Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941, there was a surprise attack from the Japanese military to an American army base in Hawaii called "Pearl Harbor." "Pearl Harbor can be explained as a "devil theory of war." Given the Japanese military and political situation of Japanese strategic thinking, the attack was the logical result of a series of confrontations between Japan and the United States." (http://galenet.galegroup.com/) This assault from the Japanese, caused our nation great pain, suffering, and taught us that we should have pride in our country, freedom, and our strength.

Americas primary focus from 1939 - 1941 was Europe. Japan began moving its way into China and finally gained control over a good majority of it. Japan signed the Tripartite Pact, becoming an Axis Power. This meant that Germany, Italy, and Japan were all allies. Japan wanted to expand even further into Thailand, Russia's Siberian provinces, the British bastion of Singapore, Burma, the. Franklin Roosevelt did not want to involve the USA in the battle between Japan and China, or when Japan had detained Manchuria. There also was a fear that "a two-ocean war would lead the United States to disaster." (http://galenet.galegroup.com/) almost all of the Japanese leaders were in favor of expansion, but were facing a problem. They were running out of oil supply, which meant they had to choose between war and peace very quickly. Permission was given to Japan by the Japanese Imperial Council to advance into Southeast Asia, and they did not care if it meant war with the United States. "Aware that a war with the United States would be difficult to win, the Japanese devised a daring strategy to knock the U.S. out of the war

"Army and Navy Intelligence at Pearl Harbor and Washington picked up evidence that Japan might be planning to mount a surprise attack, but the evidence was fragmentary and offset by counter-evidence" (http://galenet.galegroup.com/) . "Aware that a war with the U.S. would be difficult to win, the Japanese devised a daring strategy to knock the U.S. out of the war. Their plan involved a big air attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii." (Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Short, Walter. 1999) Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto came up with the idea to demolish the fleet at anchor by using wooden torpedoes. The Japanese practiced getting these to travel to the exact destination they intended. The Japanese did a large amount of research and used a lot of precaution to keep their plan a secret. There were thirty-one vessels involved in this attack and these included 432 airplanes, fighters, dive-bombers, high-level attack bombers, and torpedo planes. (http://galenet.galegroup.com/) On December 7, the very first planes flew over Pearl Harbor by 7:55 A.M. The Japanese pilots were able to fly right over Pearl Harbor with out anyone really understanding who they were and why they were there. An operator at the American temporary radar post saw these incoming planes and reported them to the watch officer. The officer did not tell anyone else this though because he was under