The Nimitz Graybook: How the United States Naval War College Influenced the Pacific Campaign During World War II

THE NIMITZ GRAYBOOK: HOW THE UNITED STATES NAVAL WAR COLLEGE INFLUENCED THE PACIFIC CAMPAIGN DURING WORLD WAR II ___________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History Sam Houston State University ___________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts ___________ by Lisbeth A. Hargraves May, 2020 THE NIMITZ GRAYBOOK: HOW THE UNITED STATES NAVAL WAR COLLEGE INFLUENCED THE PACIFIC CAMPAIGN DURING WORLD WAR II by Lisbeth A. Hargraves ___________ APPROVED: Brian Jordan, PhD Committee Director Jeremiah Dancy, PhD Committee Co-Director Benjamin Park, PhD Committee Member Abbey Zink, PhD Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my husband who encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Thank you to my Academic Advisor who guided me through the process and kept me on track despite numerous hurdles both big and small. iii ABSTRACT Hargraves, Lisbeth A. The Nimitz Graybook: How the United States Naval War College Influenced the Pacific Campaign During World War II. Master of Arts (History), May, 2020, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas. The Nimitz Graybook is an eight-volume collection of the command decisions of Fleet Admiral Nimitz. The collection covers the everyday tasking of commanders, communications and every major decision in the United States Naval Pacific Campaign from December 7, 1941 through August 31, 1945. The entire eight volume series was digitized in 2014 but scholarly research on the four-thousand-page collection has been limited to this date. While it is difficult to accurately link the effect of professional military education to the outcome of real-world battles there are some instances where this can be done. During the years between World War I and World War II the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island had a consistent message that was taught to each class; due to her strong naval abilities Japan was a potential threat to US interests in the Pacific. The U.S. Navy counter strategy must be planned and continually refined. The well-known War Plan Orange benefitted from many of the lessons learned that were discovered during discussions and exercises at the Naval War College. The war gaming exercises and strategies taught at the Naval War College in the interwar years allowed the United States Navy to have an informed and practiced response to the Japanese threat in the Pacific during World War II. The Nimitz Graybook provides a unique perspective on how the theory taught in the classroom of the Naval War college translated into action in the Pacific Campaign. iv The research for this project was taken from the many primary source documents available from the Naval War College catalogue along with the digitized copy of the Nimitz Graybook. My thesis provides in depth research on how the Nimitz Graybook demonstrates the influence of the Naval War College’s professional military education on the decision-making process throughout the Pacific Campaign during World War II. KEY WORDS: United States Naval War College, World War II, Interwar years, Nimitz Graybook, Pacific campaign. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my Academic Advisor and Committee Chair, Dr. Brain Jordan, Department of History at Sam Houston State University. Despite his many responsibilities as the Chair of the History Department, Dr. Jordan was always available to answer any questions about my writing. He helped me to refocus when needed and was gracious enough to provide extra time when a new baby and a move halfway across the country complicated my thesis timeline. I would also like to thank Dr. Jeremiah Dancy of the United States Naval War College as the second reader on this thesis. His wealth of knowledge on naval history provided valuable insight on this thesis and I am gratefully indebted to him for his helpful feedback. Finally, I am very grateful to my husband for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement. To my children, thank you for teaching me that life should be lived with unbridled enthusiasm. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER I: THE NAVAL WAR COLLEGE DURING THE INTERWAR YEARS..................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER II: EVIDENCE OF THE IMPACT OF THE NAVAL WAR COLLEGE ON THE COMMANDERS IN CHIEF PACIFIC FLEET DURING DECEMBER 1941 ................................................... 18 CHAPTER III: HOW WARGAMING IN NEWPORT CHANGED THE EXECUTION OF THE PACIFIC CAMPAIGN ................................... 40 CHAPTER IV: GUADALCANAL: THE START OF THE ISLAND HOPPING CAMPAIGN .......................................................................................... 60 CHAPTER V: THE IMPACT OF PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION ..... 78 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 83 VITA ................................................................................................................................. 87 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Tabular Form of the "Estimate of the Situation" .................................................... 7 viii 1 CHAPTER I The Naval War College During the Interwar Years While it is difficult to accurately link the effect of professional military education to the outcome of real-world battles there are some instances where this can be done. During the years between World War I and World War II the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island had a consistent message that was taught to each class; Japan was a potential threat to United States’ interests in the Pacific and due to her strong naval abilities, the U.S. Navy counter strategy must be planned and continually refined. The well-known War Plan Orange benefitted from many of the lessons learned that were discovered during discussions and exercises at the Naval War College. The war gaming exercises and academic strategies taught at the Naval War College in the interwar years allowed the United States Navy to have an informed and practiced response to the Japanese threat in the Pacific during World War II. In order to understand the outcome of the naval component of the Pacific Campaign one must go much further back than just the beginning of the war. From 1919 to 1938 the curriculum and the war gaming gxercises would have included information on War Plan Orange which was the plan devised for armed conflict with Japan1. Joint Planners had created different color-coded plans for different possible combatant situations, Orange was Japan, Germany was Black and even Great Britain made an appearance as Red. Every major European and Pacific country with a sizeable military force was assigned a color and war plans were drawn up in case hostilities ever broke out. 1. Mark E. Groteleuschen, The Development of the Rainbow Plans in the United States, 1938-1941 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 2015), 12. 2 In the late 1930s as events in Europe and the Pacific began to take on more sinister overtones, the idea formed that a two-front war against multiple countries might be possible and the separate color-coded war plans were merged together. War Plan Rainbow 1-4 were created on May 11, 1939.2 After review of the original plans it was decided that a Rainbow 5 needed to be added which it was on June 23, 1939.3 Rainbow 1 was only the defense of some parts the Western Hemisphere; the bulge of Brazil being the cut off line. Rainbow 2 included Rainbow 1 but also an alliance between France, Great Britain and the United States. The United States would take the lead in the protecting each nations’ interests in the Pacific and leave European fighting to France and Great Britain. Rainbow 3 would have no alliance with any other countries and include Rainbow 1 and protection of interests in the Pacific. Rainbow 4 was the protection of the entire Western Hemisphere to include all of South America. Rainbow 5 was the most complex. It assumed an alliance between France, Great Britain and the United States. The United States would take an active role in fighting and send forces to Europe, Africa and other locations in the eastern Atlantic as needed in order to defeat either Italy or Germany or possibly both countries collectively.4 It is important to note that three out of the four Fleet Admirals of World War II attended the Naval War College between 1922 and 1933. Admiral Nimitz attended in 1922, while both Admiral Halsey and Admiral King attended in 1932. King attended the Senior Officer’s Course while Admiral Halsey and Admiral Nimitz attended the regular student course. Each of these influential leaders would have been exposed to most of the 2. Groteleuschen, The Development of the Rainbow Plans in the United States, 13. 3. Groteleuschen, The Development of the Rainbow Plans in the United States, 13. 4. Groteleuschen, The Development of the Rainbow Plans

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