around 8 a.m the 7th of December, 1941 there were hundreds of Japanese fighter planes that had the mission to invade the American naval base at Pear Harbor close to Honolulu, Hawaii. the attack lasted about 2 hours but it was absolutely devastating, the Japanese managed to destroy about 20 American naval vessels. including 8 huge battleships and more than 300 airplanes. there was about 2000+ American soldier deaths and 1000 injured. the day after the assault president Franklin D. Roosevelt asked congress to declare war on japan, the congress approved with one dissenting vote. three days later, japans allies (Germany and italy) also declared war on the U.S and he congress agreed again. over 2 years of the battle, America finally joined the war.
Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but japan and the states had been wanting to go to war for years. the U.S unhappy with japans growing hostility attitude toward china. the Japanese government believed that the only way to resolve the problems they had was to expand into its neighboring territory and take over its import market, japan had proclaimed war on china in 1937. American officials reacted to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. they reasoned that without access to money and goods especially crucial supplies like oil, japan would have to rein in its expansionism. instead the sanctions made the Japanese more determined to guard their land. moths of conferences and neither Tokyo or Washington D.C would budge. it seemed that war was unavoidable. |
No one believed that the Japanese would start that war with an attack on American territory. For one it would be very inconvenient. Hawaii and Japan were about 4,000 miles apart. For another, American intelligence officials were confident that any Japanese attack would take place in one of the nearby European colonies in the South Pacific, The Dutch East Indies, for instance, or Singapore or Indochina. Because American military leaders were not expecting an attack so close to home, the naval facilities at Pearl Harbor were undefended. Almost the whole Pacific Fleet was secured around Ford Island in the harbor, and hundreds of airplanes were tightly packed onto neighbouring airfields. To the Japanese, Pearl Harbor was an irresistible target.
The Japanese plan was plain and simple. Destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans wouldn't be able to fight back as Japan’s armed forces spread across the South Pacific. On December 7, after months of planning and practice, the Japanese launched their attack.
The Japanese plan was plain and simple. Destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans wouldn't be able to fight back as Japan’s armed forces spread across the South Pacific. On December 7, after months of planning and practice, the Japanese launched their attack.