Chester Nimitz was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, on 24th February, 1885. He attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and graduated in 1905 (7/144) and joined the United States Navy.
He served in the Philippines and in 1909 was assigned to underwater service. Although he initially disliked this move he eventually became the navy's leading authority on submarines.
In 1912 he was given command of the Atlantic Submarine Flotilla and the following year spent time with the German Navy studying diesel engines. When he returned to the United States he recommended their use by the United States Navy.
During the First World War Nimitz was chief of staff in the Atlantic Submarine Force. He also set up the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of California (1926-29). Afterwards he headed the San Diego destroyer base, was captain of the cruiser Augusta and was assistant chief of the Bureau of Navigation in Washington.
Promoted to rear admiral in 1938 Nimitz commanded Cruiser Division and Battleship Division before becoming chief of the Bureau of Navigation.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor Nimitz was was placed in charge of the Pacific Fleet. Urged on by Admiral Ernest King, Commander in Chief of the US Fleet, Nimitz sent William Halsey to attack the Marshall Islands and Frank Fletcher to raid the Gilbert Islands.
Nimitz, King and General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific, decided that their first objective should be to establish and protect a line of communications across the South Pacific to Australia. This resulted in the battles of Coral Sea and Midway, where the Japanese Navy lost all four of her carriers.
Throughout the war Nimitz met regularly with Admiral Ernest King and General Douglas MacArthur. King and MacArthur constantly clashed over strategy. Whereas MacArthur favoured an early return to the Philippines King wanted the islands bypassed so that all available resources could be employed to take Formosa. King believed that the island could then be used as a base for invading mainland China. Unable to gain agreement the matter was eventually passed to Franklin D. Roosevelt to make the decision.
In December 1944 Nimitz, William Leahy and Ernest King were all given the five star rank of Fleet Admiral. At the end of the Second World War Nimitz was succeeded by Raymond Spruance as commander of the Pacific Fleet. In November 1945 Nimitz replaced King as Commander in Chief of the US Fleet.
Nimitz retired from the United States Navy in 1947 and two years later accepted the post as a good will ambassador for the United Nations. Chester Nimitz, who declined to write his memoirs, died at his home in San Francisco Bay on 20th February 1966.
Raymond Spruance was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on 3rd July, 1886. He attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and graduated in 1907 (24/209) and joined the United States Navy.
Spruance specialized in electrical engineering and spent a year seconded to the General Electric Company. After the First World War he commanded destroyers and studied at the Naval War College (1926-27).
In 1938 Spruance was given command of the Mississippi and two years later became head of the 10th Naval District based in San Juan. Spruance was promoted to rear admiral in December 1940 and two years later was appointed head of Cruiser Division 5 in the Pacific.
After the United States entered the Second World War Spruance served under William Halsey, the head of Task Group 16. A nervous skin disease meant that Halsey missed the battle of Midway and Spruance led the task force that inflicted considerable damage on the Japanese Navy.
When Halsey returned to duty in June, 1942, Spruance became chief of staff to Chester Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Fleet. The following year Spruance was promoted to vice admiral and became Nimitz's deputy. In this post he played a major role in the planning of the navy's role in the Pacific War.
Spruance became head of the 5th Fleet in September 1943 and held overall command of the assaults on the Gilbert Islands (20th November 1943) and the Marshall Islands (31st January, 1944). In February 1944 he was promoted to full admiral.
Spruance was also given the task of planning the assaults of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. After these successful operations Spruance began to organize the invasion of Japan but the dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki made this unnecessary.
In 1948 Spruance retired from the US Navy and served as ambassador to the Philippines (1952-55). Raymond Spruance, who declined to write his memoirs, died in California on 23rd December 1969.
Frank Fletcher was born in Iwoa on 29th April, 1885. He attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and graduated in 1906 (26/116) and joined the United States Navy. He won the Medal of Honor at Vera Cruz in 1914 and saw action in the First World War.
In 1941 Fletcher was captain of the Minneapolis and was fortunate to be at sea during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Promoted to rear admiral he was appointed commander of Task Group 14. On board Yorktown, Fletcher helped the defence of Tulagi. This led to the battle of the Coral Sea (6th-8th May, 1942). Fletcher also took part in the battle of Midway (3rd-6th June, 1942).
Admiral Ernest King selected Fletcher to lead the assault on Guadalcana (12th-13th November, 1942). During the campaign Fletcher clashed with Richmond Turner, who was in charge of amphibious operation in the Pacific.
His decision to withdraw his aircraft carriers when he leaned that the Japanese forces were approaching was later criticized. His move left supply ships vulnerable to air attack and denied Alexander Vandegrift and his US Marines air support as they attempted to create a beachhead on the island.
As commander of Task Group 61 Fletcher faced Isoruku Yamamoto at the battle of the Eastern Solomons (23rd-25th August, 1942). During the battle Fletcher was wounded when the Saratoga was hit by a torpedo.
Fletcher took command of naval forces in the North Pacific in 1943 and the following year he became head of the Alaska Sea Frontier.
Frank Fletcher, who retired from the US Navy in June, 1947, and died in Bethesda, Maryland, on 25th April 1973.
Nobutake Kondo was born in Japan in 1886. He joined the Japanese Navy and eventually became a vice admiral and commander of the Southern Fleet. On 10th December 1941, Kondo's aircraft sunk Prince of Wales and Repulse.
In 1942 Kondo had overall responsibility for amphibious operations in the Philippines. Kondo also took part in the battle of Midway (3rd-6th June, 1942) where he commanded the 2nd Fleet.
Lieutenant General Alexander Vandegrift and the US Marines had the task of removing the stranglehold of the Japanese in the South Pacific. After the marines conducted their first successful amphibious landings at Guadalcanal on 7th August, 1942, Kondo led the Japanese effort to destroy the beachhead.
At the battle of the Eastern Solomons (23-25 August 1942) Kondo led the Japanese Navy against Frank Fletcher and Thomas Kinkaid. In October 1942 Kondo faced Kinkaid again at Santa Cruz.
Kondo led Japanese forces at the battle off Savo Island (12-13 November, 1942). Kondo's withdrawal marked the the end of the campaign for Guadalcanal.
Appointed a member of the Supreme War Council in May 1945, Nobutake Kondo died in 1953.
Chuichi Nagumo was born in Japan in 1887. He joined the Japanese Navy and eventually became commander of the Japanese 1st air fleet. A strong supporter of the integration of air and sea power, Nagumo was the director of the air attacks on Pearl Harbor on 7th December, 1941.
Nagumo also organized the bombing raids on Australia, Ceylon and India. After the loss of four aircraft carriers at Midway Nagumo was demoted and was given command of a small naval flotilla in the Marianas.
In 1944 Nagumo was given the task of organizing the defences of Saipan. Chuichi Nagumo committed suicide on 6th July 1944 during the later stages of the Allied conquest of the island.
Chester Nimitz was born in Fredericksburg, Texas, on 24th February, 1885. He attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and graduated in 1905 (7/144) and joined the United States Navy.
