The American naval base at Honolulu, Hawaii was home to one hundred vessels, eight of which were battleships. On December 7, 1941, a swarm of hundreds of Japanese fighters attacked the base known as Pearl Harbor. The Japanese surprise attack was able to destroy twenty American vessels with all eight battleships included. The Japanese also took down over 300 planes and killed over 2,000 American soldiers. On the day proceeding the attack President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan. Three days following the attack the Japanese declare themselves as allies to Germany. Italy also declared war on America. This confirmed America’s involvement in World War II. The Pearl Harbor attack was the final straw for America. It was an attack that …show more content…
The United States initiated its resistance to Japanese expansion by freezing Japan’s assets on July 26, 1941. Britain and the Dutch East Indies also froze Japan’s access to resources. The result for Japan was a devastating loss of 75 percent of its overseas trade and 88 percent of its oil. Japan’s economy could not continue without access to these key imports. Japan was to prideful to withdraw their forces in East Asia and hope for the US to withdraw its embargos. The result was the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Japanese saw this as the best course of action for three reasons. First, the attack would destroy America’s navy and establish the Japanese navy as the best in the world. Second, the attack would be easy because America would not expect it. Third, the Japanese actually thought that they would have a chance to win a war against America. Captain Yamato would lead the Japanese fleet to immobilize the American fleet which would be weakened by the Pearl Harbor attack. The biggest factor to consider in the events leading to the attack is that Japan never declared war on America. Without a formal declaration of war on America, the US would be completely vulnerable and not ready to fight
…show more content…
On November 26, 1941 the fleet embarked on its voyage to Hawaii. The operation was top secret in order to prevent any risk of the US knowing about the attack. The convoy of ships was to travel through the North Pacific and avoid any popular trade routes. It remained to be unnoticed when the fleet reached a point nearly 200 miles north of Oahu. The US fleet was on its way back to Pearl Harbor at this time. On November 28th Admiral Kimmel sent the USS Enterprise to deliver Marine fighter planes to Wake Island. It was to return to Pearl Harbor on the seventh. All ships were to be returned to Pearl Harbor by the