Sir, the Japanese ambassador has just arrived.
He should be up shortly.
Thank you.
The Japanese are stalling, Henry.
You know that.
When Nomura took over as ambassador,
I had some hopes of settling our differences,
but our meetings so far have been unproductive.
He brings me proposals.
I offer compromises.
He brings me counterproposals, and so on.
I tell you, Henry, Nomura was sent here to buy time,
and that's what he's doing... at our expense.
The president believes him
to be a man of honor,
that we can trust him, that we can deal with him.
Ah, Mr. Ambassador, we meet again.
Oh, it is always a pleasure.
I assume you know Mr. Stimson,
the head of our War Department.
Oh, yes, of course.
Mr. Ambassador.
I do hope, Mr. Stimson, your presence here
does not indicate anything ominous.
Of course not, Mr. Nomura.
Mr. Nomura, won't you please sit down?
Oh, thank you.
Well, since our last talk a week ago,
I have received certain,
shall we say, questions from my government
to put to you to clarify certain matters.
Good morning, Colonel.
There it is.
This little machine enables us
to intercept every word
that passes between Tokyo
and all Japanese embassies.
The coded material is fed into that machine.
It goes round and round in there
and comes out here decoded in Japanese.
All we have to do is translate it.
We're decoding this stuff
quicker than the Japanese embassy right here in Washington.
No wonder you decided to call it
Operation Magic.
The latest intercept, sir.
Thank you.
Well, things are getting a little hotter in the Pacific.
As long as we're sharing this assignment,
take a look at this.
Behold the 12 apostles,
the chosen few who have been authorized
to see the magic intercepts.
But Hap Arnold, chief of the air corps, isn't on the list.
No.
And not one of our overseas commanders.
Stand by.
Execute.
Look at that entrance to the harbor.
Sink one good-size ship in the channel,
and you've bottled up our whole fleet.
Well, you know as well as I do
this harbor is a mousetrap.
The fleet should have stayed in San Diego
where it belongs.
I made the mistake
of pointing that out to Roosevelt.
Well, Jim, in the service,
we're expected to obey orders.
We're also expected
to exercise our own good judgment.
I didn't ask for the job.
Sorry, Kim, but this was my command,
and it's become a habit to worry about the security of the fleet.
I can't forget that the British, flying some old biplanes,
torpedoed and sank 3 Italian battleships at Taranto,
a harbor very much like this one.
Well, I share your concern, Jim,
but C.N.O. Doesn't think it can happen here.
And why not?
Well, a torpedo dropped from a plane
would plunge to a depth of 75 feet or more before it levels off.
I know, and Pearl is only 40 feet deep.
I'm still worried, Kim.
Ten-hut!
Hey, do those planes have to be parked like that,
way out on the edge of the field?
Standard dispersal procedure, General,
in case of enemy air attack.
There are 130,000 Japanese on this island.
Our main problem is sabotage.
It would be too easy for enemy agents to sneak in at night
and blow up every damn one of those planes if they're left out there.
Make a note of that, Fielder. We'll have to make changes.
Yes, sir.
Ten-hut!
Yes?
Admiral Halsey's here to see you, sir.
Send him in, please.
Bust me...
break me...
court-martial me, draw and quarter me.
If you think that they're going to send any one of my ships
on convoy duty in the Atlantic...
I tell you, Kim, I think they've gone nuts back in Washington.
Now, how in the hell am I supposed to fight a task force if they
send my destroyers and my cruisers to the Atlantic?
That damn ocean is a swimming hole compared to the Pacific.
What are we, a fighting fleet,
or are these toy boats we have out here
so that the Japs can buy them at Christmas?
All right, Bill. Now, ease it off.
It's not just you.
They've asked for some of our tankers, too.
How do they expect us to feed these fat battlewagons
that are parked out here in this landlocked duck pond?
You're still planning on rotating
at least half of them at sea, aren't you?
I was.
Now, look, Kim, you've got to make them understand
what's going on out here.
I'm going to do everything I can, Bill,
even if I have to go direct to the president.
By God... I knew
there was at least one man in this man's navy
who hadn't gone nuts.
And we go on to say, "It should be noted
"that Japan has never preceded hostile action by a declaration of war.
"We have concluded that it is a possibility
"that a fast-raiding Japanese carrier force
"might arrive in Hawaiian waters
"with no prior warning from our intelligence service.
"The most favorable time to the enemy would be dawn.
"He probably would employ a maximum of 6 carriers,
strike on a weekend. We recommend that the air corps"...
I read it.
Yes, sir.
I appreciate the work
that you and General Martin have put in.
These army-navy reports
are very useful to General Short and myself.
General Martin, you don't pull any punches, do you?
Hmm.
"We recommend that the air corps
"maintain a thorough 360-degree search of the Hawaiian area
during daylight."
"This will require a force of 180 B-17 airplanes."
We can't search the sea approaches around Hawaii
unless we have the planes, sir.
180 B-17 s.
For God sakes, man,
that's more than the total number existing in the States.
Now, it looks fine on paper,
but that's not a paper fleet out there.
Squadron from the Enterprise.
Bill Halsey's
working the tails off his men.
Wish we had more like him.
Makes the most of what he's got,
doesn't keep asking for the moon.
Well, not one bomb anywhere near the target
for the past hour.
Your pilots can see it, I suppose.
Who's next?
It's Anderson, sir.
Well, that's more like it.
Maybe your boys are finally getting the reins.
I hope so, sir.
Now, who's next?
Lieutenant Dickinson.
Well, you can tell Lieutenant Dickinson for me,
he couldn't hit a bull in the butt with a bass fiddle.
Yes, sir.
Attention!
Carry on.
Is this it?
Yes, sir. Our new radar.
It's a remarkable scientific achievement,
capable of spotting an intruder on the sea or in the air
and at quite a long range.
Now, listen, Colonel, as you know, we're short on patrol planes.
We're going to have to rely on this thing to detect the enemy.
General, radar should do the job.
Well, what's it doing here? Why isn't it set up?
We were about to truck it up that mountain, General.
That peak up there is the ideal spot
to put our main radar post.
At that height, it'd be clear of all interference.
Obviously.
But, sir, we can't get permission to put her up there.
Permission?
The National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
All of this belongs to the Hawaiian National Park.
Hawaiian National Park.
Yes, sir, and the Wildlife Preservation Society's raising hell, too.
And we can't get permission?
No, sir, not unless we want to fight them.
Fight them? You're damn good and right we're going to fight them.
Now, you make a note of that, Fielder.
Yes, sir.
Wildlife Preservation Society.
There's no use, Al. I spoke to General Miles,
and he took it up with General Marshall.
The order stands.
The president is off the ultra list.
That's incredible...
Withholding information from the president.
A security man found a copy of one of our intercepts
in a wastebasket at the White House.
The truth is, the brass don't trust
some of the men close to the president.
Does anyone trust anyone anymore?
Do you even trust your own wife?
Do you?
Yes. Come to think of it, I believe I do.
Part 2 of number 1390, Colonel.
Tokyo to embassies in Washington and Berlin.
Thank you, Miss Cave.
The Japanese are moving south
to occupy French Indo-China.
This is big trouble.
Yeah.
Well, ultra list or not,
someone has to tell the president about this one.
"Therefore we will impose a full embargo on all trade with Japan."
"We do not anticipate immediate hostile action by Japan,
"but you are furnished this information
in order that you may take appropriate precautionary measures."
Appropriate precautionary measures.
What the hell does that mean?
Now, this is signed jointly by General Marshall and Admiral Stark.
Till we know how the Japanese are going to react,
we're not going to take any chances.
We go on full alert.
Both: Yes, sir.
Stark says they don't anticipate hostile action.
Why send a warning at all?
Damn it.
Damn it. Why can't Washington give us the full inside story?
I'd sooner form my own opinion.
"Don't anticipate hostile action."
Well, all right, we'll go ahead.
Increase the air and sub patrols.
Alert all senior commanders.
Yes, sir.
Maybe out of all this we can find out how well we can function.
Kaminski.
This is Captain Earle.
We're going on full alert.
Yes, Captain.
We're going on full alert.
Notify all ship, sub, and air patrols.
What the hell is going on here?
Just what do you think you're doing?
Carrying out orders. General Short's main concern is sabotage.
Now, all air craft not being readied for flight
from now on will be parked together in the center of the field,
where they can be kept under guard day and night.
Suppose there's an air raid?
They hit one plane, and the whole shebang goes up in flames.
Well, I'm sorry. General's orders.
Well, it's not an ideal radar site,
but at least we've got a permit.
Let's get the other mobile units working.
That's easier said than done.
What do you mean?
Well, first we have to get all 6 units adjusted,
then link them by phone to Headquarters.
That means equipping an information center
and training men to operate it
so they know what to do with the information when it comes in.
Take it easy, Verne. You'll figure it out.
Yeah. I'll figure it out.
Well, don't just stand there.
You guys know how to operate this thing.
We know the theory, sir.
Well, let's put that theory into practice. Switch on.
Yes, sir.
You two stay put and keep watching that screen.
In 2 hours, close down.
I'll send a truck back to pick you up.
Excuse me, sir,
but what are we watching for?
Anything unusual,
any large blip coming from the sea.
Colonel, sir, if we do spot something, what do we do?
Report it to Headquarters, damn it!
How, sir?
What?
How? We haven't got a telephone, sir.
There's a gasoline station about a mile down the road.
They must have a phone.
We've got 183 combat planes on this base, General.
The way they're parked right now,
a one-eyed monkey hanging from a 10-cent balloon
could scatter them all to hell with just one hand grenade.
Don't blame me. General Short gave the order.
Come in.
Sir, Lieutenants Taylor and Welch.
OK. Send them in.
You two men get in your planes and fly over to Haleiwa.
Yes, sir. May I ask what our orders are when we get there, sir?
Just sit tight. Listen for the phone.
That's all.
Both: Yes, sir.
Haleiwa's one of several subsidiary fields.
We send those 2 up there, 2 more here.
Only way I know to disperse a few of the planes.
If I thought I could get away with it,
I'd send them all to the neighbor islands.
You know why we're being transferred.
Them poker games. Been winning too often.
Yeah.
Some sucker loses his shirt,
so he bitches to the general.
That's it.
Nomura has offered his resignation several times,
but Tokyo won't let him quit.
Instead, they're sending a second ambassador...
Kurusu... to help him out.
But do you really think
this Kurusu can do any good?
Well, I doubt it, Frank.
He's hardly the most tactful choice.
When he was ambassador in Berlin,
he signed the Axis pact on behalf of Japan.
You sick or something?
No.
I've been piecing together
this batch of new intercepts,
and a frightening picture is taking shape.
Oh?
"Ambassadors Nomura and Kurusu
"recently asked their government to extend the deadline
for suspending negotiations between Japan and America."
You remember that, don't you?
Yeah.
Now, according to this latest intercept,
Tokyo wants to conclude negotiations with us
no later than November 29,
after which, and I quote, "Things are automatically going to happen."
Now, look at this intelligence report from the British.
"5 Japanese troop transports with naval escort
were sighted off Formosa, heading south."
But we've been monitoring the Japanese fleet,
and most of it appears to be in home waters.
I'm not so sure.
I'd make a bet they're going to attack us.
Japan is going to attack us.
The 29th is only 4 days off,
and the 30th is on a Sunday.
We're going to be attacked
on Sunday the 30th of November.
The pieces fit together.
But can you prove it?
No, but I'm convinced I'm right.
- Oh, Miss Cave. - Yes?
Get me General Marshall.
Oh, General Marshall's at Fort Benning, sir.
Then get me the secretary of war.
I've got the evidence, Al...
and I'm going to make the brass around here admit I'm right.
Huh...
Bratton's analysis makes sense.
His facts are undeniable.
Henry,
I'm washing my hands
of the whole matter.
From now on, it's in your hands
and in those of the Navy Department.
I'll call the president.
A message declaring a full alert will be sent out.
Sir, General Marshall anticipated an emergency like this.
Before he left to attend army maneuvers,
he made out this alert order.
"Japanese future action unpredictable,
"but hostile action possible at any moment.
"If hostilities cannot be avoided,
"the United States desires that Japan
commit the first overt act"...
Wait a minute. Read that again.
"If hostilities cannot be avoided,
"the United States desires that Japan
commit the first overt act."
"This policy should not be construed
"as restricting you to a course of action
"that might jeopardize your defense.
"Prior to hostile Japanese action,
"you are directed
"to undertake such reconnaissance
"and other measures as you deem necessary,
"but these measures should be carried out
"so as not to alarm the civil population
"or disclose intent.
By order of General George C. Marshall."
Not to alarm the civil population.
Hmm. What do you make of it?
Well, if you ask me, sir,
it's double-talk.
But the chief of staff doesn't go in for double-talk.
We're going on alert.
Again, sir?
But the men are confused.
So many alerts.
Damn it, unconfuse them.
Yes, sir.
"Japanese naval forces may attack
"the Philippines, Thailand,
"the Kra peninsula, and Borneo.
This dispatch is to be considered a war warning."
Well, there it is, gentlemen.
You now have as much information as I do.
That's the second warning in 3 days.
"Japanese naval forces may attack
the Philippines, Thailand, the Kra peninsula, and Borneo."
They don't even mention us.
That's correct. I think it should be considered as significant.
Well, gentlemen,
we have a job to do.
Washington wants us to send a squadron of our fighters to Midway
and another squadron to Wake.
When can you sail?
Well, the Enterprise can sail tomorrow morning.
I'll need a day or two.
We're just completing some essential repairs on the Lexington.
Well, try to hurry things along, John.
I want you out there to probe.
I want those planes up in the air morning and afternoon.
I want a report on any sign of hostile ships.
Understood.
Do you want to take any of the battleships along?
Hell, no. They're too slow.
If we're going to probe, let's probe, John.
If we have to run, we don't want anything holding us up.
I think you're right. I'm not ready to commit them myself,
not until I really know when and where.
Do you still plan to keep half the fleet at sea
while the carriers are gone?
No. It's too risky. I'll have to keep
the entire fleet here at Pearl while you're away.
Get out. Get back as soon as you can.
I don't like the idea of having my battleships here
without naval air cover.
Let's get going.
- Yes, sir. - Yes, sir.
Admiral.
Kim...
level with me.
I want a clear directive.
If I run into a Jap ship, what action do I take?
Use your common sense.
That's the best damn order I ever had.
If I see so much as a sampan near us...
I'll blow it out of the water.
What is it this time getting me over here on the double?
Tokyo has alerted their embassy here
to stand by for a very long message in 14 parts.
Look, Ruf, you scared the pants off me and everybody else last week.
We're not going through that again, are we?
I think you should see this, sir.
It's the latest report on those Japanese troop transports.
Remember those 5 troop ships?
Well, they're still heading south "with a naval escort
only 14 hours from the coast of Malaya."
What about their aircraft carriers?
We don't know.
Intelligence was keeping track of them until recently.
Now we've lost them.
Look, Ruf,
try to put yourself in their minds.
Where do you think I have been the past week, night and day?
I am still convinced they're going to attack us.
What can we do that we aren't doing already?
I don't know about you, but I know what I'm going to do.
Miss Cave, where is everybody?
Oh, well, it's past 12:00, sir. They've already gone.
Well, get them back.
On the weekend?
Yes, on the weekend.
This completes 13 parts?
Yes. Tokyo's holding the final part till morning.
Wonder why.
It's almost 9:00.
Look, Harry, I'm going to make the rounds with what we have here.
Thank God the president's back on the list.
Have Lieutenant Brotherhood call me
the moment the missing part comes in.
Right.
You're late.
Well, I was...
Please take me to the White House.
Well, if you'd told me we were invited to the White House,
I would have dressed.
You know Mrs. Roosevelt.
Although she's very informal personally,
I've heard she's a stickler for protocol...
Darling, will you shut up and drive?
Well?
Captain Wilkinson's.
Did you see the president?
No. I saw Harry Hopkins.
And did he read the, um, whatever it is?
No. He doesn't have the key.
I gave the pouch
to a naval aide who was there, Lieutenant Schulz.
He took it in to the president.
And the president has a key, I suppose.
Yes, of course he has.
And did Lieutenant Schulz
say anything?
He said thank you.
Darling, step on it, will you?
Sir, Admiral Stark can't be reached.
Should I take this to the chief of staff?
Well, it's after 10:00. General Marshall always retires early.
I see no reason to disturb Marshall
with something that's incomplete.
Wait till you have the final part.
Yes, sir.
If you're so concerned, Commander,
why don't we call the chief of war plans... Admiral Turner?
His telephone doesn't answer, sir.
You don't happen to know where he is.
No idea.
The president has already discussed it with me.
He sent a personal message to the Emperor,
but when the final part of this comes in,
I'd like to see it then.
Good night, Commander.
Good night, sir.
I was starved. I bet you are.
Oh, thank you, dear.
Can't you tell me anything...
even a hint?
You'd think the world was falling apart.
Admiral Stark talked to the president.
What did the president say?
He sent a personal message to the Emperor.
Gordy. Chad.
Gordy, we've got those 12 B-17 s
coming in from California in the morning.
Yes, sir. General Martin arranged for Honolulu radio to stay on the air all night
so the planes could home in on the station.
Fine. You and I had better be in that control tower
at 7:30 sharp.
Yes, sir.
Dear.
Tyler.
I've got a job for you.
Sir.
Report to the new radar center
at Fort Shafter at 0400.
At 4:00 in the morning?
From 4-7 a.m.
Our marvel of science
only operates for 3 hours.
Lucky boy. Lucky boy!
Well, Captain, how's it feel,
first command, first patrol?
Just fine, Mr. Goepner.
In fact, I think I'll turn in for a while.
Good night, sir.
Good night.
Here you are.
Kramer.
Al. Al, listen to this, the 14th part...
"Will the ambassadors please submit our reply
"to the United States government
at precisely 1 p.m., December 7 th, your time?"
1 p.m.?
"Precisely 1 p.m. Your time."
I'll be right over.
Look at the time on the president's message.
I should have had it hours ago.
As you well know, sir,
communications have been delayed and frequently garbled lately.
Or deliberately interfered with.
Gene...
call the foreign minister.
Tell him I want an immediate audience with the Emperor.