Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 exptools 1/6/84; site ihuxq.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!ihuxq!amigo2 From: amigo2@ihuxq.UUCP (John Hobson) Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: Re: Re: Ronnie, Ronnie, he's our man. - (nf) Message-ID: <697@ihuxq.UUCP> Date: Thu, 23-Feb-84 09:42:30 EST Article-I.D.: ihuxq.697 Posted: Thu Feb 23 09:42:30 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 24-Feb-84 00:59:02 EST References: <5825@uiucdcs.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL Lines: 34 I mentioned the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor >> (when, as you recall, the Japanese attacked the US Pacific >> Fleet without a declaration of war). and Carl Crigney(?) (uok!crigney) responded: >> The Japanese intended to declare war *just before* the >> attack, but delays in decrypting the declaration and >> delivering it made it late. The American cryptologists knew >> about the declaration before the Japanese embassy did (we >> had broken their diplomatic code), and rushed to get the >> information to the military. General Marshall decided that >> using the quickest means of alerting Pearl Harbor might be >> seen as provoking the Japanese, and sent the message through >> standard channels, where it was delayed, and delivered to the >> commander of Pearl Harbor a few hours after the attack. I want to make two points. The first is that through an incredible mixup, there was no priority placed on the message to General Short and Admiral Kimmel (the Army and Navy commanders at Hawaii), so it was sent at regular message speeds through Western Union. The most important point is that even if the Japanese message had decoded by their embassy and delivered to the State Department on time, it would have gotten there simultaniously with the first bombs. This schedule was set up quite deliberately by the Japanese government. John Hobson AT&T Bell Labs Naperville, IL (312) 979-0193 ihnp4!ihuxq!amigo2