On December 7th 1941, Pearl Harbor was deliberately attacked by the Empire of Japan. This day would become, “a day that will live in infamy” according to Franklin Roosevelt. The attack on Pearl Harbor left about 2,500 sailors dead and a thousand more wounded. It was evident, that the attack was planned months before the set day, and became apparent that the United States was mislead by the Empire of Japan in believing an attack would not be coming. It is said that the attack happened because the US would not ship oil to Japan. Admiral Yamamoto who was the leader of this planned attack thought that was a good reason to start a war. The Attack on Pearl Harbor was planned months in advance and became a surprise attack that crippled the US Pacific
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According to the History Reader “oil was consisted of negotiations in parallel with preparations for war, never gave the negotiations any realistic chance of success unless the United States agreed to Japan’s conditions”(Stille). This means that if the United States did not agree to Japan’s terms, then a war would be necessary to sustain the survival of their country. Something interesting that occurred when planning for the attack was, the Emperor of Japan did not approve of war until December 1st, 1941. The person to be in charge of the planning would be Admiral Yamamoto. Yamamoto had this idea months in advance, because he hated the United States. His main overall plan of the attack was to sink battleships. According to the Pacific War Museum, “The Battleships Arizona and Oklahoma received the most hits from the enemy” (PAM). This suggested that Yamamoto went after these ships because of their size and reputation to get the job done. The two Battleships were also a sign of American accomplishment and strength. The History Reader, a valuable World War II Source has provided statistics of the plan against Pearl Harbor. These include “The first wave of the attack included 40 torpedo planes which were broken down into 16 against the two carriers that might be present, and the other 24 against as many as six battleships” (Stille). This shows how much the Japanese wanted to destroy the American …show more content…
When these planes were seen, sailors were ordered to their battle stations to defend their ships. According to the book World War II by Ivor Matanle, “The battleships in Pearl were Arizona, California, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia” (Mantle, pg 54). All the soldiers of these ships were immediately assigned to battle stations. Military Resources reports that “an estimated 353 planes were in the attack, most bombers” (MR). These planes did a great deal of damage to the entire Pearl Harbor Naval base. Military Resources also reports that “Twenty-one ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were sunk or damaged. Aircraft losses were 188 destroyed and 159 damaged, the majority hit before they had a chance to take off” (MR). This means that the US became defenseless against Japan, becoming a major surprise and blow to the United States as a whole. World War II Encyclopedia states “about 2,403 souls were lost that day and 1,178 men and women lost, some were trapped inside the hull of ships” (WWII Encyclopedia). That number is just about the number of people lost on September 11th. Pearl Harbor would eventually become a sign of change for the United States, and would bring the country together to fight a common goal. That goal being, to inflict pain on the Japanese, and to make them pay to what they did on December 7th,
According to the History Reader “oil was consisted of negotiations in parallel with preparations for war, never gave the negotiations any realistic chance of success unless the United States agreed to Japan’s conditions”(Stille). This means that if the United States did not agree to Japan’s terms, then a war would be necessary to sustain the survival of their country. Something interesting that occurred when planning for the attack was, the Emperor of Japan did not approve of war until December 1st, 1941. The person to be in charge of the planning would be Admiral Yamamoto. Yamamoto had this idea months in advance, because he hated the United States. His main overall plan of the attack was to sink battleships. According to the Pacific War Museum, “The Battleships Arizona and Oklahoma received the most hits from the enemy” (PAM). This suggested that Yamamoto went after these ships because of their size and reputation to get the job done. The two Battleships were also a sign of American accomplishment and strength. The History Reader, a valuable World War II Source has provided statistics of the plan against Pearl Harbor. These include “The first wave of the attack included 40 torpedo planes which were broken down into 16 against the two carriers that might be present, and the other 24 against as many as six battleships” (Stille). This shows how much the Japanese wanted to destroy the American …show more content…
When these planes were seen, sailors were ordered to their battle stations to defend their ships. According to the book World War II by Ivor Matanle, “The battleships in Pearl were Arizona, California, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia” (Mantle, pg 54). All the soldiers of these ships were immediately assigned to battle stations. Military Resources reports that “an estimated 353 planes were in the attack, most bombers” (MR). These planes did a great deal of damage to the entire Pearl Harbor Naval base. Military Resources also reports that “Twenty-one ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were sunk or damaged. Aircraft losses were 188 destroyed and 159 damaged, the majority hit before they had a chance to take off” (MR). This means that the US became defenseless against Japan, becoming a major surprise and blow to the United States as a whole. World War II Encyclopedia states “about 2,403 souls were lost that day and 1,178 men and women lost, some were trapped inside the hull of ships” (WWII Encyclopedia). That number is just about the number of people lost on September 11th. Pearl Harbor would eventually become a sign of change for the United States, and would bring the country together to fight a common goal. That goal being, to inflict pain on the Japanese, and to make them pay to what they did on December 7th,