Karma Richards HH104 6005 November 14, 2016 Title: The War in the Pacific Shortly before 8am on Sunday 7 December 1941 , the first of two waves of Japanese aircraft launched a devastating attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet, moored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The raid, which came with no warning and no declaration of war, destroyed four battleships, leaving an additional 4 damaged in merely two hours. The attack destroyed 188 US aircraft, killed more than 2,400 Americans, and injured another 1,200 . Although remembered as “the day that will live in infamy”, the exact reason behind the attack on Pearl Harbor still remains unknown. Some believe that the Japanese were galvanized by Germany to attack the United States because of the assumption that the United States would be unable to concentrate all of its resources toward the fight with Japan. Germany desired assistance in the fight during World War II and, because of that, nearly guaranteed the United States’ defeat if Japan attacked. On the other side, it is believed that the Japanese prompted the Pacific war with the attack on Pearl Harbor in order to eliminate their primary competitor for resources in the Pacific and fulfill its destiny of creating a “greater East Asian co-prosperity sphere” . Although the United States had begun a late rearming in the 1930s, the Japanese remained convinced that in a naval battle, their ships, planes and personnel were just as modern and plentiful, if not better than what the United States had
There were numerous strategic and political reasons that lead to the bombing of Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941. However nationalism, militarism and imperialistic notions were key influential factors, which together contributed to the almost complete annihilation of the US Pacific fleet. Based on Japan’s nationalistic beliefs of superiority over Asian nations, the surprise attack attempted to fulfill a change in the balance of power within South East Asia and expose the vulnerability of the West.
“The Japanese plan was simple: Destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans would not 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. In all, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. Dry docks and airfields were likewise destroyed. Most important, almost 2,500 men were killed and another 1,000 were wounded. On December 8, Congress approved Roosevelt’s declaration of war. Three days later, Japanese allies Germany and Italy declared war against the United States. For the second time, Congress reciprocated. More than two years after the start of the conflict, the United States had entered World War II” (History.com).
December 7, 1941 was one of America’s darkest days. This was the day of the famous pearl harbor bombing. This attack came from the Japanese attacking the American Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack had been in the planning for many years to attack and weaken the United States Naval force. Japan wanted to do this to gain more superiority in the Atlantic and to grow their ties with European nations. In this paper I will talk about the people, the planning, the attack, and the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor bombing.
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval plus the air forces of the Empire of Japan.” The bombing of Pearl Harbor was the start of America’s entrance into the Second World War. Just before 08:00 on the Sunday morning, hundreds of fighter planes descended onto the naval base incapacitating almost 20 naval vessels along with over 300 airplanes. The attack on Pearl Harbor also killed over 2,400 Americans
Pearl Harbor is the name given to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by the Japanese against the Americans on December 7th, 1941. Although there was growing tension between the United States and Japan dew to sanctions and frozen assets put on Japan, the attack was still a surprise for the world. 2400 Americans were killed in the attack, along with many ships and nearly two-hundred airplanes.1 The attack united the American people and under Franklin Roosevelt 's leadership, America declared war on Japan, with a unanimous vote in the senate and 388 to 1 vote in the house, with the lone dissenter being an avid pacifist. Soon after, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States and the United States declared war on the Axis powers in turn. America had finally joined the Second World War. When Roosevelt gave his speech that war was being declared, most of the country was behind him. There were fears that
Dec. 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor: During WWII, the Japanese bombed an American military base located in Hawaii because they wanted to increase their power in the Pacific. The bombing of Pearl Harbor left more than 2000 men dead and injured more than 1000. The attack also causes Congress to declare war on Japan the following day meaning the United States was officially involved in WWII. The attack on Pearl Harbor is important because it was the main factor that lead the United States to get involved in World War II.
Pearl Harbor, the beginning of the war between Japan and the United States, was the start of dreadful war organized by Japanese aircraft. The attack was a withheld, destructive attack against the United State's naval base in Hawaii. This attack on December 7, 1941 was originally a plan to conquer the Dutch East Indies without being interrupted by the U.S. Pacific fleet. The Japanese were tired of negotiations with the United States, they wanted to continue their expansion, but the United States had placed an extremely restrictive embargo on Japan in the hopes of curbing Japan's aggression. This terrible ambush resulted in the United State's entry into World War II. The aerial attacks were sent in two waves, this resulted in the sinking of multiple U.S. Battleships, Destroyers, Cruisers, and Auxiliaries, which led to thousands of U.S. personnel casualties and many wounded army, marines, and navy soldiers including many citizens.
On December 7th, 1941 Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. On this horrific day over 2,400 Americans were killed by the bombs that the Japanese had dropped. A month preliminary to the attack, Japan sent a plenipotentiary to Washington to arrange the nation’s expansions in Asia. Although if the United States didn’t accept this aggression, Japan was ready to launch a surprise attack. President Roosevelt launched bombs to the Philippines between the Japanese and Dutch oil fields, before they had sent the plenipotentiary. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was over seven hours long, they were 353 Japanese fighter planes, torpedo planes launched bomb. They were a bombing blitz that destroyed 188 U.S. aircraft, had sunken 4 U.S. Navy battleships, and killed more than 2400 Americans with an additional 1,100 injured.
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. After Japan had attacked the US took matters in there own hands . However, Japan and the United States were not at war. Soon after, the United states declared war on Japan. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor for three main reasons: a plan for a new world order, the U.S. oil embargo against them, and the U.S. expansion of its naval fleet. The day after japan had attacked pearl harbor was named a day that will live in infamy .
On December 7, 1941 -- the day that will always be commemorated as “the date which will live in infamy” by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. On this day Japanese airplanes made a surprise attack on the US Naval base in Pearl Harbor. They destroyed many ships and killed many soldiers. It was this attack that forced the United States to enter World War II. Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? Japan attacked Pearl Harbor for three main reasons which are The New Order, US Oil Embargo, and US Fleet Expansion.
Japan bombing Pearl Harbor left 2,403 Americans dead, and millions of citizens startled. Pearl Harbor is a naval base off the coast of Hawaii. After killing thousands of America’s military, the United States was forced to join World War II. Immediately after the strike, many Americans became anti-Japanese and had vengeance for years to come. Japan had many reasons for causing this national uproar. Many people believe the Japanese government bombed Pearl Harbor due to financial disputes, power gains, and safety precautions.
The event of Pearl Harbor resulted in a surprised attack which took place on 7th December 1941 and raised a lot of questions in those days. Some of those questions still remain unanswered. To analysts, this seemed strange how the Japanese did get to America at this point. The rumors of the conspiracy theories started rushing all around the globe after this deadly happening. The analysis came with the conclusion that the reason for which the Japanese got hundreds of American ships ready for battle was that President Franklin Roosevelt knew the Pearl Harbor attack was coming and he let it happen in order to get America involved in the war. The major news under this title broke when many authors started writing on it being a conspiracy theory. This tragic event resulted in a lot of casualties. It is best described as “At 7:49 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941, 183 Japanese dive- and torpedo-bombers, accompanied by Zero escorts, launched the first of two attacks against the American base at Pearl Harbor. A second wave of 168 Japanese aircraft arrived at 9 a.m. where eighteen operational warships, including four battleships, were sunk or heavily damaged; 188 aircraft were destroyed. 2,403 Americans were killed, among them 68 civilians, and 1178 were wounded” (Lutton Winter 1991-1992)
On December 7, 1941 an “unexpected” attack altered the lives of many U.S. citizens located in Pearl Harbor. At first the attack was just a preventative measure from Japan to prevent the U.S. from interfering with the war Japan was planning to start with Southeast Asia. The aerial attack bombs resulted in the United States entry into World War II which had previously been going on for more than two years in Europe. The causes of the attack on Pearl Harbor can be justified by a number of reasons but the most evidential would be because of Japans imperialism. As Japan began to expand and invade China along with troops in French Indochina the United States gave japan the option to stop with their imperial ways or Japan would be cut off from all
“December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan” (Roosevelt). Japan surprise attacked the Hawaiian naval base, Pearl Harbor, approximately at 7:55 am. The intent of the Japanese strike was to prevent the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with plans to seize overseas territories belonging to United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States.
“Suddenly, in the early morning of December 7… the carriers released their planes, each stamped with a red sun representing the Japanese flag, swept down on the unsuspecting American naval base… dropping torpedoes and bombs.” President Roosevelt described Pearl Harbor as “a date which will live in infamy,” and launched the neutral United States into World War II. As every AP United States history textbook states, Japan suddenly attacked Pearl Harbor. Yet each book fails to mention a comprehensive explanation behind Japanese motives, such as Japanese politics, nationalism, and the divided nation. Although Pearl Harbor had one of the most significant impacts on the war, not much was mentioned from the Japanese perspective. If the United States adhered to their policy of neutrality, given the exceptions of the Lend Lease Act, shooting German u-boats at sight etc., why would the Japanese illogically decide to provoke the US? Every coin has two sides, and I wanted to learn about Japan’s perspective, instead of accepting the simplistic one sentence explanation I learned previously. This book certainly did not fail my expectations, for it provided a timeline of the complex year for Japan, detailed the failures of the government, the warring government officials, and thoroughly explained the decision behind why Japan decided to wage an unwinnable war, further slimming their chances of victory by inciting the United States to join.