Explain The Impact Of The Japanese Attack On Pearl Harbor – Pearl Harbor was the site of Japan’s unprovoked air attack on the United States on December 7, 1941. Before the attack, many Americans were reluctant to join the war in Europe. That all changed when the United States declared war on Japan, bringing the country into World War II.
On December 7, 1941, a date that President Franklin D. Roosevelt claimed would “live in infamy,” the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor. This unprovoked attack brought the United States into World War II as they immediately declared war on Japan.
Explain The Impact Of The Japanese Attack On Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was and still is the most important US naval base in the Pacific and the home of the US Pacific Fleet. It is located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
Japanese Attacks On The Usa In World War 2: Beyond Pearl Harbor — History Is Now Magazine, Podcasts, Blog And Books
From the 1930s, the Japanese government came increasingly under the influence of right-wing military leaders who sought to create a larger Japanese empire on the Pacific coast. The United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the Republic of China represented significant obstacles to this expansion.
Japanese aggression began with the conquest of Manchuria from China in September 1931. The following year, this conquered territory was transformed into the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo (1932–1945) under the nominal leadership of the last Chinese emperor, Pu Yi. The League of Nations conducted an investigation into the incident and concluded that Japan had forcibly occupied and occupied a large portion of Chinese territory without declaring war. She called on Japanese troops to withdraw from the occupied countries. In response, Japan withdrew from the League of Nations in March 1933. Neither the League of Nations nor the United States recognized the supposedly independent state.
In the mid-1930s, the Japanese military began to exercise greater authority in foreign and domestic policy. Japan has withdrawn from international naval conferences that have limited the size of the country’s fleet. Naval construction increased dramatically, so that by 1941 the Japanese possessed the third largest navy in the world. In the Pacific, the Japanese navy outmatched the combined strength of the British and American fleets. The army also grew rapidly, doubling in size between 1936 and 1941.
During this period, Japan was also moving closer to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. In November 1936, Japan signed a pact against the Comintern. Then in September 1940 Germany, Italy and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact. This pact formalized the alliance between the three countries. Subsequently, they were referred to as the Axis Powers.
Pearl Harbor In Retrospect
In July 1937, fighting broke out between Japanese and Chinese forces and escalated into a full-scale war that lasted until 1945.
Japan’s territorial aggression drew widespread condemnation in the United States and elsewhere. On October 5, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt warned that the “foundations of civilization” were “seriously threatened.” Although he did not single out any specific nations, the warning was intended to raise American concerns about Japanese actions in China and German and Italian intervention in the Spanish Civil War. A “quarantine” was needed to stop the spread of the “epidemic of world lawlessness”. Roosevelt feared that Japanese expansionism would not end in China, but would spread to Hong Kong, Indochina, and the Philippines, posing a threat to the United States.
Although the League of Nations condemned Japan’s actions in China, diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting failed. Roosevelt considered a joint Anglo-American naval blockade of Japan, particularly in December 1937 after Japanese aircraft attacked and sank several American vessels, including the patrol boat USS.
, as well as some British ships in China. Isolationism at home and appeasement abroad ended such efforts.
Intelligence, Japanese Attack On Pearl Harbor
After the outbreak of war on the European continent, Japan took advantage of the situation to occupy territory in Asia. After the defeat of France by Nazi Germany, the Imperial Japanese government pressured the Vichy regime to cut off military supplies to China from Indochina and then allow the Japanese military to station troops there. In the fall of 1940, the US government offered the embattled Republic of China aircraft and loans, followed by economic sanctions against Japan that banned the export of jet fuel and scrap metal, including iron and steel. In the summer-autumn of 1941, the United States froze Japanese assets and imposed an embargo on oil exports to Japan.
As US policy and sanctions became more aggressive, Japanese planners decided to attack American positions in the Pacific: specifically the Philippines, Guam and Wake Islands, and the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.
Japanese planners faced the dilemma of how to counter America’s greater naval power and economic potential.
The plan that emerged called for a surprise attack that would destroy the entire U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor while eliminating other U.S. forward positions. The strategic goal was to cripple American naval power in the Pacific so much that the United States would not be able to interfere with Japanese conquests.
Japanese Internment Camps During World War Ii Are A Lesson In The Scary Economics Of Racial Resentment
Japanese planners hoped that by the time the United States recovered and rearmed, it would face a formidable defensive perimeter that it would be unable or unwilling to defeat. A large naval strike force sailed from Japan, operating in strict radio silence and avoiding shipping lanes to avoid detection.
At 7:55 a.m. on December 7, 1941, the first of two waves of Japanese naval aircraft from six aircraft carriers attacked Pearl Harbor, taking American forces completely by surprise. Two thousand four hundred American sailors and soldiers were killed and 1,200 wounded. More than half of the military aircraft were damaged or destroyed, almost all on the ground.
Completely destroyed. Japanese air commanders requested a third strike, but Admiral Nagumo, who was in charge of the attacking force, refused, preferring to avoid more casualties and assuming the raid was a success.
At first glance, the attack on Pearl Harbor may indeed have seemed like a brilliant attack. The U.S. Pacific Fleet was effectively eliminated as an offensive force and would be unable to counter Japanese expansion for the foreseeable future. Moreover, the attack cost only 29 Japanese aircraft.
Kublai Khan And The Mongols’ Invasions Of Japan
However, on closer examination and from a strategic point of view, the attack failed for several reasons. First, the most important ships in the US fleet, the aircraft carriers, were away on maneuvers and not present during the attack. Second, America’s oil reserves, submarine fleet, and repair facilities remained undamaged. Third, while all the important battleships suffered heavy damage, all but two were eventually raised, repaired and returned to service. And finally, the attack galvanized the previously disaffected American public in support of the war.
The attack on Pearl Harbor had an impact far beyond Hawaii and the United States. Adolf Hitler applauded the attack and declared war on the United States, even though the United States had only declared war on Japan. Before Pearl Harbor, many Americans maintained an isolationist attitude and were reluctant to get involved in the war in Europe.
Hitler’s declaration of war on the United States is considered by many historians to be one of his greatest errors of judgment. In less than a year, American ground troops would be fighting German forces in North Africa. Moreover, American material support of Nazi Germany’s primary enemy, the Soviet Union, could continue at full speed.
Pearl Harbor even had a small but identifiable effect on the Holocaust. The Wannsee Conference, aimed at coordinating the organizations responsible for implementing the Final Solution, was originally scheduled for December 8. Due to the events of early December 1941, Reinhard Heydrich was forced to postpone the meeting to January 20, 1942.
Attack On Pearl Harbor
We would like to thank Crown Family Philanthropies and the Abe and Ida Cooper Foundation for supporting the ongoing work to create Holocaust content and resources. See the list of all donors. Home Quizzes and games History and society Science and technology Biographies Animals and nature Geography and travel Art and culture Videos for money
Although every effort has been made to follow the rules of citation style, some inconsistencies may occur. If you have any questions, consult the appropriate style guide or other resources.
Michael Ray Michael Ray oversees coverage of European history and military affairs for the . He received his B.A. in history from Michigan State University in 1995. He has been a teacher in suburban Chicago and Seoul, …
Encyclopaedia Editors Encyclopaedia Editors oversee areas in which they have extensive knowledge, either from years of experience working on that content or through advanced degree study. They write new content and review and edit content received from contributors.
Battle Of Imphal
On December 7, 1941, more than 2,300 members of the U.S. military were killed, more than 1,100 were wounded, and eight battleships were damaged or destroyed when the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor was, according to the U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, “suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Japanese Empire.” Organized by Japanese Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, the attack was a tactical success as well as a strategic failure. US Pacific Fleet
