OT: Who is to blame for the failure to anticipate the Pearl Harbor attack?

[Olorin]

Hello,

I am doing a presentation on the title's subject and I am looking for a book that presents the pre-war strategic planning and intelligence efforts of the US planners. I have found a few good journals, articles and pdfs by googling, but I'd like to buy a hard copy of a good, respectable book on this subject, both to read it myself and to include it in my presentation as recommended reading. What is the best book that first comes in your mind when you think of this subject? I'd be grateful for any help.

[fodder]

Don't know if it's the best book on the subject, but the first one that comes to mind is.

SCAPEGOATS a defence of Kimmel and Short at Pearl Harbor, by Edward L. Beach. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-059-2

Hope this helps.

[dr.hal]

Wow, what a topic, it would be easier to write the history of the Roman empire...oh, wait, that's been done!

[warspite1]

As the Jackson 5 once said, Dont blame it on the sunshine, don't blame on the moonlight, don't blame it on the good times - blame it on the boogie......

[Empire101]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

As the Jackson 5 once said, Dont blame it on the sunshine, don't blame on the moonlight, don't blame it on the good times - blame it on the boogie......

Wise words from The World of FunkyTown

[Wirraway_Ace]

These are the two I recommend:
"And I was there" by Layton
"At dawn we slept" by Prange

Both are excellent in my opinion. Layton goes into more detail in terms of the intelligence failures.

[Dili]

Well several people anticipated Pearl Harbor, many more didn't anything or enough about it.

[pontiouspilot]

John Toland is well recogized and has 2 large books on topic. I am not near my bookshelf so I can only remember name of 1: "Infamy"...if I am not mistaken.

[dorjun driver]

Pearl Harbor; warning and decision by Roberta Wohlstetter

[Justus2]

ORIGINAL: Wirraway_Ace

These are the two I recommend:
"And I was there" by Layton
"At dawn we slept" by Prange

Both are excellent in my opinion. Layton goes into more detail in terms of the intelligence failures.

Prange actually wrote two other books on the topic, one of them Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History would probably deal more with what you are looking for.

[Olorin]

Thanks for all the suggestions. [:)]
That's more books than I can read until next Wednesday, but keep them coming!

[AW1Steve]

Day of Lightning,Years of Scorn.

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Olorin

Thanks for all the suggestions. [:)]
That's more books than I can read until next Wednesday, but keep them coming!

Depends on how deep you are going but Prange was a professor at the University of MD at College Park and there is an entire collection under his name in the graduate library there. If I was going to do some serious research on Pearl Harbor, this is where I would start.

[slinkytwf]

Layton's volume was a direct rebuttal to Prange, who, although detailed, got a lot of things just plain wrong. If you use Prange as a source, also use Layton. As my military history professor said at the time, "If you want to make money as a military historian, write a controversial book about Pearl Harbor."

[jmalter]

hi Olorin,

there's a lot of literature available, but the "who is to blame?" topic would focus too much on individuals (who might rightly/wrongly be accused of failing their responsibilities). but you might profit by examining a time-line of events, to include the military/diplomatic/economic events as tensions between IJ & US ratcheted up.

US re-basing the BBs to Pearl, the fall of France, IJ occupation of Indochina, US economic sanctions & air reinforcements to the Phillipines, the Washington negotiations, etc.

you should look at SecState Cordell Hull & the trade sanctions, i think that was the US action that convinced IJ to tilt to the option for war.

[Olorin]

ORIGINAL: jmalter

hi Olorin,

there's a lot of literature available, but the "who is to blame?" topic would focus too much on individuals (who might rightly/wrongly be accused of failing their responsibilities). but you might profit by examining a time-line of events, to include the military/diplomatic/economic events as tensions between IJ & US ratcheted up.

US re-basing the BBs to Pearl, the fall of France, IJ occupation of Indochina, US economic sanctions & air reinforcements to the Phillipines, the Washington negotiations, etc.

Hi jmalter,
That's more or less what I am going to do. The "Who to blame" title leaves open the option to blame no person and spread responsibility across many individuals and institutions. Sometimes stuff happens, without anyone in particular to blame.

Just for the record, the main reasons I will present that contributed to the failure, imo, are (in random order):
- Basing the Pacific Fleet in Hawaii, redeploying heavy bombers in Philippines. Measures to deter the Japanese from attacking and making any potential operations in the Western Pacific too costly for Japan (or so it was thought).
- Philippines was believed to be out of range by Japanese aircraft, carriers were needed to support an invasion
- Heavy bombers based in Philippines were believed to be more effective at naval strikes than they actually were in practice
- Carriers not seen as strategically decisive capital ships. The battleship was still the weapon of decision in all navies of the era. USA used carriers only in support role.
- Lack of planning by the Japanese. Plans begun formulating after September. Too many options to attack (Russia, DEI, China, USA, Thailand, Burma, Malaya).
- US planners simply did not believe that Japan would not attack them, instead preferring to expand their war in China or attack SE Asia (Thailand/Burma/Malaya) and/or the DEI
- Intelligence services fragmentation of resources and information.
- Japanese misinformation
- A lot of false alarms

I am sure this list will be expanded before next Wednesday.

[ilovestrategy]

And no, Roosevelt did not keep knowledge of Dec. 7th from the folks at Pearl. I really do hate those conspiracy theories.

[LargeSlowTarget]

ORIGINAL: Justus2
Prange actually wrote two other books on the topic, one of them Pearl Harbor: The Verdict of History would probably deal more with what you are looking for.

Exactly. Prange concluded "There is enough blame for everyone" - starting with American voters being responsible for a parsimonious congress not providing enough money for the Armed forces; widespread racism coupled with underestimation of Japan / overconfidence in US power; wrong estimates, assessements, communication failures etc. at and between the White House, the Pentagon, Office of Naval Intelligence, the commanders at Pearl etc. The entire issue is so complex that you cannot put the blame on one or two individuals.

[Dili]

I think the biggest blame should go to whom not implemented an early warning system in Pearl Harbor.
Taranto was 1 year earlier...

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: Dili

I think the biggest blame should go to whom not implemented an early warning system in Pearl Harbor.
Taranto was 1 year earlier...

warspite1

They had one - the aircraft were caught on radar..... Remember the line from Tora Tora Tora? "What shall we do sir?"....

"Don't worry about it"