The Pearl Harbor attack was a surprise, but for decades, America and Japan had been moving towards a war. No one thought that Japan would start a war with an attack on American soil. President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, a day which will live in infamy. Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese on December 7, 1941; just 200 miles from Oahu. Hawaii and Japan are about 4,000 miles apart. This attack lasted two very short hours. The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans and sank or beached 12 ships and destroyed 9. Also, 160 aircraft were destroyed and 150 others were damaged.
Not only did Japan attack on American soil unexpectedly, they used two waves of air planes which came to Pearl Harbor. This was a surprise air strike to attack the ships, cruisers, and aircrafts. The plans for the surprise attack began as early as January. The Japanese specifically chose to attack on a Sunday. They figured Americans would be relaxed and less alert. The Japanese plan of destroying the Pacific Fleet was simple and should have been fool proof. In this case, the Americans couldn’t fight back. The plan was to crush the American Navy at Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Vice Admiral Chichi Nagumo sent six aircraft carriers, 24 supporting ships, and a pack of submarines for the attack to sink Americans ships that escape. Battleship Row, which is located on the southeast shore of Ford Island, was the area where seven US ships were secured.
When Japanese Commander Mitsuo Fuchida called out “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!), upon flying over Pearl Harbor, it was a message to the entire Japanese Navy telling them that they had caught the Americans totally by surprise. Japan’s main target was suppos...
... middle of paper ...
... plan depended for success on seizing an island perimeter in the western Pacific. The Japanese left Pearl Harbor at 9:55 AM. The United States didn’t think the attack was over though.
All in all, 18 American ships and almost 300 airplanes were destroyed or damaged by the Japanese fleets. 2,500 men were killed and 1,000 were injured, but on the downside, 68 civilians were killed and 35 were wounded. Pearl Harbor’s most important onshore facilities- oil storage depots, repair shops, ship yards, and submarine docks- stayed intact. The Japanese lost 65 men and one captured, but they had failed to cripple the Pacific Fleet. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to declare war on Japan. This attack finally pushed America over the edge and just a little more than two years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, America joined World War II.
The Battle of Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious events that happened in U.S. history. On December 7, 1941, Japan made a surprise aerial attack on the United States naval base and airfields at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than two thousand Americans died and a thousand two hundred were wounded. Eighteen ships were badly damaged, including five battleships. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt with the support of the Congress, declared war on Japan. It led United States’ official involvement in World War II. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because of a deteriorating relationship with the U. S. The “New World Order”, expansion and resources, and economic sanctions were factors that conducted to another disaster on the Second World War.
Franklin Roosevelt struck people 's emotions with his patriotic and nationalistic quotes. “With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us God.” This quote strikes at the hearts of Americans filling them with a sense of pride and determination. President Roosevelt makes it clear that no matter what other nations will do to the United States, the American people will be filled with resilience and rebound to make the nation as great and powerful as it ever was. When the President speaks about the attacks on Pearl Harbor, his tone creates a feeling of anger. The feeling of anger is created when he states that the Japanese launched this attack with no warning. The Empire of Japan had its ambassador and a colleague meeting with the Secretary of State to give them a message that they didn 't want to continue to negotiate with the United States. The message however showed no signs of the forthcoming attack on Pearl Harbor. The President also creates emotions in the audience by his use of tone and emphasis. His tone is stern yet caring showing that he believes in the American people. It also shows that while the United States was attacked, he has faith that the American troops, citizens, and government will rally behind him to terminate the
In an effort to attain control of the Pacific Ocean, Japan launched an unprecedented attack against the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Despite the isolationist attitude of America prior to joining World War II, an embargo against Japan in part prompted the terrible offence. Hideki Tōjō, a radical conservative, had recently been elected Prime Minister of Japan, under his leadership; a plan to expand the Empire of Japan was developed. The attack planned by the Japanese Admiral Isoruko Yamamoto who had been educated in America, and had served two tours of duty in the United States was strategically quite brilliant (Japan). Many factors afforded the opportunity for Japan’s success in the assault. The ignorant arrogance of the United States government in balancing its military distribution created a serious vulnerability. Additionally, the U.S. radar technology was still very new and delivery of intercepted Japanese intelligence was poorly handled. Although significant damage was incurred, the greatest assets of the U.S. Navy, its aircraft carriers, were not docked at Pearl Harbor. Not only did over 2,000 Americans perish (both military and civilian), 55 Japanese aviators died as well. Despite previous rallies to remain uninvolved with World War II, Americans were so angry at the unprovoked attack, lines formed around the block at military recruitment offices; in effect, attacking Pearl Harbor woke a sleeping giant.
On December 7th, 1941, Japanese aircrafts attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor (Axelrod 148). Before this, the United States had not entered World War II, but this changed everything. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, which consisted of two waves. By the end of the day, many United S...
1941 December 7th was the day in which will live in infamy and also controversy. The Attack at Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack on the American fleet at the at the navy base in pearl harbor at Hawaii. Japanese attackers us hard and the planes came in waves, the first hit us at 7:53 and the second hit us at 8:55. Nothing but chaos was left. 2,403 dead, 188 planes. But was this attack really a surprise? Did we really know about it before hand? Or did we just really be bombarded with a Japanese surprise attack.
Pearl Harbor is easily one of the most disastrous events that occurred on American soil. It was a deliberate attack against the United States from Japan. Before December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked, America had decided not to get involved in European affairs, which included the beginning of World War II. However, once the United States saw how much Britain and the Soviet Union were suffering from fighting with the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan), America felt obligated to help in some way to help without actually entering the war. Weapons, money, and food were sent over seas to help aid them in any way it could. It was very obvious that if America had entered the war, we would join the side of the Allies (Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union). The day after Pearl Harbor, Franklin D. Roosevelt approached congress and asked for a declaration of war against Japan. Pearl Harbor affected many events that occurred in World War II. Not only the United States, but the world was affected that day.
It was a Sunday morning, on December 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor, US naval base located on Hawaii, was attacked by the Japanese. They caught unguarded the whole nation, and for that, this attack is considered one of the top ten failures of the US intelligence. The Japanese were able to attack Pearl Harbor by surprise because of the mindset of US officials, whom they saw Japanese as a weak enemy, who wouldn’t risk attacking US territory, caused by a supremacy factor; As well as the not good enough US intelligence efficiency to encrypt Japanese codes, and the handling of such information. After the negotiations between the Japanese and the United States ended, there was no doubt that they would make an attack, but they didn’t know the target of it.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was one of the biggest offenses on the United States of America and was the trigger for the United States to jump into War World II. The United States had been in a period of isolation for the duration of the war up until the point of the attack. The Japanese had been making advances in the Pacific which was making the Roosevelt administration very uncomfortable. On the day of the attack more than just the harbor was attacked, from air fields to bases the island of Oahu was busted up. Franklin D. Roosevelt had been campaigning isolation and staying out of the war for good, but some historians and a large number of Americans believe that he knew about the attack. The majority of Americans were very angry with Japanese
“Early on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing more than 2,400 Americans. They destroyed or heavily damaged eight battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers, and almost two hundred airplanes (Henretta, p.732).” That day caught America off guard and by surprise. Nobody expected someone to attack us on our own soil. It is one thing to attack our Soldiers throughout the world, but to come to our country was a brazen act that almost certainly demanded
For the attack itself, Japan had 2.4 million trained ground groups. The first wave of planes took off at 6 o’clock in the morning. “There were approximately fifty or more planes coming towards Pearl Harbor,” (Pearl Harbor, Oahu). However, the first set of planes hit Oahu, Hawaii at 7:40 a.m., and the second wave of Japanese planes came in at 8:54 a.m. Several ships had been blown up to pieces by bombs and torpedoes, and turned upside down. With about 2,390 American people dead, the attack ended at one o’clock in the afternoon. America went silent. People were shocked at what had happened.
The plans of the Japanese Imperial Navy’s attack were straightforward. The Japanese Imperial Navy’s intention was not to assume control of the United States or even to force the evacuation and abandonment of Hawaii with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan had recently acquired new territories and risking immediate war with the United States meant risking these newly conquered lands. With holdings in Guam, Samoa, Philippines, and other small islands, Japan was vulnerable to an American naval attack if they were to ...
"Pearl Harbor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_harbor (accessed May 22, 2011).
In the morning hours of December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked the Hawaiian islands at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had been feeling the pressures of World War II (WWII) as did many others. With the resources of the Japanese dwindling, the Japanese decided to attack the U.S. while simultaneously planning the attack during the negotiations of continued peace between our two countries. The Japanese were able to cover up there planning for nearly a year. Planning for the attack and ultimately war in the pacific, started in January of 1941, and was finalized during the war games in November of 1941. The U.S. on the other hand would become a reactive force after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The inability to crack the Japanese code lead, to a lack of intelligence during this time making the plan of attack for the Japanese a successful one. It would seem that the year of planning and the strategies laid out in the “Combined Fleet Operations Top Secret Order 1” of the Japanese navy would become a reality in the pacific, allowing for an easy sweep of the military targets for the Japanese fleet.
Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7th, 1941 at approximately 7:55 am by the Japanese. The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed President Roosevelt spoke the words, “ a date which will live in infamy” he was discussing the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed. Around the world during this time, people were taking in the impacts of WWll. Japan also allied with Italy and Germany, all three countries were greedy for expansion, but Japan wanted oil as well, and the American Naval fleet was in the way. Japan attacked Pearl harbor because they felt that the Americans were standing in the way of their treasures and world expansion.
Pearl Harbor was a very vicious attack by the Japanese on the US. On December 7, 1941 US Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese fighter jets. United States had been aware of a possible attack since the 1920s; the US became more involved when the Japanese invaded Manchuria. Attack on Pearl Harbor was the beginning of something big, a bloody war between the Japanese and the United States. United States was not expecting such an event; it was such an unannounced attack on the naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. That unexpected attack on December 7, 1941 was originally just a preventive effort for keeping the US from interfering with military action the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia. Japan wanted to cripple the pacific fleet so they wouldn’t foil their plan to create a defense perimeter in the Southwest Pacific. Japanese aircraft launched two aerial attack waves sinking four US Navy battleships and damaging two other battleships. The attacks also led to a high number of deaths. There original plan was to attack all of the US aircraft carriers. The attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in US entry into World War 2.