Edward C. Kalbfus
Edward Clifford Kalbfus | |
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Edward Clifford Kalbfus (November 24, 1877 – September 6, 1954),
Early life and education
Kalbfus was born in
He attended Selwyn Hall in Reading, Pennsylvania before securing an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. As a midshipman at the Naval Academy, he played football and was captain of the baseball team during his first class year, and trained afloat during the summers aboard the Naval Academy Practice Ship Monongahela in 1895, 1896, and 1897. In the summer of 1898, during the Spanish–American War, he served aboard the battleship Oregon, witnessing the sinking of the Spanish cruiser Reina Mercedes and the Battle of Santiago Bay. Later that summer he participated in the blockade of Cuba aboard the steam yacht Wasp, the screw sloop Lancaster, and the gunboat Newport. After a final training cruise aboard the battleship Indiana, he graduated from the Naval Academy in 1899 and commenced the required two years of precommissioning sea duty as a passed midshipman.
Career
Voyaging to the
In November 1902, he reported aboard the protected cruiser
In November 1906, he was assigned as senior engineering officer aboard the new battleship
He returned to sea in November 1913, reporting first aboard the battleship
World War I
During World War I, Kalbfus, then a captain, received his first command, the transport ship Pocahontas, which ferried troops to Europe as part of the Cruiser and Transport Force under Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves. On May 2, 1918, Pocahontas was attacked by a German submarine that bombarded her with 5.9-inch (150 mm) shells. The ship was not directly hit and suffered no casualties. Kalbfus ordered return fire, but the submarine was outside the range of Pocahontas' guns, so the transport set an evasive zig-zag course, then fled at full speed, setting a record 16.2 knots (30.0 km/h) that allowed Pocahontas to outrun the submarine twenty minutes after the attack began.
For saving the shi,p Kalbfus was awarded the Navy Cross.[6] The citation commended his "distinguished service in the line of his profession as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Pocahontas, engaged in the important, exacting and hazardous duty of' transporting and escorting troops and supplies to European ports through waters infested with enemy submarines and mines."[7]
He commanded the battleship
Post-war
After the war, he was department head of the Fleet Maintenance Division in the office of the chief of naval operations from 1921 to 1924.[4]
He was captain of the new light cruiser
From 1926 to 1927, Kalbfus attended the junior course at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, beginning a long association with that institution. He was a standout student in the memory of the course director: "I remember particularly the research done and the presentation of the Pacific problem by (then) Captain Kalbfus, conclusions that were of inestimable value to those who later had to conduct the War in the Pacific."[10] After graduating from the junior course, he remained at the Naval War College as a member of its staff for two years, first as head of the logistics department, then as head of the intelligence department.[11] He left the Naval War College in 1929 to serve as captain of the battleship California.
Flag officer
Promoted to rear admiral, he was assigned as chief of staff to Commander Battleships,
On June 18, 1934, Kalbfus began the first of two non-consecutive terms as president of the Naval War College.[12] During his first term, Kalbfus devoted his energy to writing a treatise on naval planning that would eventually be regarded as the ultimate expression of Naval War College philosophy during the interwar period.
Dissatisfied with the existing guide to naval planning, Kalbfus decided to replace it by writing a book-length treatment of the precepts of logical thinking that could be applied to every military situation. In Kalbfus' formulation, naval planning should be guided by "the fundamental principle for the attainment of an end," a three-part formula that evaluated the suitability, feasibility, and acceptability of a plan by asking whether the proposed course of action would accomplish the mission, whether the mission could be accomplished using the available resources, and whether the cost would be worth the price.
Kalbfus believed his new book was essential to correct what he viewed as a widespread indifference within the Navy to the fundamentals of naval warfare. According to Kalbfus, "At the time... it was not generally accepted by the Navy that their business was to fight although, of course, if confronted with this question, they would have agreed that that is what they were hired for. But, within the range of my own observation, both ashore and afloat, I saw that the keeping of office hours and the performance of sundry routine tasks were more in order than an intensive study of the Navy's real business."
Kalbfus completed his first draft in May 1936 and circulated it among staff and students for review. Many staff members were dissatisfied with the new text, including Captain Raymond A. Spruance, who objected to Kalbfus' rejection of existing doctrine and to his cumbersome writing style. Ordered to keep his criticisms to himself, Spruance instead presented them directly to Kalbfus, who overruled the demands of Spruance's outraged superior that Spruance be punished for insubordination.[13]
After assimilating all of the comments, Kalbfus submitted the book for publication under the title Sound Military Decision,[14] before departing the college on December 15, 1936 to assume a fleet command. His successor, Rear Admiral Charles P. Snyder, spent a year reviewing the manuscript, then rewrote several chapters for clarity and published this revised edition in May 1938. Outraged at Snyder's tampering, Kalbfus was persuaded by his chief of staff to avoid a public confrontation, but when it became clear that he would not be appointed to a higher position following his tour in the fleet, Kalbfus requested a return to the Naval War College in order to finish the book himself.
Kalbfus published his version of Sound Military Decision in March 1942. It received wide distribution within the wartime Navy as the only naval planning guide then in print. In 1944, Admiral Ernest J. King enshrined its methodology in naval regulations as COMINCH P-1: "Naval Directives and the Order Form," although it fell from favor after the war. In 1984, the official historians of the Naval War College would write, "Many believe it was and still is the most valuable contribution to military thought made at the Naval War College in the past century...Kalbfus' Sound Military Decision was the most important expression of the college's philosophy, embodying both the focus and understanding expressed in college classrooms throughout the interwar period."[13]
Commander Battleships, Battle Force
On January 2, 1937, he was advanced to the temporary rank of vice admiral as
Commander Battle Force
Kalbfus was promoted to admiral upon relieving Admiral Claude C. Bloch as Commander Battle Force, United States Fleet (COMBATFOR) on January 29, 1938.[2] When assigned to command the Battle Force, he was the second youngest full admiral in the Navy at age 60.[16]
Among his top subordinates was Vice Admiral Ernest J. King, a former Cincinnati shipmate and longtime friend who was Commander Aircraft, Battle Force. Since Kalbfus had spent his career in surface ships and knew nothing about naval aviation, he allowed King to do as he pleased. Kalbfus told his staff, "I won't have to worry about the aircraft of this force as long as Ernie King is down in San Diego."[17]
In 1938, Kalbfus commanded the attacking "Black Fleet" in
A year later,
Kalbfus relinquished command of the
World War II
Kalbfus resumed the presidency of the Naval War College on June 30, 1939.[12] His second term was dominated by his efforts to keep the Naval War College open during World War II. Upon the outbreak of war in September 1939, the Bureau of Navigation advised the Naval War College to prepare to have some or all of its staff and students detached, effectively shutting it down. Hastening to Washington, Kalbfus persuaded Bureau of Navigation chief Nimitz to limit the detachments to a fraction of the student body, and worked out a series of compromises to allow the Naval War College to continue to teach abbreviated courses throughout the war.
Suspecting that the presidency of the Naval War College might not carry enough military value in its own right to be assigned a flag officer during wartime, Kalbfus recommended that the Naval War College president assume the additional duty of administering the various naval activities in the Narragansett Bay area. "Even though his duties as Commandant of the Naval Base may occupy most, if not all of his time during war, his office as President, Naval War College, will remain alive and the college will continue as an entity." Naval Operating Base, Newport was created on March 31, 1941, and Kalbfus became base commandant on April 2.
As Commander, Naval Operating Base, Newport, he supervised the Naval Training Center; Naval Net Depot; Naval Air Station, Quonset Point; Naval Torpedo Station; Naval Fuel Depot, Melville; and the Naval Hospital.[20] The new naval base cost $100,000,000 to establish and covered 2,200 acres (8.9 km2) of shoreline. After the American entry into World War II, he founded an anti-aircraft training center in Newport and arranged for the Army to establish anti-aircraft defenses in the Newport area, for which efforts he received the Legion of Merit.[16]
He was placed on the retired list on December 1, 1941 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64, but continued on active duty for another year, the only retired flag officer to exercise a military command during that period.[5] On June 16, 1942, he was restored to the rank of admiral on the retired list by new legislation that allowed officers to retire in their highest active-duty ranks. He was relieved as Naval War College president by Rear Admiral William S. Pye on November 2, 1942.[12]
General Board
After leaving the Naval War College, he became a member of the
He was appointed the first
Pearl Harbor Court of Inquiry
On July 13, 1944, Secretary of the Navy
The court convened on July 24, 1944 and held daily sessions in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Pearl Harbor. After interviewing numerous witnesses, it completed its work on October 19, 1944. Its report to the Navy Department largely exonerated Rear Admiral
Upon reviewing the report, Forrestal felt that the court had been too lenient in assigning blame for the disaster. The court had found that the Army and Navy had adequately cooperated in the defense of Pearl Harbor; that there had been no information indicating that Japanese carriers were on their way to attack Pearl Harbor; and that the attack had succeeded principally because of the aerial torpedo, a secret weapon whose use could not have been predicted. Forrestal disapproved all of these findings, judging that Kimmel could have done more with the information he had to prevent or mitigate the attack. Forrestal concluded that both Kimmel and Stark had "failed to demonstrate the superior judgment necessary for exercising command commensurate with their rank and their assigned duties."[24]
Personal life
He married the former Syria Florence Brown, the daughter of naval officer and astronomer Stimson Joseph Brown,[25] on May 13, 1905; they had no children.[2]
In retirement, Kalbfus resided at his home, Restmere, in
Decorations and honors
His decorations include the
Ribbon bar of Admiral Kalbfus:
Admiral Kalbfus Road in Newport, Rhode Island was named in his honor at the end of his second term as president of the Naval War College. [27]
See also
References
- ^ a b Prange, Gordon W. (1981), At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, p. 621
- ^ a b c d e Who's Who In America - A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women, vol. 26, Chicago: The A.N. Marquis Company, 1950–1951, p. 1434
- ^ "Human Interest Angle: Sidelights and Comment on Happenings Here and There. Helps in Kalbfus Memorial", The Daily Courier, p. 4, July 13, 1940
- ^ a b c d "Service biography: Admiral Edward Clifford Kalbfus". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b "Adm. Kalbfus Concludes Tour Of Duty In Newport", The Portsmouth Herald, p. 2, October 27, 1942
- ^ "Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Pocahontas". Archived from the original on 2007-05-05. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
- ^ Key, David M. Jr. (2001), Admiral Jerauld Wright: Warrior Among Diplomats, Manhattan: Sunflower University Press, pp. 58–59
- ^ Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Trenton
- ^ Wheeler, Gerald E. (1974), Admiral William Veazie Pratt, U.S. Navy: A Sailor's Life, Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, p. 245
- Hattendorf, John B.; Simpson, B. Mitchell III; Wadleigh, John R. (1984), Sailors and Scholars - The Centennial History of the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island: Naval War College Press, p. 151
- ^ a b c Naval War College Past Presidents Archived January 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Hattendorf; et al., Sailors and Scholars, pp. 155–161
- ^ Sound Military Decision: Including the Estimate of the Situation and the Formulation of Directives (PDF), Newport, Rhode Island: U.S. Naval War College, 1936[permanent dead link]
- ^ Roan, Richard W. (1987), Roebling's Amphibian: The Origin of the Assault Amphibian, Marine Corps Development and Education Command
- ^ a b c d e "Admiral Kalbfus Dead In Newport - Twice President of Naval War College, He Headed Battle Force of Fleet", The New York Times, p. 25, September 7, 1954
- ^ a b c Buell, Thomas B. (1980), Master of Sea Power: A Biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, Boston: Little, Brown & Company, pp. 99, 102, 105–106
- ^ Potter, E.B. (1990), Admiral Arleigh Burke, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, pp. 49–50
- ^ Richardson, James O. (1973), On the Treadmill to Pearl Harbor: The Memoirs of Admiral James O. Richardson, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, p. 7
- ^ Hattendorf; et al., Sailors and Scholars, pp. 166–171
- ^ "Kalbfus Tells D.A.R. Only Force Can Uphold International Law - Admiral at Cincinnati Says Japan and Germany Must Be Restrained From Further Surprise Attacks in the Future", The New York Times, p. 23, April 21, 1943
- ^ Department of the Navy, Naval History Division (1976), Guide to United States Administrative Histories of World War II
- ^ a b Congress of the United States, Seventy-Ninth Congress (1946), Report of Navy Court of Inquiry, Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Part 39: Reports, Findings, and Conclusions of Roberts Commission, Army Pearl Harbor Board, Navy Court of Inquiry, and Hewitt Inquiry, With Endorsements, Government Printing Office, pp. 297, 318–321
- ^ "Commodore Brown Is Dead in France: Widely Known Astronomer Left Capital for Europe in October; Aged 69". The Washington Post. December 23, 1923. p. 4. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Adm. E.C. Kalbfus Dies At 76; Twice Headed War College Here", Newport Daily News, p. 3, September 7, 1954
- ^ Miller, Hope Ridings (November 11, 1942), "Return of Admiral, Mrs. Kalbfus Is Welcome Homecoming; Newport Misses Them", The Washington Post, p. B7, archived from the original on October 18, 2012, retrieved July 6, 2017