Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

26 AMERICAN SHIPS REPORTED AT SUEZ LOADED WITH MATERIEL FOR BRITISH (5/4/41)
Microfilm-New York Times archives, Monterey Public Library | 5/4/41 | David Anderson, Turner Catledge, Hanson W. Baldwin, Bryan Field, S.T. Williamson, CougarGA7

Posted on 05/04/2011 5:33:32 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson

1

Photobucket

2

Photobucket

3

Photobucket

4

Photobucket

5

Photobucket

6

Photobucket

7

Photobucket

8

Photobucket

9

Photobucket

NEWS OF THE WEEK IN REVIEW

10

Photobucket

11

Photobucket

12

Photobucket

13

Photobucket

14

Photobucket

15

Photobucket

16

Photobucket

17

Photobucket

18

Photobucket

19

Photobucket

20 & 21

Photobucket

Photobucket

22

Photobucket

23

Clausen, Henry C. and Bruce Lee. Pearl Harbor: Final Judgement. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1992. 470pp. ISBN 0-306-81035-2.

“The trick will be to ensure that intelligence operations work properly in the future.” – Henry C. Clausen

On December 7th, at 7:40 a.m. Hawaii Time, Mitsuo Fuchida fired a single “black dragon” from a signal pistol he carried in his aircraft. Photobucket This was a signal to the other planes in his formation that they were to commence the attack on Pearl Harbor under the configuration of having achieved surprise. Nine minutes later Fuchida ordered his radioman to send a single message back to the fleet, “To, to, to, to…” signaling that they had achieved surprise on the American forces below. The story from there is one very well known to just about anyone. The Japanese commenced on a devastating attack on the U.S. Fleet at Pearl Harbor that sank or damaged every battleship in the harbor along with several other vessels. The action catapulted the United States into war with Japan to which Germany obliged their ally by declaring war on America a few days later. The final major player in the Second World War was now an official combatant in a conflict that would shape the world for generations to come.

Before the fires on the ships at Pearl Harbor were even put out questions began to fly as to how it was possible for the Japanese to successfully attack the U.S. Fleet. Investigations were launched into the events leading up to the attack beginning with the Roberts Commission, which was formed by executive order on December 18th, 1941. Throughout the war and even after its conclusion investigations continued to try and piece together what went wrong in the American chain of command and who should be held accountable for the failure of that day. Among those investigations, Henry C. Clausen was appointed as a special investigator by Secretary of War Henry Stimson in 1945 to follow up on the recently completed Army Board hearings.

In Clausen’s book, Pearl Harbor: Final Judgement, Clausen goes into the details that made up his investigation into the Pearl Harbor attack. Unlike other investigations which consisted of a board that required witnesses to travel to Washington to testify, Clausen handled his work as a special investigator by travelling to the locations where many of the key players were currently stationed. Since at the time of his investigation, the war in both Europe and Japan were still in progress, this led him to many different locales including ones that put him very near where active combat was still underway. Since Clausen carried with him key MAGIC decrypts to show some of those he would interview, he was forced to wear a bomb pouch so that in the event that he might get captured he would be able to destroy the documents to avoid their capture. To Clausen’s dismay, the pouch was also designed to destroy him with the documents had he ever needed to activate it.

This book is an interesting look into the process of discovery in one of the investigations into the Pearl Harbor attack. In it the author takes the reader on the journey that he took and the processes he used to get his testimony that would eventually end up in the Clausen Report, Volume 35 of the Pearl Harbor hearings. Since he was trying to clear up problems with the Army Board he was often faced with interviewing people who were believed to have perjured themselves in the previous hearings. Many of these men had been evasive during the Army Board hearings in order to protect the secret that the U.S. had broken the Japanese diplomatic codes and had made their prior statements with the thought of protecting MAGIC. It was only when they were shown by Clausen that he was cleared for MAGIC by producing the decrypts he carried with him that these people began to change their story. At the end of the book he takes the time to list the fourteen people that he feels are most responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor along with an explanation as to how he has come to that conclusion. Additionally, he takes the time to point out the issues with the intelligence system in general which proved to be a major contributor to Pearl Harbor’s failure to defend itself.

There is not much in the way of notation in the body of this book for understandable reasons. This book is after all a first hand account of the Clausen investigation as told by the man himself. However, in places where Clausen or his co-author Bruce Lee, make reference to items that are not first hand accounts they are notated as a footnote on the page where they are mentioned. Additionally, Clausen provides over 150 pages of documentation that he has felt to be of vital interest on the events leading up to the attack. This appendix is full on interesting information that includes the documents that Clausen took with him on his investigation as well as many key exchanges between Washington and Hawaii. It also has many of the MAGIC decrypts including ones that would have been very telling but unfortunately were not translated until after the attack.

For those interested in learning more on the events leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack I would recommend this book. It should be noted that as with any first person account there will naturally be a degree of bias towards the individual as is human nature. However, this book is very detailed on the process and the singular appendix of documentation alone makes it a very good resource for determining what factors played a roll in the failure at Pearl Harbor.

CougarGA7


TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: milhist; realtime; worldwarii
Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile. Also visit our general discussion thread
1 posted on 05/04/2011 5:33:40 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Homer_J_Simpson
Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
The Balkans, 1941: Invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece, April 1941
North Africa – Rommel’s First Offensive, 24 March-15 June 1941
Marcks’ Plan, August 5, 1940
Operation Barbarossa (Dir. 21), December 18, 1940
The Mediterranean Basin
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941 – The Imperial Powers, 1 September 1939
2 posted on 05/04/2011 5:34:31 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Homer_J_Simpson
Photobucket

William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

3 posted on 05/04/2011 5:35:55 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Homer_J_Simpson
Photobucket

Winston S. Churchill, The Grand Alliance

4 posted on 05/04/2011 5:37:11 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: r9etb; PzLdr; dfwgator; Paisan; From many - one.; rockinqsranch; GRRRRR; 2banana; henkster; ...
U.S. Convoy Denied – 2
Tobruk Defenders Re-Establish Lines – 2-3
Turks Held Sympathetic Toward Britain in Iraq – 3
The International Situation – 3
Fight is Spreading – 4-5
On the New War Front: Iraqi Troops and Tanks Opposing the British (photos) – 5-6
Slice of Slovenia Annexed by Italy – 7
The Texts of the Belligerents’ Communiques on the Fighting in Europe and Middle East – 8-9

News of the Week in Review
Twenty News Questions – 10
Battle of the Atlantic is Capital’s Big Worry – 11
Europe’s War Reaches the Ancient Battleground of Empire (map) – 13
Middle East Campaign Fought for Big Stakes – 14
Answers to Twenty News Questions – 15

70,000 Watch Whirlaway Take Derby in Record Time
First by 8 Lengths – 17-18
Kentucky Derby Winners of Last Twenty Years – 18
Kentucky Derby Chart – 19

The New York Times Book Review
United We Stand! Defense of the Western Hemisphere, by Hanson W. Baldwin, reviewed by S.T. Williamson – 20-22
Pearl Harbor: Final Judgment, by Henry C. Clausen and Bruce Lee, reviewed by CougarGA7 – 23

5 posted on 05/04/2011 5:38:44 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Homer_J_Simpson

http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1941/may41/f04may41.htm

Assault on Tobruk ends

Sunday, May 4, 1941 www.onwar.com

In North Africa... Rommel halts his attack on Tobruk. The Germans will continue to hold the enclave in the perimeter that they have won but will not be able to extend it at any time later in the seige. For both sides life at Tobruk settles down into a style not unlike the trench warfare of World War I. The ground is very hard so that trenches are often shallow at first. This means their occupants must stay virtually motionless during the day. Neither side is well supplied. Both sides adopt a policy of offensive night patrols to prevent any relaxation.

In Iraq... An airfield at Mosul which is being used by a small German force is one RAF target on this day. The German force is receiving supplies from and via Syria with the cooperation of the Vichy authorities.

In East Africa... The Italian forces around Amba Alagi are driven off three hills in the west of their position by attacks from the 29th Indian Brigade.


6 posted on 05/04/2011 5:42:54 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Homer_J_Simpson

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/month/thismonth/04.htm

May 4th, 1941

UNITED KINGDOM: The Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Robert Menzies, paid a glowing tribuute to British womanhood in a speech broadcast today. he praised “the courage, the action, the endurance of Britain’s women. Wherever I go I see them and I marvel at them. Is it possible to believe that not long ago we called them ‘the weaker sex’?”
Blackpool: Squires’ Gate Aerodrome: The first mission of the North Atlantic Return Ferry Service flies from Montreal to Blackpool using the Consolidated LB-30A. (Jack McKillop)

Minelayer HMS Latona commissioned.
Minesweeping trawler HMS Ben Gairn mined and sunk off Lowesoft. (Dave Shirlaw)

GERMANY: Berlin: Flanked by Göring and Hess, the Fuhrer today strode into the Kroll Opera House - where Reichstag deputies have met since the fire of 1933 - to deliver a speech marking German victories in the Balkans.

“In this Jewish-capitalist age”, Hitler declared, “the National Socialist state stands out as a solid monument to common sense. It will last for a thousand years.” The greater part of the speech consisted of an attack on Churchill, who was portrayed as a blood-thirsty warmonger lacking the quailties needed to fight a war.

“The gift Mr Churchill possesses is the gift to lie with a pious expression on his face and to distort the truth until finally glorious victories are made of the most terrible defeats,” Hitler declared. Meanwhile Grand Admiral Raeder is urging Hitler to exploit the victories in Greece and Yugoslavia and launch a major offensive to capture Egypt and Suez. “This stroke”, Raeder says, “would be more deadly to the British Empire than the capture of London.” But Hitler is obsessed with Operation Barbarossa.

LIBYA: Rommel’s attacks on Tobruk stall.

IRAQ: Allied forces make bombing raids on Baghdad.

COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: Claggett and George arrive by Boeing 314 Clipper (Pan-American Air Lines) (Marc Small)

CANADA: MV Kipawo arrived Montreal for refit and conversion to HMCS Kipawa. (Dave Shirlaw)

ATLANTIC OCEAN: At 1829, the Japan, dispersed from Convoy OB-310, was shelled by U-38 249 miles NW of Freetown and caught fire. At 1915 the ship was hit by a coup de grâce and sank in grid ET 2461. No casualties among the 44 crewmembers and four passengers. (Dave Shirlaw)


7 posted on 05/04/2011 5:44:52 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Homer_J_Simpson

http://worldwar2daybyday.blogspot.com/

Day 612 May 4, 1941

Ethiopia, East Africa. 29th Brigade, 5th Indian Division again attacks the Italian mountain fortifications at Amba Alagi. While Italian defenders are distracted by the feint in the Falaga Pass, 6/13th Frontier Force Rifles battalion and 3/2nd Punjab battalion capture 3 foothills (Pyramid, Whale Back and Elephant) between 4.15 and 7.30 AM. The path to the next hill is over a steep, narrow ridge exposed to Italian machinegun fire, so they wait for dark to advance.

Libya. General Paulus, representing the German High Command, suggests to Rommel that he abandon the attacks at Tobruk in favour of a passive siege to starve the defenders into submission. Rommel creates a ring of posts to limit Allied sorties outside the wire, while Luftwaffe will try to prevent resupply of the Tobruk garrison by sea.

At 7.15 PM off the coast of French Guinea, West Africa, U-38 sinks Swedish SS Japan with 3 torpedoes and shellfire from the deck gun (barrel of the deck gun bursts, injuring the gun crew). All 50 crew and 4 passengers reach land and are interned by the Vichy French. German bombing sinks British minesweeper Fermoy in dock at Malta.

Luftwaffe bombs Liverpool again overnight.


8 posted on 05/04/2011 5:46:46 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Homer_J_Simpson

A little off point, but isn’t sclachtschiffe BISMARCK about done working up in the Baltic?


9 posted on 05/04/2011 6:45:10 AM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Homer_J_Simpson
On question 2 today the answer is the liberty dime. Here's the fascist symbol in question.

This will remain on the dime throughout the war and only will disappear in 1946 when the first FDR dimes are produced.

10 posted on 05/04/2011 8:19:51 AM PDT by CougarGA7
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PzLdr; Homer_J_Simpson
Pretty much. She should be in Gotenhafen right now along with the Prinz Eugen which is under repair after hitting an RAF mine on the 23rd of April. These two ships should be setting off to conduct Operation RHEINÜBUNG in a couple of weeks.
11 posted on 05/04/2011 9:18:43 AM PDT by CougarGA7
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Homer_J_Simpson

Hanson W. Baldwin was certainly a prolific author. His “United we Stand: Defense of the Western Hemisphere,” here reviewed, is in the University of Iowa Library which I will visit in a couple of days. I will look it up.


12 posted on 05/04/2011 4:49:05 PM PDT by iowamark
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Homer_J_Simpson

Interesting front page article on the FCC taking action against radio monopolies. NBC would soon be forced to sell its’ NBC Blue network, which would become ABC. The NBC Red network would simply be NBC.


13 posted on 05/04/2011 4:59:33 PM PDT by iowamark
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PzLdr
A little off point, but isn’t sclachtschiffe BISMARCK about done working up in the Baltic?

Hitler is paying them a visit tomorrow too-something must be in the air.

14 posted on 05/04/2011 6:34:32 PM PDT by Larry381 (If in doubt, shoot it in the head and drop it in the ocean!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Homer_J_Simpson
Aussies

Australian infantry occupy front-line positions around the Tobruk perimeter. The defence and relief of Tobruk was one of the key factors behind British strategy during 1941.

Photobucket

Fuel tanks burn in the background as Tobruk comes under attack; in the foreground are rows of captured vehicles parked in the desert.

15 posted on 05/04/2011 6:42:56 PM PDT by Larry381 (If in doubt, shoot it in the head and drop it in the ocean!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Larry381

Actually, Raeder didn’t tell Hitler what was in the air until the Rhine Exercise was underway.


16 posted on 05/04/2011 8:40:36 PM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: iowamark
Hanson W. Baldwin was certainly a prolific author.

He sure is. He comes up with some kind of analysis just about every day. Then again, he is the only Times author I copy whenever I see his column.

17 posted on 05/05/2011 8:39:44 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson