400 PEARL HARBOR ATTACK justice to which we have been and are committed, with confidence that it is within our capacity to withstand any attack which anyone may make upon us because of our pursuit of that course (ex. 19)." Also on November 29 (Washington time), the British Ambassador called on Secretary Hull to learn of any further developments in the Japanese situation, especially with reference to the question of the proposed modus vivendi. As Secretary Hull described the conversation: "This caused me to remark in a preliminary way that the mechanics for the carrying on of diplomatic relations between the governments resisting aggressor nations are so complicated that it is nearly impossible to carry on such relations in a manner at all systematic and safe and sound. I referred to the fact that Chiang Kai-shek, for example, has sent numerous hysterical cable messages to different Cabinet officers and high officials in the Government other than the State Department, and sometimes even ignoring the President, intruding into a delicate and serious situation with no real idea of what the facts are. I added that Chiang Kai-shek has his brother-in-law, located here in Washington, disseminate damaging reports at times to the press and others, apparently with no particular purpose in mind; that we have correspondents from London who interview different officials here, which is entirely their privilege to do, except that at times we all move too fast without fully understanding each other's views, et cetera, et cetera. I stated that this was well illustrated in the case of the recent outburst by Chiang Kai-shek. In referring to this I remarked that it would have been better if, when Churchill received Chiang Kai-shek's loud protest about our negotiations here with Japan, instead of passing the protest on to us without objection on his part, thereby qualifying and virtually killing what we knew were the individual views of the British Government toward these negotiations, he had sent a strong cable back to Chiang Kai-shek telling him to brace up and fight with the same zeal as the Japanese and the Germans are displaying instead of weakening and telling the Chinese people that all of the friendly countries were now striving primarily to protect themselves and to force an agreement between China and Japan, every Chinese should understand from such a procedure that the best possible course was being pursued and that this calls for resolute fighting until the undertaking is consummated by peace negotiations which Japan in due course would be obliged to enter into with China. "*I expressed the view that the diplomatic part of our relations with Japan was virtually over and that the matter will now go to the officials of the Army and the Navy with whom I have talked and to whom I have given my views for whatever they are worth. Speaking in great confidence, I said that it would be a serious mistake for our country and other countries interested in the Pacific situation to make plans of resistance without including the possibility that Japan may move suddenly and with every possible element of surprise and spread out over considerable areas and capture certain positions and posts before the peaceful countries interested in the Pacific would have time to confer and formulate plans to meet these new conditions; that this would be on the theory that the Japanese recognize that their course of unlimited conquest now renewed all along the line probably is a desperate gamble and requires the utmost boldness and risk.* "*I also said to the Ambassador that a calm deliberate Japanese Government would more than ever desire to wait another thirty days to see whether the German Army is driven out of Russia by winter. I added that the extremist fire-eating elements in Japan who have preached a general forward movement supported by the Army and Navy have influenced a vast portion of the Japanese public to clamor for such a movement, would probably take no serious notice of the Russian-German situation but would go forward in this desperate undertaking which they have advocated for some time; that at least it would be a mistake not to consider this possibility as entirely real, rather than to assume that they would virtually halt and engage in some movements into Thailand and into the Burma Road while waiting the results on the Russian front. The Ambassador, I think, had his reservations on this latter point. He did not disagree with what I said about the badly confused mechanics for the conduct of diplomatic relations between several of our countries in these critical times (ex. 18). *" Also that day the Australian Minister, Mr. Casey, called on Secretary Hull and intimated that he was prepared to suggest to the Japanese Ambassador that Australia would be glad to act as mediator between Japan and the United States. In his memorandum of the PEARL HARBOR ATTACK 401 conversation, Secretary Hull noted that he gave the matter no serious attention, except to tell the Minister "that the diplomatic stage was over and that nothing would come of a move of that kind. I interrupted him to make this conclusive comment before the Minister could make a detailed statement of the matter on the assumption that he would develop a set of facts along lines that he began to intimate (ex. 174)." That afternoon the State Department received from Ambassador Grew the text of a Japanese note protesting the alleged flight of an American airplane over the island of Formosa on November 20, claiming this was a violation of Japanese territory and requesting that the matter "be brought to the attention of the United States authorities concerned." Ambassador Grew was informed on December 6 (Washington time) that the requested action had been taken, and that on November 24 an unidentified airplane had carried out a reconnaissance of Guam (ex. 130). The same afternoon (November 29) Secretary Hull received a request from the British Ambassador for a copy of the text of the United States' note of November 26 to send to the British Foreign Minister, to whom the general character of the note had previously been communicated (ex. 158). A copy of the note was sent to the Ambassador by Under Secretary Welles the following Tuesday (tr. 1338). Also that afternoon the State Department instructed American diplomatic and consular offices at Saigon, Bangkok and Singapore to report "all movements of military or naval units" promptly to the American Consul at Manila, who was told to transmit such information to Admiral Hart, the Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Fleet (ex. 21). Overshadowing the other events of the day, however, was an Associated Press report of a speech made by Premier Tojo in Tokyo before a rally sponsored by the "Imperial Rule Assistance Association" and the "Dai Nippon East Asia League," in commemoration of the first anniversary of the Joint Declaration by the Governments of Japan and Manchukuo and the Wang Ching-wei regime in Japanese-occupied China (ex. 29, vol. II, p. 122). [1] In his speech, Premier Tojo said: "It is certainly the most fortunate lot of the three powers to have the privilege of collaborating together under this banner for cutting open the thorny way, and 1 year has already gone by since we started this honorable work together, and if it is not the greatest task of the present century what else can it be. "However if we look around we find that there are still many countries who are indulging in actions hostile to us. In fact they are trying to throw obstacles in the way of the construction of the East Asia co- prosperity sphere and are trying to enjoy the dream of exploitation of East Asia at the cost of the 1,000 million populace of the East Asiatic peoples to satisfy their greed of possession. "The fact that Chiang Kai-shek is dancing to the tune of Britain, America, and communism at the expense of able-bodied and promising young men in his futile resistance against Japan is only due to the desire of Britain and the United States to fish in the troubled waters of East Asia by pitting the East Asiatic peoples against each other and to grasp the hegemony of East Asia. This is a stock in trade of Britain and the United States. "For the honor and pride of mankind we must purge this sort of practice from East Asia with a vengeance (ex. 29, vol. II, p. 148)." The reports of this speech by Premier Tojo commenced coming in on November 29, the date fixed by Foreign Minister Togo as the final deadline before which Ambassador Nomura was to obtain the written [1] Extracts from Premier Tojo's speech were carried in American newspapers on November 30 under such headlines as "Japan Threatens to Purge Asia of U. S. And Britain" (Washington Post, November 30, 1941). 402 PEARL HARBOR ATTACK agreement of the United States to the Japanese demands of November 20 or else things would "automatically" begin to happen (ex. 1, p. 165). It must be assumed Secretary Hull was aware of this and of the Foreign Minister's message to Ambassador Nomura stating that the negotiations would be de facto ruptured within 2 or 3 days (ex. 1, p. 195). Late Saturday evening, November 29 (Washington time), Secretary Hull telephoned President Roosevelt at Warm Springs and had a lengthy conversation with him, after which the President's press secretary told reporters: "In view of the reported statement an Associated Press dispatch by the Premier of Japan, the President tonight is of the opinion that he may have to leave Warm Springs tomorrow afternoon, arranging the railroad schedule so as to arrive in Washington Monday before noon (tr. 14337)." Secretary Hull testified that "the gravity of the situation was evident from many sources", and that as Premier Tojo's statement reflected the extreme acuteness of the situation, "in that sense it may be said that the statement prompted my telephone call and the President's return" (Tr. 14,340). In the meantime, after cabling Ambassador Nomura on November 28 (Japan time) that he did not wish the Ambassador "to give the impression that the negotiations are broken off" (ex. 1, p. 195), Foreign Minister Togo had followed up that message with another the next day in which he instructed the Ambassador: "*We wish you would make one more attempt verbally along the following lines:* "The United States government has (always?) taken a fair and judicial position and has formulated its policies after full consideration of the claims of both sides. "However, the Imperial Government is at a loss to understand why it has now taken the attitude that the new proposals we have made cannot be made the basis of discussion, but instead has made new proposals which ignore actual conditions in East Asia and would greatly injure the prestige of the Imperial Government. "With such a change of front in their attitude toward the China problem, what has become of the basic objectives that the U. S. Government has made the basis of our negotiations during these seven months? On these points we would request careful self-reflection on the part of the United States government. "*(In carrying out this instruction, please be careful that this does not lead to anything like a breaking off of negotiations)* (ex. 1, p. 199)." This message was translated and available in Washington on Sunday, November 30 (Washington time). Late that evening Ambassador Kurusu telephoned Bureau Chief Yamamoto in Tokyo that arrangements had been made for the two Ambassadors to meet with Secretary Hull the next morning, Monday. The Ambassador reported that President Roosevelt was returning to Washington the next day because of Premier Tojo's speech, and cautioned against such "ill-advised statements," saying that it put the two Ambassadors "in a very difficult position." When Yamamoto urged the Ambassador to continue the negotiations, Ambassador Kurusu said they would need Tokyo's help, and both the Premier and the Foreign Minister would need "to change the tone of their speeches." Ambassador continued: "Actually the real problem we are up against is the effects of happenings in the South. You understand that don't you? (Ex. 1, p. 207)" Yamamoto replied: "Yes, yes (ex. 1, p. 207)." PEARL HARBOR ATTACK 403 Secretary Hull testified that he telephoned the President that Sunday [1] "after conferring With our military regarding the Japanese Prime Minister's bellicose statement and the increasing gravity of the Far Eastern situation" (tr. 1163). The record shows that the Secretary had two telephone conversations that morning with Admiral Stark at 10:30 and 12:08 o'clock (tr. 1167). Admiral Stark attended the Secretary's conference with President Roosevelt at 11:45 a. m. The next day immediately following the President's return to Washington, and it would seem probable that the arrangement for Admiral Stark to attend that conference was made during the Secretary's telephone conversations with him. At 1:28 o'clock Sunday afternoon there was received in the State Department, through Ambassador Winant in London, the following message from Prime Minister Churchill for President Roosevelt: "It seems to me that one important method remains unused in averting war between Japan and our two countries, namely a plain declaration, secret or public as may be thought best, that any further act of aggression by Japan will lead immediately to the gravest consequence. I realize your constitutional difficulties but it would be tragic if Japan drifted into war by encroachment without having before her fairly and squarely the dire character of a further aggressive step. I beg you to consider whether, *at the moment which you judge right which may be very near*, you should not say that "any further Japanese aggression would compel you to place the gravest issues before Congress", or words to that effect. We would, of course, make a similar declaration or share in a joint declaration, and in any ease arrangements are being made to synchronize our action with yours. Forgive me, my dear friend, for presuming to press such a course upon you, but I am convinced that it might make all the difference and prevent a melancholy extension of the war (ex. 24)." Also that Sunday both the Australian Minister, Mr. Casey, and the British Ambassador, Lord Halifax, called on Secretary Hull. The Australian Minister gave the Secretary the substance of a talk he had had with Ambassador Kurusu. Secretary Hull recorded: "This amounted to very little and there was really nothing new in what he said except that Kurusu made it repeatedly clear that the Japanese were very desirous of continuing conversations with this Government. The Minister then referred to his notes and said that the British Ambassador desired to urge, along with him, the Australian Minister, that I do the best possible to continue our relations with Japan so as to avoid a military conflict at this time, the idea being that they needed more time for preparation to resist in the Pacific area. This view has been asserted constantly during recent weeks by the British Ambassador, the Australian Minister, and twice by the Netherlands Minister (ex. 168)." One of the purposes of the British Ambassador's call was to hand Secretary Hull the following memorandum: "MOST SECRET "There are important indications that Japan is about to attack Thailand and this attack will include a sea-borne expedition to seize strategic points in the Kra isthmus. "We have plans for the rapid movement of a force from Malaya to hold a line across the Kra isthmus in the neighborhood of Singora. Time is the essence of this plan, particularly at this season of the year when the Kra isthmus is water logged. Consequently great tactical advantage lies with the side which gets there first. "R. A. F. are reconnoitering on arc of 180 miles from Tedta Bharu for three days commencing November 29th and our Commander in Chief, Far East has requested Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet at Manila to undertake air recon- [1] Newspaper accounts of Secretary Hull's s activities that Sunday state that the Secretary again telephoned President Roosevelt at Warm Springs before his departure for Washington (Washington Post, December 1, 1941). 404 PEARL HARBOR ATTACK naissance on line Manila-Camranh Bay on the same days. Commander in Chief Far East, has asked for permission to move into Kra isthmus, if air reconnaissance establishes the fact that escorted Japanese ships are approaching the coast of Thailand, and he asks for an immediate decision on this point. "To allow the Japanese to establish themselves so near the Malay frontier would be an obvious threat to Singapore even though at the present season it might not develop at once. We have also to bear in mind the encouragement which the Japanese success would give to their extremists. Demands of appetite would grow and other Far East peoples would be correspondingly depressed. It looks therefore as though, to ensure the defense of Singapore and for wider reasons we might have to take the proposed action to forestall the Japanese (ex. 21)." In his memorandum of his conversation with the British Ambassador Secretary Hull stated that the Ambassador "was very desirous of ascertaining what the United States would do if the British should resist any Japanese undertaking to establish a base on the Kra Isthmus. *I said that the President was returning tomorrow morning and that I would lay all phases of the situation before him on Monday noon. This I proceeded later to do and the President agreed to notify and see the Ambassador later with respect to his inquiry*. * * * The Ambassador continued his attitude of desiring more time for his Government to make preparations to resist in the Pacific area. He assured me that his Government would be in harmony with any steps that we might pursue to this end (ex. 21)." The next day Lord Halifax sent Secretary Hull a copy of a telegram he had received from the British Foreign Office, "as the point may possibly arise in the course of your discussions this morning." "You will remember," he wrote the Secretary, "you mentioned the point to me as I was leaving your office yesterday" (ex. 158). The Foreign Office telegram was as follows: "It is conceivable that United States Government may raise with you the question of the compatibility of the operation referred to with our treaty of nonaggression with Thailand. It may be useful for you to know therefore that we have given careful consideration to this point. "In July last we informed the Thai Government that we should regard the grant of bases to Japan as an infraction of that treaty. Similarly (although we have as yet made no communication to the Thai Government) we should not feel we could allow the treaty to be a bar to our entering Thailand if a Japanese invasion occurred or was clearly impending. But it would be greatly preferable if in these eventualities we could act in co-operation with the Thai Government. If therefore it were decided to undertake the operation, we should naturally do our best to secure Thai's consent. It would be important however not to reveal to the Thai Government prematurely the existence of our plan owing to the danger of leakage to the Japanese (ex. 158). Thus the record before the Committee shows that as President Roosevelt returned to Washington from Warm Springs, the information available to his advisors in Washington indicated that a crisis was fast approaching, if not already at hand. A series of intercepted Japanese messages that were translated and available in Washington the next day, December 1 (Japan time), fully confirmed this view. In a telegram dated December 1 (Japan time) to Ambassador Nomura, the Japanese Foreign Minister told the Ambassador that "The date set in my message No. 812 has come and gone and the situation continues to be increasingly critical. However, to prevent the United States from becoming unduly suspicious, we have been instructing the Press and others that though there are some wide differences between Japan and the United States, the negotiations are continuing. (The above is for only your information) (ex. 1, p. 208). That same day the Japanese Foreign Office informed the Ambassador that its four offices "in London, Hongkong, Singapore, and Manila PEARL HARBOR ATTACK 405 have been instructed to abandon the use of the code machines and to dispose of them," and that the machine in Batavia had been returned to Japan (ex. 1, p. 209). From a message dated November 29 from the Japanese Ambassador in Thailand to Foreign Minister Togo in Tokyo, it was learned that the Ambassador was conspiring with the pro-Japanese faction in Thailand to place that country in a position where it would be compelled to declare war on Great Britain. The Japanese Ambassador in Thailand reported to Tokyo that the question of joint military action between Thailand and Japan had been brought up in the Thai Government, but that the Government had expressed a desire to pursue a course of strict neutrality. He told Foreign Minister Togo that the Thai Government "had taken a fairly firm stand that the first one, regardless of whether they be Britain or Japan, who makes the first move shall be considered Thai's enemy. Therefore, for Japan to be looked upon as Thai's helper, she should put Britain in a position to be the first aggressor. *For the purpose of accomplishing this Japan should carefully avoid Thai territory, and instead, land troops in the neighborhood of Kotaparu in British territory, which would almost certainly force Britain to invade Thailand from Patanbessa.* "*The consequence would be Thai's declaration of war on Britain.* This strategy is being given careful consideration. Apparently this plan has the approval of Chief of Staff Bijitto. Our naval Attache has advised the Naval General Staff also, I think (ex. 1, p. 203)." While the record before the committee shows that all of these Japanese messages were translated and available in Washington on December 1, it does not show the exact hour when translation was completed. It therefore cannot be said with certainty which, if any, of the messages were seen by Secretary Hull before his conference with the Japanese Ambassadors that morning, or which of the messages were seen by President Roosevelt, Secretary Hull, and Admiral Stark before their conference immediately after the President's return to Washington from Warm Springs. THE INVASION OF THAILAND BY JAPANESE FORCES FROM FRENCH INDOCHINA APPEARS IMMINENT (December 1-7, 1941) Thus on December 1 (Washington time) there was much information in Washington that pointed toward Thailand as the next objective of Japanese aggression. Geographically, Thailand lies between French Indochina on the east and Burma on the west, and, with the Gulf of Siam, between French Indochina on the northeast and the British Malay States on the south. After the Japanese occupation of southern French Indochina in late July, Thailand thus became a barrier between those forces and two possible objectives, the Burma Road on the one hand and Singapore on the other. This strategic location of Thailand had been emphasized by General Marshall and Admiral Stark in their joint memorandum of November 5 (Washington time) when they concluded that no military action against Japan should be undertaken by the United States unless, among other contingencies, the Japanese should move their forces "into Thailand to the west of 100 east (i. e., toward the Burma Road) or south of 10 north" (i. e., toward Singapore) (ex. 16). It is desirable here to review briefly the situation with respect to Thailand as it had developed since July. The record before the Com- 406 PEARL HARBOR ATTACK mittee shows that after the Japanese invasion and occupation of French Indochina late in July, the Thai Government, fully aware of Thailand's strategic position and importance to the Japanese, on August 12 (Washington time) had formally asked the State Department whether, in the event Thailand should be attacked and should resist attack, the United States Government would extend material assistance to it, the Thai Government having determined and formally announced that it would defend itself against attack by any other country. Mr. Maxwell M. Hamilton, then Chief of the State Department's Far Eastern Division, to whom the question was presented, had advised the Thai Minister that the matter would be taken up with higher officers of the Department and that he would then communicate further with the Minister (ex. 169, item 6). The Thai Minister had previously made informal inquiry of the State Department to the same effect, after Secretary Hull had stated at a press conference on August 6 (Washington time) that the United States was becoming increasingly concerned over events in the southwestern Pacific area (ex. 169, item 1-6). Again on August 14, the Thai Minister had called at the State Department and stated that he had received another telegram from his Government which, "in the gravity of its tone, indicated that a critical state had been reached in respect of the threat of invasion." He had further stated that he had been instructed "to spare no effort to obtain an expression of the views of the American Government in this situation," and that the Thai Government was ready and able to purchase in America the arms it needed (ex. 169, item 7). On August 15 (Washington time) the State Department had received from the United States Minister at Batavia in the Netherlands East Indies a telegram containing the substance of a message from the Netherlands Minister of Colonies in London to the Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies. In it the Minister of Colonies advised the latter that he had been assured by the British Foreign Minister that in the event of an attack by Japan upon the Netherlands East Indies; the British Empire would back up the Netherlands completely. The Governor- General was also advised that a further conference would soon be held in London with the British Foreign Minister in this connection "since it has become clear now that the United States and England will not resist Japanese occupation of Thailand with force of arms. It is also brought to your attention that any guarantee or certainty of United States participation by force of arms is absolutely excluded (ex. 169, item 8)." Secretary Hull had conferred with the Thai Minister in Washington on August 18 (Washington time). In reply to the Minister's previous inquiries as to the attitude of the United States Government toward Thailand if Thailand should be attacked and should endeavor in good faith to defend itself, Secretary Hull had stated that the United States had been aiding China in many ways against the aggression of Japan and that, in the contingencies mentioned, the United States Government would place Thailand in the same category (ex. 169, item 9). The next action of importance in connection with Thailand appears to have occurred on October 27 (Washington time), when the British Minister in Washington, Sir Ronald Campbell, discussed the Thailand situation with Under Secretary Welles and left with him two memoranda dated October 25 dealing with possible material aid to PEARL HARBOR ATTACK 407 Thailand, including guns, ammunition, planes and aviation gasoline and lubricating oil, by Great Britain and the United States (ex. 169, item 13). It will be recalled that it was about this time that Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek had appealed to Great Britain and the United States for planes and pilots to defend the Burma Road against an anticipated attack by the Japanese from northern French Indochina. The American reply to the British memoranda of October 25 had been delayed in order that both of these matters could be considered at the same time (ex. 169, item 11). On November 6 (Washington time), that reply, in the form of an aide memoire, had been handed to the British Minister (ex. 169, item 13). The aide memoire pointed out that for some weeks it had been the policy of the United States Government to give sympathetic consideration to priority and export applications filed on behalf of the Thai Government and, whenever practicable in the face of demand from other areas upon American production, to take favorable action upon such applications. Regarding the proposals contained in the British memoranda, the United States reply commented that the British proposal to require the acceptance of British instructors along with the howitzers and field guns which were to be offered to the Thai Government might serve as a pretext upon which the Japanese Government might exert additional pressure upon Thailand. As to planes, the memoranda suggested that the British might wish to consider the release to Thailand of a number of airplanes at Singapore which it was understood were in excess of the number for which pilots were available there. If this should not be practicable, it was suggested that if the British should decide to make available to Thailand planes from those being supplied to it from the United States, the United States Government would be agreeable to such an arrangement. Concerning aviation gasoline and lubricating oil, it was stated that a reply would be made in the near future, after further investigation (ex. 169, item 13). On November 18 (Washington time) the State Department had advised the American Minister at Bangkok that it had explored the possibility of making available to the Thai Government antitank and antiaircraft guns and ammunition, but that it had been found impossible to spare any of such items at the moment (ex. 169, item 15). Four days later, on November 22 (Washington time), the State Department had advised the American Minister at Bangkok that the question of supplying planes to Thailand had been under active consideration by the British and the United States Governments but that neither Government was in a position to supply any planes to Thailand at the present time. The Minister had been advised that the supplying of aviation gasoline and aviation lubricating oil had also been under consideration, and that the British Government was prepared to furnish limited amounts of aviation gasoline and the United States Government was endeavoring to arrange to supply aviation lubricating oil (ex. 169, item 16). The same day reports had reached the State Department from the British Embassy of Japanese requests for the use of Thai airfields for "survey flights" and for aviation gasoline, presumably for such flights (ex. 169, item 17). The British Ambassador, Lord Halifax, had called on Under Secretary Welles on November 25 (Washington time) regarding a report from the British Minister at Bangkok that the Thai Government was again becoming very shaky and that unless some practical action were 408 PEARL HARBOR ATTACK taken by Great Britain and the United States the Japanese influence would again become predominant. The British Ambassador had reported that title aviation gasoline and artillery the British had given the Thai Government had been regarded by the latter as completely insufficient "and had had no appreciably beneficial effects." When Lord Halifax had said that the Thai Government was urgently desirous of obtaining airplanes, the Under Secretary had said that the United States was building up its air strength as rapidly as possible in the Philippines and that he had been informed by both General Marshall and Admiral Stark that the planes the United States had in the Philippines were infinitely more valuable to the United States there than they would be in Thailand. The British Ambassador had then suggested on behalf of his Government that the situation "might be ameliorated by a credit of $10,000,000 to Thailand by the United States." Under Secretary Welles had said that this matter would be given immediate consideration (ex. 169, item 18). On November 27 (Washington time) the State Department had advised the American Minister at Bangkok concerning renewed instructions which were given on November 22 to American diplomatic and consular officers in Japanese-occupied areas of China, Hongkong and French Indochina regarding the withdrawal of American citizens from those areas, and had authorized him to inform American citizens in Thailand of those instructions (ex. 169, item 20). The next day the Thai Minister had called at the State Department and stated that he feared a Japanese attack on Thailand was imminent. He had said that Thailand would resist any such attack with all its forces. Referring to the statement previously made to him that the United States would place Thailand in the same category as China and would offer assistance in the case of an attack by an aggressor, he had suggested that immediate consideration be given to making planes and other supplies available to Thailand. He had been advised that the matter would be promptly brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities (ex. 169, item 23). On November 29 (Washington time) the State Department had received a telegram from the American Minister at Bangkok stating that on the previous day the Thai Prime Minister had urged his people to be neutral but to prepare to fight if war became inevitable. The Thai Prime Minister had been reported as saying "that Great Britain and the United States had promised not to attack Thailand and that the Japanese Ambassador had guaranteed that Japanese troops in Indo-China are not intended for attack on this country in any circumstances (ex. 169, item 28)." On December 1 (Washington time), the day President Roosevelt returned to Washington, from Warm Springs, the Thai Minister, accompanied by his military attache, called at the State Department and described in detail the general military situation in Thailand, stating that the military equipment now most urgently needed by Thailand was heavy artillery, bombing planes, and pursuit planes. The Minister expressed the hope that means could be found to make this equipment available immediately in order that Thailand might be better able to resist aggression by Japan (ex. 169, item 26). The following day the State Department sent a telegram to the American Consul at Singapore requesting him to render all possible assistance in connection with the immediate delivery of small quanti- PEARL HARBOR ATTACK 409 ties of appropriate aviation lubricating oils to Thailand, arrangements for which, the Department said, had been tentatively agreed upon between representatives of this Government and representatives in Washington of the British and the Netherland Governments (ex. 169 item 28). GERMANY TELLS JAPAN THE TIME IS RIPE 10 STRIKE AT THE UNITED STATES, AND PROMISES TO JOIN WITH JAPAN IN WAR AGAINST THE UNITED STATES (November 29, 1941) Several additional intercepted Japanese messages between Tokyo and Berlin that were translated and available in Washington on December 1 (Washington time) disclosed that Germany once again was exercising pressure upon Japan under the Tripartite Pact. In a message dated November 29, 1941, from the Japanese Ambassador Oshima, in Berlin to Foreign Minister Togo, the Ambassador reported a conversation he had had with Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop the day before, following a conference of high German Government and military officials at the official residence of Chancellor Hitler. The Ambassador reported that it was an absolute certainty that at that conference Japan's moves were discussed in connection with discussion of the German war against Russia. He quoted von Ribbentrop as saying: "It is essential that Japan effect the New Order in East Asia without losing this opportunity. There never has been and probably never will be a time when closer cooperation under the Tripartite Pact is so important. If Japan hesitates at this time, and Germany goes ahead and establishes her European New Order all the military might of Britain and the United States will be concentrate against Japan. "As Fuehrer Hitler said today, there are fundamental differences in the very right to exist between Germany and Japan, and the United States. We have received advice to the effect that there is practically no hope of the Japanese-U. S. negotiations being concluded successfully, because of the fact that the United States is putting up a stiff front. "If this is indeed the fact of the ease, and if Japan reaches a decision to fight Britain and the United States, I am confident that that will not only be to the interest of Germany and Japan jointly, but would bring about favorable results for Japan herself (ex. 1, p. 200)." The Japanese Ambassador informed the Foreign Minister in Tokyo that von Ribbentrop had said that the Germans would like to end their war with Russia during the next year, and that he had then continued "should Japan become engaged in a war against the United States, Germany, of course, would join the war immediately. There is absolutely no possibility of Germany's entering into a separate peace with the United States under such circumstances. The Fuehrer is determined on that point (ex. 1, p. 202)." Foreign Minister Togo replied to this message on November 30 (Japan time). His message was in three parts, only the first and third of which were ever intercepted. [1] Both of those parts were translated and available in Washington, however, on December 1 (Washington time): "1. The conversations begun between Tokyo and Washington last April during the administration of the former cabinet, in spite of the sincere efforts of the [1] In this connection, the War Department advised the Committee that the microfilms of Japanese files received from General MacArthur's headquarters did not contain the second part of this message (tr. 13665).