Causes Of The Attack On Pearl Harbor

December 7th, 1941, truly is a date which will be remembered. The attack on Pearl Harbor caused so much trauma and damage to the United States army, navy, and even the country itself. This tragic event pulled America out of the stands and straight into World War II.
Did you know that plans for the surprise attack against the United States began as early as January 1941? Did you know Japan also chose specifically to attack on a Sunday because they believed the Americans would be less alert? By December of 1941, the Japanese Army consisted of 2,400,000 trained ground troops and an air force of 7,500 planes in December 1941. The U.S., however, was obligated to produce a large portion of war equipment for Europe. Therefore, the U.S. only had 1,500,000 ground troops, 1,157 combat aircraft, and 347 war ships. Only 500,000 of the ground troops were combat ready. The U.S. Pacific Fleet was fairly large and Japan believed it posed a threat. A surprise air attack would be just what Japan needed to nullify the fleet.
October 16th, 1941, Hawaii received a message from the Navy: Japan would possibly attack. Disagreeing with the warning, the Washington Army staff told Hawaii to disregard it. No one believed Japan was or could have been on the verge of attacking. Washington assumed that Japan had no seaborne aircraft that could contend with the Army’s B-24 bombers. Furthermore, they believed that Japan had spread their military too far throughout other countries, leaving not enough for a large scale attack in the Pacific. Even on the night before the attack, the Honolulu press voiced America’s belief that Japan was powerless as a threat. On top of it all, none of the U.S. authorities believed Pearl Harbor was in danger. No one saw any need for ...

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...e down, unable to be recovered.
Oil still leaks from the U.S.S. Arizona today. A scheduled trip to the mainland, later in the month, called for the Arizona to be filled in preparation. The day before the attack, nearly 1.5 million gallons of fuel was loaded into the ship’s tanks. Much of the fuel fed the explosion and fire on the ship the next day. But throughout the 70 some odd years, the Arizona continues to spill about 9 quarts of oil each day into the harbor.
Words cannot describe the terrible loss and grief caused by this day. Looking back, it seems easy to point to times where the attack could have been prevented, or where the United States could have been better prepared. Instead, we look back to remember the lost and to ensure that day won’t happen again. Roosevelt’s words are eternally bonded to our memory of this day. “A date which will live in infamy.”