Hashimoto acknowledged that the Indianapo-
liswas not performing evasive actions when
he attacked. But he also stated that it mattered
little, for at such close range he would have
sunk the cruiser anyway. Regardless, the court
found McVay guilty of not zigzagging—even
though as captain he possessed discretionary
power to cease such movements as deemed
necessary. This more or less closed McVay’s
naval career, and Hashimoto returned to
Japan without ceremony.
Little is known of Hashimoto’s civilian pur-
suits, only that he died in Kyoto on October 25,
2000, a capable and determined enemy. Sadly,
Captain McVay preceded him to the grave by
many years. He was the first American naval
officer ever court-martialed for losing his ship
in combat, and he keenly felt a sense of shame.
Tormented by the loss of his ship and crew-
men, this fine officer shot himself in 1968. The
Indianapolishad claimed its final victim.
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Cooper in Association with Secker and Warburg,
1986.HAUSSER, PAUL
Hausser, Paul
(October 7, 1880–December 21, 1972)
German Waffen-SS General
“P
apa” Hausser was the first SS offi-
cer to lead a field army and was
also an extremely competent
panzer commander. Despite his close affilia-
tion with the Waffen SS, he proved ambivalent
toward Nazi politics. This independence from
Hitler led to his embarrassing dismissal in the
last days of the war.
Paul Hausser was born in Brandenburg on
October 7, 1880, and he settled upon a mili-
tary career while still young. Passing through
the Prussian cadet schools, he joined the
army in 1899 and received further education
at the Infantry School and the Kriegsakad-
emie(war college). Hausser evinced consid-
erable skill as a staff officer, and throughout
World War I he functioned capably on both
the Eastern and Western Fronts. He acquired
a sterling reputation for efficiency and was
thus retained in the greatly reduced Reich-
swehr after the war. Hard work and talent car-
ried him up the chain of command, and