Dbq 11 Pearl Harbor

On December 7th, 1941, to the astonishment of the United States, the Navy fleet at Pearl Harbor was unceremoniously attacked resulting in the immediate involvement of the United States into WWII. As a new day began over the U.S Navy’s Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, slept peacefully fully unaware that their lives were about to be changed forever. The forces stationed on Oahu had no idea that they would soon be involved in the single largest attack on American soil, which would inevitably thrust the United States smack dab into the middle of World War 2. December 7th, 1941 began as any typical Sunday morning, that is, until shortly before 8 a.m. when the Japanese Imperial

At approximately 3:42 a.m. the personnel of the minesweeper Condor spot a periscope in the water while patrolling the entrance of Pearl Harbor and they send a message via blinking light to the destroyer Ward. At approximately 6:45 a.m. the destroyer spots a Japanese submarine, fires upon, and subsequently destroys the sub. The submarine appears to be slowly sinking so the captain of the destroyer orders depth charges dropped. This was the first shot of WWII. At 6:53 a.m. a message was sent from the destroyer Ward to Pearl Harbor Naval Station, “We have attacked, fired upon and dropped depth charges upon a submarine operating in the defensive sea area.” (Commander in Chief) This should have been the first indication of an impending attack, but unfortunately,

The Japanese organized their attack into two waves consisting of 360 aircraft (Yarnell). In order to ensure max devastation and disrupt the United States ability to respond to the attack, the first wave of Japanese planes was broken down into three groups each having a designated primary target group. The first group of the first wave of the Japanese attack targeted the battle ships in Pearl Harbor disallowing any other ships the ability to escape the harbor. The second and third groups targeted Ford Island, Hickham Field, Wheeler Field, Barber’s Point, Kaneohe in order to destroy U.S. airborne targets disrupting the Americans ability to form a formidable counter attack against the upcoming second wave of the Japanese. The second wave, subsequently also divided into three groups, were designated the same targets, but were arranged in reverse order. Two distinct attack waves, in combination with the organization of the priority of the targets, allowed for maximum destruction and severely disrupted the Americans ability to conduct a reputable defense or organize an efficient counter