Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-294840-20170719134411/@comment-4010415-20170801181226

Terminus99 wrote: So you agree that he could have stopped them? I agree with you in that it probably would have been better if Ozpin and Ironwood had found compromise, instead of sending an army or a team of first-year students. Spirit's suggestion seemed good.

And about knowing the history of Mountain Glenn:

I seem to remember that Oobleck was not even aware about the White Fang until Ruby was captured (I might be wrong). He went to the city to kill Grimm, not to look for the White Fang. He needed to see the hole in the ground for his memory to be refreshed about the underground, but if he had known from the beginning about the WF, he probably would have thought about it earlier.

And if a squad from Atlas was sent to Mountain Glenn to look for the WF, they probably would have researched about the place, to find possible hiding spots. They probably would have come across the information about the underground. Yeah, but he probably would've thought it unfair to forbid them from participating in the First Mission For First Years event... thing.

Indeed.

Oobleck did know they were searching for the White Fang. This is made pretty clear through the dialogue in multiple scenes.

At the very beginning of the episode, the first thing Oobleck says to Team RWBY is: "Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, girls, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission."

Recall that the mission they signed up for was Search and Destroy (also the name of the episode), and Oobleck told them that it is now a recon mission, instead.

Then, on the airship, we have this exchange:

Yang: That's right! It was an expansion of Vale... but in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city.

Oobleck: Correct! And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder.

Blake: And a likely place for a hideout.

Oobleck: (adjusts his glasses and smiles) Precisely!

Indicating that Oobleck knows that they are, indeed, searching for a hideout, not there to kill Grimm. Now, he could have just been agreeing with Blake without knowing their true purpose there is to find the White Fang, buuut... after they land and see a Beowolf down the street, he says

Oobleck: There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity: sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent.

Ruby: So... What now?

Oobleck: We wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey.

"our hidden group harboring ill intent" = the White Fang.

His first plan was to follow a pack of Beowolves to see if they would lead them to where the White Fang was hiding. But then the Beowolves noticed them and attacked.

And before he starts questioning Weiss, Blake, and Yang about their motivations for becoming Huntresses, he says this

Oobleck : ( As the newest batch of slain monster corpses start smoking, he happily cries ) Excellent work, girls! Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh, well! Moving on!