This action became known as the "Laconia incident", and led Admiral Karl Dönitz, chief of German Submarine Operations, to issue the "Laconia Order" to his U-boat commanders that stated in part "No attempt of any kind must be made at rescuing members of ships sunk ..." At the end of the war, the Laconia Order was unsuccessfully used against Admiral Dönitz in his war crime trial, because Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz testified that in the war with Japan the US Navy had followed the same general policy as was set forth in the German admiral's directive. The Laconia Incident showed how a small tactical decision can have strategic impact across history.