Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

170 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
commander-in-chief of the Pacifi c Fleet at Pearl Harbor, was
second. Information copies went to Admiral King, commanderin-chief
of the Atlantic Fleet and to the special naval observer in
London.
“Negotiations with Japan looking towards stabilization of
conditions in the Pacifi c have ceased,” Stark told his commanders
in this “war warning.” An “aggressive move” on the part of the
Japanese was “expected within the next few days . . . an amphibious
expedition against either the Philippines Th ai or Kra peninsula
or possibly Borneo. . . . Continental districts Guam Samoa
directed take appropriate measures against sabotage.” Th e commanders
should prepare to put WPL 46 (War Plan 46, Rainbow
No. 5) into operation. 20
Th e morning after this dispatch was received, Kimmel discussed
its signifi cance with the senior Army and Navy offi cers
in Hawaii—Short; Admiral Bloch, commandant of the 14th
Naval District who was in charge of naval shore establishments
in Hawaii; the fl ag offi cers of the fl eet then in port, as well as
the members of Kimmel’s staff . After considerable study they
“interpreted the warning to mean that war was imminent, and
that readiness to undertake active operations was expected.” To
Kimmel being ready “to undertake active operations” meant “carrying
out the tasks assigned in WPL-46.” And that meant preparing
for off ensive action in line with War Plan 46, then in operation,
against the Japanese in the Marshall and Caroline Islands
in the southwestern Pacifi c.
Th is November 27 cable did not suggest the possibility of “a
surprise aggressive move ‘in any direction” as had the dispatch sent
three days earlier. 21 Th us the specifi c mention of “the Philippines,
Th ai or Kra peninsula or possibly Borneo” as the intended destination
of the Japanese expedition served only to reconfi rm the
20 Ibid., part 14, p. 1406, CNO message #272337.
21 Ibid., part 14, p. 1405, CNO dispatch #242005.