Infamy Attack On Pearl Harbor

WW2 Essay

"A date which will live in infamy", a quote said by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the President of the United States at that time after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After military leaders took over Japan, they wanted Japan to be a world power. To do that, they needed to invade and conquer lands in Southeast Asia but standing in their way was the American navy which was Southeast Asia’s primary defense. Japanese leaders thought their only solution was to go to war with United States. In 1941, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto said “If we are to have war with America, we will have no hope of winning unless the U.S fleet in Hawaiian waters can be destroyed.” Pearl Harbor is an American naval base located in Oahu, Hawaii. Japanese leaders thought that

On, December 7th, 1941 Japanese forces bombed and attacked Pearl Harbor. Japanese forces used aircraft carriers, fighter planes and submarines. There were two waves as aircrafts that flew different routes at different times. The first wave included 183 aircrafts and the second wave included 170 aircrafts. They bombed and dropped torpedoes on vessels and aircrafts. The aftermath was deadly for the United States. 21 vessels were sunk or badly destroyed. 350 planes were damaged or destroyed.. The biggest lost was the sinking of the USS Arizona with over 1,100 military personnel dead when it sunk. The worst was that 1,178 Americans were wounded and 2,403 Americans were killed. The next day, America declared war on Japan and three days later, German and Italy declared war on them. Even though Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor gave them time to invade other parts of Southeast Asia, the attack on Pearl Harbor was a big mistake made by Japan. The attack was not planned well, it started the internment and discrimination of Japanese Americans, and it brought United States into the war eventually causing Japan

American forces defeated Japanese forces in the battle of Midway. It took place between June 4th - June 7th 1942 in midway, an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It was 2,500 miles from Japan so it was considered an important strategic island for Japan. Japan lost vessels, 248 aircrafts, and 3000 soldiers. It was significant because it was the first major victory for Allies in the pacific. Besides the battle of Midway, United States also defeated Japan in the battle of Guadalcanal. The battle took place between August 7th, 1942 to February 9th, 1943 in Guadalcanal , an island in the south Pacific ocean and part of the Solomon islands. It began when Marines invaded the island and took the airbase early. It was a back and forth battle but Japan could not advance. Forced to retreat and from that point, it turned in favour of America and America claimed total control of the island on February 9th, 1943. Japan lost a total of 31, 000 soldiers and 38 ships while America only lost 7,100 soldiers and 29 ships. Japan lost a lot of soldiers and it was a turning point in the Pacific war. After the battle of Guadalcanal, the battle of Iwo Jima happened. Took place on Japanese homeland between Japan and America. It was the first battle that took place in Japanese homeland. It started on February 19th, 1945 and last 36 days. Japanese soldiers moved from area to area