We didn’t break Japan’s JN-25 Naval Code until after Pearl Harbor. We had partially broken Purple, their diplomatic code, but Japan carefully segregated military plans from their diplomatic traffic.
There was nothing unusual about stationing the Pacific Fleet at Pearl. It was 4,000 miles from Japan at a time when refueling at sea was new. A large segment of the Navy thought battleships were still the main strike weapon. It’s only after the fact that we think an air attack on Hawaii should have been expected.
This is yet another example of the reason I enjoy this site!
Thank you, Pelham, for the information!
My limited understanding of the history around Pearl Harbor is that the military leaders advised against putting those big boats together in one location. They reasoned out that it would look too much like we were preparing to move on Japan, and that they were overruled by the diplomats.
I didn’t realize the code we (partially, apparently) broke was the diplomatic code.
Must have been infuriating, not to be able to do anything.
Again, thank you!