Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz – His Leadership During WWII Won The War in the Pacific

Admiral Chester William Nimitz contributed to the success of the United States Navy from his beginnings at Annapolis 1905 to this very day. His accomplishments, contributions, and 61 years of service led to advancements in command strategy, naval education, goodwill measures, and the engineering and building of gas, diesel, and nuclear engines for navy vessels – especially submarines.

His leadership during WWII won the war in the Pacific and on September 2, 1945, Nimitz signed for the United States when Japan formally surrendered on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

Birth

Chester William Nimitz was born in Fredericksburg, TX in 1885 – six months after his own father’s death.

His primary male role model was his hardy, sea-loving grandfather, who had been a German Merchant Marine, one of the first Texas Rangers, and a Confederate captain. His grandfather’s experiences and advice were influential in the building of Nimitz’s character and achievements. His grandfather told him “the sea – like life itself – is a stern taskmaster. The best way to get along with either is to learn all you can, then do your best and don’t worry – especially about things over which you have no control.”

The former Nimitz Hotel now serves as the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, TX
His childhood home was the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg, TX which was built with the essence and elements of a ship so that Grandfather Nimitz would feel connected to the sea he missed so much. The young Chester had as his home and playground a ship’s bridge and a pilot house that looked out not over the sea, but out on the Texas hills.

Burgeoning

1905
Nimitz’s first choice of school was West Point, and he applied at the age of 15. Unfortunately, there were no appointments available. On the advice of his Congressman, he studied hard for the one appointment available at Annapolis. He graduated from the Naval Academy 7^th in his class of 114 in 1905. He had left high school to attend and did not receive a high school diploma until decades later when he was an admiral.

His classmates said of him that he was “a man of cheerful yesterdays and confident tomorrows”.

Commanding the Sea

With General MacArthur and President Roosevelt
By 1908, he was an ensign that had served on four ships before running the fifth, the Decatur, aground on a sandbar in the Philippines. He was court-martialed and received a letter of reprimand.

A fast learner, he started instruction in the First Submarine Flotilla in January of 1909 and had command of the flotilla by May. He also had the command of the USS Plunger, the USS Snapper, and the USS Narwhal by November of 1910. By the end of 1911, he was Commander 3^rd Submarine Division Atlantic Torpedo Fleet.

Over the next several years, Nimitz proved himself through several endeavors. In 1918, during WWI, he was appointed Chief of Staff to Admiral Samuel S. Robinson – the Commander of the Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet – and was awarded a Letter of Commendation for meritorious service. That October, he was appointed a senior member of the Board of Submarine Design.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, he served on various naval vessels and was appointed the chief of the Bureau of Navigation in 1939.

On December 17^th, 1941 (ten days after Pearl Harbor), Roosevelt promoted him to Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Fleet with the rank of Admiral.

When the Pacific theater was divided into three areas of command in 1942, Admiral Nimitz was given command over all sea, air, and ground units of the Pacific Ocean Areas as their Commander in Chief.

Admiral Nimitz was victorious in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, and the Solomon Islands Campaign.

An Act of Congress in 1944 recognized his contributions and created the grade of Fleet Admiral which would be the highest rank in the Navy and to which President Roosevelt promoted Nimitz the day following that act.

In 1945 he was named Commander in Chief of the United States Fleet.

Contributions

Signing the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri
When Nimitz was first married, before WWI, he and his wife spent time in Germany and Belgium where he was educated on the building of diesel engines. He used that training to build the diesel engines of the Maumee when he returned to the U.S., becoming the executive and engineer officer of that vessel. It was the first diesel engine used in a surface Navy vessel.

The Maumee, with Nimitz on board, was the first vessel to conduct underway refuelings. It served as a refueling ship for Navy destroyers on their way across the Atlantic during WWI.

While bolstering his education with naval command training at the Navy War College in the 1920s, Nimitz worked on a hypothetical plan for how to win engagements in a Pacific War. That plan was later used in the Pacific Theater during WWII.

Nimitz helped win the war with not only battle strategy, but maintenance plans – by creating forward repair stations and maintenance squadrons.

During WWII, he organized his single fleet into separate “staff” with supporting directives, so that while one did this, the other could do that. By having one staff commanding and the other planning upcoming assaults, the Japanese were continuously deluded into thinking the Navy fleet was much larger. This ingenious plan led to the future honing of command procedures.

Legacy

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11 transits into San Diego prior to mooring at Naval Air Station North Island. Nimitz is preparing for a 2009 regularly scheduled Western Pacific Deployment.
Admiral Nimitz was the US signer of the peace treaty with Japan after their surrender in WWII aboard the battleship Missouri.

His influence, expert knowledge of submarines, and support of Captain Hyman G. Rickover’s proposal for a nuclear submarine led to the building of the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus.

He was the last officer to ever serve as Fleet Admiral, he was Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Internal Security and Individual Rights, a roving ambassador for the United Nations, the first professor of Naval Science at the University of California, a regent of the University of California, and in retirement was Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy in the Western Sea Frontier.

Admiral Nimitz submitted an affidavit to the Nuremberg Trials supporting unrestricted submarine warfare which both he and German Admiral Karl Donitz had employed during the war. This affidavit may have been one of the reasons Donitz was only required to serve 10 years.

He won more awards and received more decorations than can be listed here, including several Gold Stars. Roosevelt declared October 5^th “Nimitz Day”. He was present for a parade in his honor on that day in 1945 and on October 17^th, 1964 on “Nimitz Day” at the University of California.

Nimitz participated in fundraising to help restore the Japanese Imperial Navy battleship, the Mikasa, with the intention of restoring goodwill with Japan.

Nimitz is featured on a United States stamp and several things have been named after him including ships, schools, foundations, museums, freeways, military institutions, hills, summits, a glacier, musical compositions, eight schools, and even the town of Nimitz, WV.

Photo Credit: 1. mdew / HBO / Dreamworks Pictures / MovieStillsDB 2. jeffw616 / HBO / Dreamworks Pictures / MovieStillsDB

Fact and fiction are blended seamlessly in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), which can sometimes make it hard to determine what really happened and what was embellished. While the majority of the story is accurate to the actions of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division during the Second World War, there was one scene, in particular, that we were curious about: Richard Winters’ court-martial in the first episode.

We always wondered if the real Maj. Winters stuck it to his captain by requesting the court-martial. As it turns out, he really did.

Court-martial scene in Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers, 2021. (Photo Credit: jeffw616 / HBO / Dreamworks Pictures / MovieStillsDB)

In the premiere episode of Band of Brothers, Capt. Herbert Sobel (David Schwimmer) takes disciplinary action against then-1st Lt. Richard Winters (Damian Lewis) for failing to show up on time to inspect the soldiers cleaning the latrines. However, Sobel had switched the time of inspection at the last moment, which Winters was unaware of.

Despite claiming that he’d tried to call him and even had a runner sent to deliver the message, Winters never caught wind of the time change. It’s important to note the home where Winters was staying at the time didn’t have a phone and that a runner never arrived.

Sobel proceeds to punish Winters for the minor infraction, giving him a choice and saying, “So, your options are quite simple, lieutenant. Punishment for your offenses will be denial of a 48-hour pass for 60 days. Or, you may initiate a letter of appeal and request a trial by court-martial.”

Sobel even tries to offer Winters some kind of understanding, telling him to take the punishment, as “you spend your weekends on base anyway.” Instead, the first lieutenant replies, “I request trial by court-martial,” before saluting his captain and leaving him in a stunned silence.

Is there any truth behind the scene?

Maj. Richard Winters. (Photo Credit: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0)

In the miniseries, Herbert Sobel serves as an early antagonist who’s determined to keep Richard Winters down. His character is portrayed as one who cares more for how his men served as a reflection of himself, rather than his leadership and their wellbeing, and Band of Brothers suggests he was extremely strict and malicious during their training.

It seems it got most of Sobel’s character correct, as well as the court-martial scene. In a book by Erik Dorr about Winters, a copy of Sobel’s reprimand and Winters’ signature for requesting a trial by court-martial proves the petty interaction did, in fact, occur in real life.

As the book upon which the series is based includes the memories of surviving members of the Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, Sobel really was as petty and harsh as Band of Brothers makes him out to be. Most of the real Easy Company disliked him, which is why what happened next, while shocking, isn’t entirely unbelievable.

Easy Company turned against Herbert Sobel

Capt. Herbert Sobel. (Photo Credit: US Army / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain)
After Richard Winters’ court-martial, the men of Easy Company began to turn on Herbert Sobel. Soon after, their faith in him disappeared completely. Without Winters, who was performing administrative duties outside of the company during his court-martial, the paratroopers took matters into their own hands.

“A band of sergeants mutinied against Sobel, writing a letter to Col. Sink indicating their unwillingness [to] serve under the captain,” Erik Dorr wrote. “Risking their own futures, the men unleashed a verbal volley undermining Sobel’s authority and abilities. Several of the sergeants were accordingly punished for insubordination.

“Realizing how sour the situation was, Sink at last transferred the captain from Easy Company that February.”

Dorr quoted one of the paratroopers, Tech. Sgt. Donald Malarkey, as having said, “Winters quietly orchestrated the deal to force Sobel out. Not for his selfish gain, mind you; that wasn’t Winters’s style. He was among the most selfless men I’ve ever had the privilege of serving with. No, he did it for the good of the men. He did it to save their lives.”