Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii. It was surprise-attacked by Japanese military on December 7, 1941. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the base and destroyed and damaged around 20 American naval ships, including eight huge battleships, and more than 300 airplanes. Over 2,400 Americans died in the attack, not only being military but also civilians. Another 1,000 people were wounded by the attack. The following day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt demanded Congress to declare war on Japan.
Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, is located around 2,000 miles from the U.S. and about 4,000 miles from Japan. So no one believed that the Japanese would attack the far off islands of Hawaii. The american intelligence officials were confident that any Japanese attack would happen on one of the nearby European colonies including the Dutch East Indies, Singapore or Indochina. Because they were not expecting an attack, the naval facilities were pretty undefended. The Japanese took …show more content…
A plan was developed to disable the US Fleet at Pearl Harbor to allow time for Japan to get the resource areas it needed and make it to where taking them back would cost more lives than they thought Americans would be willing to give up. The Pearl Harbor attack plan was made by Isoroku Yamamoto, who was the commander in chief of the IJN. Yamamoto studied in the United States and he knew his nation didn't have the ability to defeat them in a fight because they were way larger. He did not share the opinion of many Japanese officers who thought that the Americans didn't want to fight. But Yamamoto’s arguments against going to war with America were overruled by the High Command. The attack on Pearl Harbor was influenced by the British attack that used carrier aircraft against the Italian fleet in Italy the previous year. It was the last hope for Japanese success in the
Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, is located around 2,000 miles from the U.S. and about 4,000 miles from Japan. So no one believed that the Japanese would attack the far off islands of Hawaii. The american intelligence officials were confident that any Japanese attack would happen on one of the nearby European colonies including the Dutch East Indies, Singapore or Indochina. Because they were not expecting an attack, the naval facilities were pretty undefended. The Japanese took …show more content…
A plan was developed to disable the US Fleet at Pearl Harbor to allow time for Japan to get the resource areas it needed and make it to where taking them back would cost more lives than they thought Americans would be willing to give up. The Pearl Harbor attack plan was made by Isoroku Yamamoto, who was the commander in chief of the IJN. Yamamoto studied in the United States and he knew his nation didn't have the ability to defeat them in a fight because they were way larger. He did not share the opinion of many Japanese officers who thought that the Americans didn't want to fight. But Yamamoto’s arguments against going to war with America were overruled by the High Command. The attack on Pearl Harbor was influenced by the British attack that used carrier aircraft against the Italian fleet in Italy the previous year. It was the last hope for Japanese success in the