not rude or insulting
Always looked after his men and took care of them
Nimitz the Executive
Juggled personalities of subordinates and his boss extremely well
Dealings with King
Dealings with subordinates
Turner
GEN Smith
Halsey
Towers
JO Richardson
MacArthur
Spruance and Nimitz relationship
Nimitz handled the various personalities in the Pacific in check much as Ike did in the ETO.
Was very similar to Ike in terms of Supreme Commander, even though, Nimitz was no Supreme Commander
What did Nimitz inherit in December 41 and how did he go about fixing the problems?
Inherited a shattered command
Devastated morale
Staff, fleet and populace
Fear of a Japanese invasion
When he landed in Pearl on Xmas Day he asked about the relief of Wake
When told it fell and was abandoned, he fell silent
Didn’t take command immediately. Worked with Admiral Pye to get the lay of the land, latest issues and intel.
Took command on December 31, 1941 aboard USS Grayling (SS-209) fittingly
Nimitz’s Strategy 1941-42
Be cautious, yet forceful and hit them where they least expect it
Strike back was essential
(Set the stage for next episode about the Hit and Run Raids)
Nimitz’s biggest gamble
Midway
Recognized the role of intel and believed in it, believed in his people and their skills
Nimitz’s Legacy
Developed and implemented the island hopping strategy that won the war.
Inherited a shattered fleet, trusted his subordinates, built his leadership teams and won when it was absolutely necessary.

Nimitz Pre War
Who was he and where did he come from?
Texas Hill Country, Fredericksburg
Too poor to go to college, worked his tail off to go to Naval Academy
Spent time in Japan before the war
Nimitz was a submarine officer in his early years
Commanded a DD in the Philippines
Commanded a cruiser division and battleship division
XO of SC, CO Chicago
Highly experienced in the realm of command
Nimitz Upon Assignment as CINCPAC
56 Years Old currently occupying the office of the Bureau of Navigation
Whose decision was it to promote Nimitz to the position?
FDR
He had been offered the job before December 41 and turned it down for fear of upsetting senior officers.
He was junior to some 50 other Admirals
He feared that taking the job and leapfrogging them would have created resentment and made it more difficult to do the job.
Nimitz the Leader
What kind leadership style did Nimitz utilize?
He was a people person
Never cussed, raised his voice or dressed men down in public
He gave his subordinates a lot of autonomy and assumed they knew their jobs until they proved they did not
If that occurred, he spoke in low tones, was blunt but not rude or insulting
Always looked after his men and took care of them
Nimitz the Executive
Juggled personalities of subordinates and his boss extremely well
Dealings with King
Dealings with subordinates
Turner
GEN Smith
Halsey
Towers
JO Richardson
MacArthur
Spruance and Nimitz relationship
Nimitz handled the various personalities in the Pacific in check much as Ike did in the ETO.
Was very similar to Ike in terms of Supreme Commander, even though, Nimitz was no Supreme Commander
What did Nimitz inherit in December 41 and how did he go about fixing the problems?
Inherited a shattered command
Devastated morale
Staff, fleet and populace
Fear of a Japanese invasion
When he landed in Pearl on Xmas Day he asked about the relief of Wake
When told it fell and was abandoned, he fell silent
Didn’t take command immediately. Worked with Admiral Pye to get the lay of the land, latest issues and intel.
Took command on December 31, 1941 aboard USS Grayling (SS-209) fittingly
Nimitz’s Strategy 1941-42
Be cautious, yet forceful and hit them where they least expect it
Strike back was essential
(Set the stage for next episode about the Hit and Run Raids)
Nimitz’s biggest gamble
Midway
Recognized the role of intel and believed in it, believed in his people and their skills
Nimitz’s Legacy
Developed and implemented the island hopping strategy that won the war.
Inherited a shattered fleet, trusted his subordinates, built his leadership teams and won when it was absolutely necessary.

Previous Episode

The Legend of Dugout Doug

As you know, the nation is going through a process of reviewing Confederate leaders through a clearer lens, clearing away the mythology around them that emerged to justify their actions after the end of the Civil War. I see this as right and appropriate.

But I also think it’s time to contemplate General MacArthur through a clearer lens. And if we do this, we realize:

He was an unabashed liar, regularly committing what we would refer at Annapolis as honor violations of the type that would have gotten any other military officer fired.
He was a narcissist of the degree to which made George Patton look like a humble man.
He was self-delusional about his military prowess, believing that he and he alone had the ability to win this war in a largely naval theater, when in fact his actions likely extended it.
He was a known pedophile who at the age of 50 took in a 16-year-old girl as his live-in concubine
As Army Chief of Staff he used Army mounted cavalry and tanks against protesting World War I veterans in an event referred to as the Bonus March demonstrations.
In my view, rather than being a military genius, for his part in the execution of questionable campaigns that contributed to the deaths of thousands of Americans, I see him as the worst American general since another General Mac— George McClellan.
About the only good thing I can say about him is he performed admirably in World War I when he far less responsibility and in his leadership of occupied Japan.

A lot of this is going to sound like 20-20 hindsight, but in the military we have this thing called the After Action Report or AAR that is 100% 20-20 hindsight. The whole purpose of the AAR is to overcome the fog of war and look back on what really happened so that we can learn from it.

Next Episode

Hit and Run

Sit Rep PTO late December 1941-January 1942

Japanese are on the offensive everywhere
Philippines are already on the way out
Wake Island, despite a gallant defense by the Marines has been captured and the planned relief had been called off December 22.
The fact that Wake Island had been abandoned by Admiral Pye lit a fire under Nimitz to strike back.
Morale was extremely low in the fleet due to the fact that Wake had been abandoned.
Capt McMorris, Pye’s Chief of staff, said that retreating from Wake would be “unduly cautious” and a retreat would “destroy service and public confidence. It is an opportunity unlikely to come again soon. We are in great need of a victory.”
Talk about the effect of Pye’s retreat order on the Carrier Force
Aubrey Fitch withdrew to his cabin so he would not hear the mutinous talk on the bridge.
Fliers on Saratoga threatened to ignore the order and launch anyway.
Intel officer Edwin Layton said, “To lose to an enemy that fought you and you fought well was one thing. But to lose because your own Admiral was a nervous Nellie was another.”
January 1942 was probably the worst month of the war in the Pacific as far as public knowledge and morale went.
Admiral King wants to strike back
In a cable dated January 2, 1942 King told Nimitz that he was not pleased with the “half-hearted” deployment of the CVs.
He desired “Hit and Run” raids in the Marshalls and Gilberts.
Talk about surprise raids to hit the outlying Japanese bases.
Even though King wants to strike back, Nimitz’s advisers say don’t do it
What can Nimitz strike back with?
Talk about the carriers and their availability
CV experience or lack thereof
What are the risks of utilizing the CVs at this juncture?
Who is expressing doubt?
Admiral Bloch 14th Naval District responsible for defending Hawaii
What were the arguments against a raid or raids?
Bloch said that deploying the CVs on raids would leave Hawai’i dangerously exposed to further Jap assaults or invasion
Intelligence on the Marshalls and Gilberts was scarce
Little was known about the targets
Didn’t think it was worth the risk
Why take the risk?
CVs were all we had
Why raid in the first place and why the outer ring?
Morale boost
Japan focused on going south. – this would hit them in their “rear area”
“Turning Movement” not the same as flank attack
Possibly may divert Japanese attention from Australia and the Coral Sea
Hitting the outer ring of islands was easier as there would be less of a threat from heavy Jap fleet units
Would also protect Samoa and Australia by weakening the Jap airfields there
The Marshall and Gilbert Islands Raid
Nimitz confers with Admiral Halsey about the upcoming strike.
Halsey is enthusiastic (no surprise here)
Says that CVs should strike like General Nathan Bedford Forrest said about cavalry, “get to the other fellow first with everything you have and as fast as you can and dump it on him.”
Halsey says he will take Enterprise to the Marshalls himself
What strike isn’t with risk?
Halsey says it’s important for the Navy’s self-respect
Nimitz pulls the trigger
Cryptanalysts state to Nimitz that radio traffic indicated a large Japanese fleet movement south, thereby putting the proposed targets out of range of major enemy fleet units
Set for Feb 1
Will comprise Task Force 8 built around Halsey and CV6 and TF 17 under Fletcher and CV5.
TF8 will strike the Marshalls in the am and if possible strike again that afternoon with targets on Kwajalein, Wotje and Taroa (Moelap)
TF17 will strike the Gilberts area with targets on Mili, Makin and Jaluit
Task Force 8
Due to radio intercepts, Nimitz ordered Halsey to strike deep into the Marshalls at Kwajalein and hit the targets as much and as often as practical.
Halsey told his pilots on CV6 that they would stay all day and “raise a little hell in the Marshalls”.
Pilots were elated
First combat for Halsey & Spruance
Weather was clear, moon was high, no wind, no rain...perfect for flying
Aircrews awakened at 0300
Takeoff at 0445
CV6 launches 37 SBDs and 9 TBDs armed with bombs
VS6 to attack airfield
VB6 to freelance and attack targets of opportunity
As VS6 approached Roi island, Japs scramble fighters, Type 96 Claudes and AAA starts sprouting up as the SBDs go into their glide bombing runs
VS6 CO Halstead Hopping’s SBD is jumped by Claudes and is hit by AAA. He drives directly into the drink.