Pearl Harbor Counterfactual: What If Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Had Been in Charge on December 7?
Would World War II have taken a different course had Admiral Chester W. Nimitz been in charge at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese hammer blow fell? Almost assuredly. History may have followed a more positive trajectory had U.S. forces on Oahu been prepared for an aerial assault. Or it may have turned out worse—perhaps far, far worse.
James Holmes is J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College and author of A Brief Guide to Maritime Strategy, published this week.
Image: Wikipedia.