Civil Affairs Studies: Illustrative Cases from Military Occupations Opnav 50e-10
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (1944-06-10). Civil Affairs Studies: Illustrative Cases from Military Occupations Opnav 50e-10 (Report). Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Department.
- Has attachment: File:5JCFBGHN.pdf
Abstract: llustrative Cases from Military Occupations was a handbook published in 1944 by the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Department of the Navy.
Compiled by the Occupied Areas Section, the handbook provides brief anecdotes and lessons learned from historical incidents of military occupations. The intended audience was US Naval personnel engaged in Civil Affairs work. These brief "case studies" are organized around, and intended to support, basic practical themes for decision making during wartime and immediate post-war occupations. The pamphlet was designated Civil Affairs Studies, OPNAV 50E-10.
Several items in the text deal specifically with experiences of the German and Japanese administrators in Micronesia.
Ponape (Pohnpei), Caroline Islands — 1907; Lesson: Abruptly dismantling indigenous social and political systems without providing functional substitutes undermines legitimacy and invites resistance. German attempts to abolish chiefly authority and tribute by decree weakened their own authority and provoked passive resistance and revolt rather than modernization. 
Kusaie (Kosrae), Caroline Islands — 1914; Lesson: Governing through existing hereditary leaders preserves stability and reduces friction between occupiers and the population. The Japanese retained traditional rulers as salaried district heads, allowing them to act as buffers between colonial authority and local society. 
Marshall Islands — 1885; Lesson: Effective administration requires understanding local psychology, not just formal legal procedures. German officials learned that Micronesian witnesses might adapt testimony to perceived expectations; successful adjudication depended on culturally informed questioning rather than literal interrogation. 
