Pearl Harbour and Days of Infamy
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Though he knew Japan did not now have the strength to invade Oahu--anyone who thought otherwise was a fool--he could still blockade it, perhaps even seize one of the smaller islands as a forward base, and thus lure their remaining carriers to transfer from the Atlantic to the Pacific, out for a climatic battle, another Tsushima.
He thought of the report just handed to him before the summons arrived from Tokyo. Land-based planes had located the British battleship Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser Repulse and were preparing to engage come dawn. If that strike was successful, not only would it offset even the loss of Hiei, it would shatter British ocean power in the Pacific as thoroughly as he was destroying American power.
Perhaps then reason might prevail, concessions be made. Japan would hold the British, Dutch, and French possessions in the Pacific. American will might disintegrate, or they might fall into their traditional bickering amongst themselves and accept the inevitable. The American politicians, weary of the struggle and given a chance to unhinge the power held by their President Roosevelt, would urge compromise. They would see the gesture of returning the Philippines to them as compensation for signing a peace agreement that left Japan with its new empire intact. The subtext would be that those arrayed against Roosevelt could finally break his political power as well. A strange country, so powerful when aroused, but some within ready to turn upon the best interests of their own country if they saw political gain.
It was a long shot, as the Americans say, but then again, he had always been a gambler, and had won on more than one “long shot.”
December 11, 1941, 10:00 hrs Washington time, 15:00 hrs London time
“I think it is time we told the President the bad news,” Winston Churchill commented to his senior naval aide as he picked up the telephone. “Please get me the President,” he asked his special secure operator.
Ten minutes later the connection on the secure, highly secret, and primitively scrambled Atlantic cable was completed, and the White House operator could be heard on the other end.
“Winston,” the enthusiastic patrician voice came pouring across the Atlantic. “It is always good to hear from you even in these difficult days,” FDR charmingly began the conversation.
“Mr. President, I am afraid I have to add to your burdens,” Churchill responded in a somber, quieter than usual voice. “We have learned that the Japanese apparently caught the Prince of Wales and Repulse without air cover, and we have suffered a catastrophic defeat.”
The President could not speak for a moment. Only four months ago he had been on the deck of Prince of Wales, off the coast of Newfoundland, for a secret meeting with Winston. He remembered the ship fondly, and well. All those young men, the choir who had sang at the church service, the bright faces filled with pride to be hosting such a meeting. And now? Were any of them still alive?
He took a brief moment. “Into Thy hands Lord ...” he whispered softly, and then braced himself.
“No number of defeats and catastrophes will weaken the will of the American people.” The President’s voice began gathering energy and determination. “We are furious that the Japanese surprised us at Pearl Harbor and in the Philippines. This massacre will make us even angrier. Your losses are our losses. Your defeats are our defeats. We will go forward together and we will crush those who have violated the laws of civilization.”
“Thank you, Mr. President,” Churchill replied. “As you know, we are stretched very thin with the German threat here in Europe and now the Japanese attack in the Pacific. We could not cope with both without your magnificent help. The loss of our lone capital ships on the Asian coast leaves us open clear to India, perhaps even to the coast of Africa. You know, my friend, the full implications of that.”
“The guttersnipe,” Franklin said after a long pause. “He will take advantage of that as well. Any news?”
Both had been waiting all day for a “Fűhrer announcement” that Berlin Radio had started to trumpet shortly after noon London time. It might be their first public acknowledgment of the setback in the battle before Moscow, but both sensed what it would be . . . that Germany would declare war on America.
Compounded with the sharp defeats of the last few days, the President knew it would hit America hard, but aroused as the public was, he knew they would rally even more to the fight ahead.
“We are going to be distracted by the scale of the Pearl Harbor disaster, which I will brief you on when you visit Washington,” the President replied, not willing to speculate on events in Berlin at this moment. His focus had to be on the here and now. “The defense of the Hawaiian Islands and the Philippines will require us to spend more energy and resources in the Pacific than we had envisioned last August,” Roosevelt added.
“However, we will continue to emphasize the Atlantic battle with submarines and the resources needed to contain and then defeat Germany in Europe. It will be harder because the anger of the American people is so overwhelmingly focused on the Japanese, but you and I are in total agreement that Hitler is the more dangerous enemy, and we will act accordingly,” the President continued, reassuring Churchill about his greatest fear.
“For the near future, however, I have to shift some aircraft carriers and other ships into the Pacific to slow down the Japanese onslaught. We are moving ships from the Atlantic to the Pacific to ensure that their empire cannot get to Australia or cut off our supply lines across the South Pacific.”
“For our part, “ Churchill responded, “we will continue to reinforce Malaya and Singapore in the expectation that we can stop the Japanese offensive on land and rebuild our air power as a first step back toward defeating them decisively.”
“As soon as my military commanders have assessed our resources, I will get back to you about what we can do in the next few weeks,” FDR promised.
He did not add that a major shakeup was already in the works.
Commander in Chief Pacific (CinCPac) would go to Admiral Nimitz, and for the time being would be based out of San Diego. He had requested, as well, that some key personnel from Pearl be flown back Stateside immediately to confer with Nimitz, and then if need be forwarded on to Washington. He wanted a firsthand report, as quickly as possible, as to what had gone wrong prior to the battles of December 7 through 9.
Earlier in the day he had been handed a report by Admiral Stark that had gradually worked its way up the chain of command, dated the day before the attack, from an intelligence officer named Watson, warning that Pearl itself might be the target, his assessment based on analysis of signal traffic. He had called for the man’s file and already had plans for what he might be doing next, to make sure more such surprises did not land on their doorstep.
“I want you to know, Mr. President,” the Prime Minister said, interrupting his thoughts, “that even though we have taken some hard hits in the last few days, I am very confident that we will win through to victory. No dictatorship can withstand the combined fury of the British and American people.”
“That’s the spirit, my old friend. Eleanor and I look forward to your visit at Christmas. Together we will plot our revenge and our ultimate victory.”
“Until then, Mr. President,” Churchill replied as he hung up. President Roosevelt sat back in his wheelchair, lit a cigarette, and closed his eyes.
The speech by Hitler would start any minute now, and he knew what it would be, it would be like that guttersnipe to leap on what he assumed was a fallen prey. The Japanese had dealt a deadly blow, far worse than he had first thought after the initial attacks of December 7. More such defeats would undoubtedly follow in the months, perhaps even year to come.
But the fight had just started, and together with his friend on the other side of the Atlantic, as long as their will was not shaken, surely they would win through to inevitable victory.
Table of Contents
PEARL HARBOR & DAYS OF INFAMY
Acknowledgements
Technical Note
PROLOGUE
PAR
T ONE: Thunder on the Horizon
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
PART TWO: The Countdown
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
PART THREE: The Battle of Pearl Harbor
TWELVE
BOOK TWO - DAYS OF INFAMY
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue