December 7th,1941, will always be a somber date in the lives of all American hearts. This day signifies the attack which ultimately forced the involvement of the United States in the second World War. Formerly trying to remain uninvolved and neutral, the Japanese however had other plans, bombing American soil, devastating the U.S. naval base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Not long after, President Roosevelt declared the United States’ involvement in World War II, and start a long four years of fighting that would ultimately culminate in 1945. Fighting against multiple military powers on two fronts, however Japan’s no surrender policy made them especially challenging to defeat. In the following years, the Japanese stubbornness to the ideas of surrender
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Being a young Japanese man fighting to defend the Japanese culture was very honorable. However, on the other side, succumbing to defeat and surrender would shame a Japanese man’s honor, his family, and his name for all eternity. It was better to die a merciful death in battle, then to come home a failure. Multiple positions in the Japanese army involved instant death upon attack, including a position known as a Kamikaze pilot , who shared great honor and feelings of pride in defending the Japanese culture. “. . . Japanese fighting men did not surrender, even in the face of insuperable odds” (Powers). Positions like these showed the United States just how difficult it would be to defeat an army whose soldiers put the country before their own lives. The United States were well aware of this shockingly uncommon fighting strategy, and knew it would take something that carried much greater power than an army of men was needed to take Japan …show more content…
Each country using their own tactics, some frowned upon and some praised, being the paramount country became vital to all in battle. Both the Japanese and the German’s set out for world domination through superiority, though for all the wrong reasons, and of course other countries such as the United States and the Soviet Union had their own interest in the matter as well. Even though the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were both members of the Allied Powers, competition had been brewing between the two countries for years. Not wanting to be outdone by the Soviets, the United States knew letting the Pacific front fade away would diminish an anticipating status of being a world superpower. The Soviet Union had imminent plans to also invade Japan, trying to portray superhero qualities that would catapult them ahead of the United States in the race for superiority, considering the battle of Stalingrad was already a turning point on the European front of the war. “In this respect, Hiroshima and Nagasaki may have been the first shots of the Cold War as well as the final shots of World War II” (USHistory.org). The United States flipped the script and showed that they were the true world super power, by successfully created and dropping the first atomic
Being a young Japanese man fighting to defend the Japanese culture was very honorable. However, on the other side, succumbing to defeat and surrender would shame a Japanese man’s honor, his family, and his name for all eternity. It was better to die a merciful death in battle, then to come home a failure. Multiple positions in the Japanese army involved instant death upon attack, including a position known as a Kamikaze pilot , who shared great honor and feelings of pride in defending the Japanese culture. “. . . Japanese fighting men did not surrender, even in the face of insuperable odds” (Powers). Positions like these showed the United States just how difficult it would be to defeat an army whose soldiers put the country before their own lives. The United States were well aware of this shockingly uncommon fighting strategy, and knew it would take something that carried much greater power than an army of men was needed to take Japan …show more content…
Each country using their own tactics, some frowned upon and some praised, being the paramount country became vital to all in battle. Both the Japanese and the German’s set out for world domination through superiority, though for all the wrong reasons, and of course other countries such as the United States and the Soviet Union had their own interest in the matter as well. Even though the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were both members of the Allied Powers, competition had been brewing between the two countries for years. Not wanting to be outdone by the Soviets, the United States knew letting the Pacific front fade away would diminish an anticipating status of being a world superpower. The Soviet Union had imminent plans to also invade Japan, trying to portray superhero qualities that would catapult them ahead of the United States in the race for superiority, considering the battle of Stalingrad was already a turning point on the European front of the war. “In this respect, Hiroshima and Nagasaki may have been the first shots of the Cold War as well as the final shots of World War II” (USHistory.org). The United States flipped the script and showed that they were the true world super power, by successfully created and dropping the first atomic