Date of Award

5-2026

Degree Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

School

Humanities

Committee Chair

Dr. Kenneth Swope

Committee Chair School

Humanities

Committee Member 2

Dr. Heather Stur

Committee Member 2 School

Humanities

Committee Member 3

Dr. Andrew Wiest

Committee Member 3 School

Humanities

Abstract

The historiography of the Pacific Theater of World War II is thorough in regard to its coverage of the war itself. The technology, doctrine, and personnel practices of both the Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States Navy are well understood by historians in the field. In addition to this, a less thorough but still healthy understanding exists as to how the belligerents in question adopted the methods and tactics they used on the battlefields of the Pacific. What currently exists in this field of study places more analytical emphasis on the cultural and strategic level impacts of the interwar years. What scholars have overlooked is the phase in which these new ideas and technologies were tested in simulated battles. While the methodology behind the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Problems has been written about before, there remains little direct analysis as to how wargaming and fleet exercises impacted the outcome of actual engagements such as Coral Sea, Midway, and Leyte Gulf. Through a comparative analysis of the Fleet Problem Records and after-action reports from noteworthy engagements, this thesis argues that the Fleet Problems were crucial for giving the U.S. Navy actionable data with which to develop doctrine that directly enabled victory at the operational level.

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