Introduction
On 18 April 1942, while America was mired in combat and taking heavy losses throughout the Pacific, Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle lead eighty men from the 17th Bomb Group on a daring bombing raid into the heart of the Japanese capital city of Tokyo. These men, intent on avenging the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor only months earlier, launched their airplanes off of a Navy Aircraft Carrier on its maiden voyage, the USS Hornet. Their mission was to destroy military targets on the Japanese mainland.
History
On 7 December 1941 the Japanese Military launched a destructive surprise attack on United States Military Forces in Pearl Harbor, HI. This forced the United States into the ongoing war that they had hoped to avoid. With a Naval Fleet that suffered significant losses in the attack at Pearl Harbor, the US began offensive and defensive campaigns throughout the Pacific region ranging from open water naval battles to close combat engagements in the Philippines. America was quickly losing ground and desperately needed positive news after suffering heavy loses early in the war. President Franklin Roosevelt turned to his senior military advisors in Washington, DC and asked what it would take to strike a blow the Japanese mainland as they had done to America. At the time, the US Army Air Corps had no bases in Asia within bomber range. The Navy had aircraft capable of accomplishing the mission but was reluctant to bring its ships within the bombers range for fear of losing what few ships still remained in the region. It was then that a Navy Captain named Francis Low, an Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer serving on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Ernest King, suggest...
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...heaters, the development of a fear complex in Japan, improved relationships with our Allies, and a favorable reaction on the American people."
Although the raid did very little physical damage to Japan it still had several major impacts on the war. First, Japanese military leadership had assured the population that an attack on their mainland was nearly impossible. The raid immediately made citizens question military and political leadership’s decision to attack the United States and bring them into the war. Second, the American people finally had their first piece of good news since the attack on Pearl Harbor. Third, the attack forced the Japanese to keep more of its forces closer to home in order to defend their mainland. This kept Japan for fully utilizing all available forces in the Pacific allowing the US and allies to slowly gain the upper hand.
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Show MoreTo begin, the attack on Pearl Harbour was devastating to U.S. naval capabilities in the Pacific at the onset of their entry into the war. Japanese officials had grown tired of the U.S. oil embargo, which was meant to limit their territorial expansion and aggression in South-East Asia as well as China, and as negotiations weren’t reaching any conclusions they decided that the only course of action was a first strike on the aircraft carriers at Pearl Harbour to cripple U.S. naval capability in the Pacific (Rosenberg 1). The attack, which lasted about two hours, had resulted in the sinking of four battleships, among ...
Previous to the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on December 7th 1941, tensions had been forming between the USA and Japan in the pacific. The US had cut of most supplies to Japan with the fear of Japanese expansion. The conflict that had been escalating between Japan and China since 1937 had the US treating Japan with great cautiousness. They had been monitoring Japanese Americans in anticipation of a surprise attack. However the attack on Pearl Harbour still shocked and outraged the American nation and affected the American psyche. After being assured that “a Japanese attack on Hawaii is regarded as the most unlikely thing in the world”(1), the sudden mass destruction of the U.S Navy’s Pacific fleet and deaths of roughly 2400 U.S soldiers and civilians as a result of such an attack undoubtedly lead to confusion and racial hatred amongst many US citizens. The assumption on the War Department’s behalf that Japan’s Navy were incapable of launching a full scale assault on the US Navy’s chief Pacific base was more than inaccurate. As a result, the US Naval base was unprepared and was quickly taken out. A hidden bias would soon become evident in both average civilians and higher positioned government officials. This bias against Japan aided in the formation of the Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) on February 19th 1942.
The Battle of Pearl Harbor was one of the most atrocious events that happened in U.S. history. On December 7, 1941, Japan made a surprise aerial attack on the United States naval base and airfields at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than two thousand Americans died and a thousand two hundred were wounded. Eighteen ships were badly damaged, including five battleships. The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt with the support of the Congress, declared war on Japan. It led United States’ official involvement in World War II. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because of a deteriorating relationship with the U. S. The “New World Order”, expansion and resources, and economic sanctions were factors that conducted to another disaster on the Second World War.
During the early days of World War II the United States remained officially neutral. It was not until the attack on Pearl Harbor, by the Japanese, that the United States had no choice, but to declare war. In the beginning of the war Japan was winning most of the battles (Gailey). These defeats resulted in the morale being low among the American troops. President Theodore Roosevelt wanted to boost morale and push forward the Pacific front with a strike on the Japanese homeland to serve as a testament to American military prowess and retribution for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor (Shepherd). This eventually trickled down to the Doolittle Raid.
General Hideki Tojo was the Premiere of Japan. He and other Japanese leaders did not like the fact that Americans were sending war supplies to China and other countries in Asia. A surprise attack was ordered by Japan on December 7, 1941. The target was the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 360 planes bombed the naval base killing about 3,000 people and destroying many warships, aircraft carriers, and submarines. This was a catalyst that brought the United States into World War II.
Even before the battle started, America saw his attack coming. Japan had bombed the Dutch harbor in Alaska on the days of June 3rd and 4th. Japan landed there instead of on the islands of Attu and Kiska, in fear the United States might be there. There attacks failed when the plan to get the American fleet from Midway to aid the freshly bombed Dutch harbor. At 0900 hours an American patrol boat spotted the Japanese fleet seven hundred miles from Midway. At that point admiral Soroku Yamamoto’s plans of a sneak attack were over. Admiral fletcher commanded the U.S.S. Yorktown before it was sunk by the Japanese. Then at 0750, japan spots nine enemy (American) planes fifteen miles out. Tones, a Japanese cruiser, opened fire on the American pilots. Almost instantly if an American bomber plane were hit it would explode and go down. The bombers dropped their torpedoes to far from their targets, so the torpedoes didn’t land a single blow to Japan. At 1040 japan sent from Hiryu,...
For instance, when Japan promised to establish a new order in east Asia, America responded by commencing an aircraft and aircraft parts embargo on japan in 1939 and an oil shipment embargo in 1941. These embargos demonstrated to japan how American interventionism will affect the success of their totalitarian agenda. Document E states, “ Two years from now we will have no petroleum for military use.” Japan was desperate and the forever expanding of the American fleet did not help their cause. Document C says, “US Congress passes Naval Expansion Act and promises to triple fleet size by 1944.” Japan knew that in order to achieve their dream of world domination thew would eventually need to take over America. the expansion of the American Navy intimidated japan. Document D also corroborates Document E by showing that American shipment of oil has steadily declined over the years. For example in 1937 japan imported 380 tons of oil, by 1941 that number drastically dropped to 88 tons. That same year japan attacked pearl harbor because they saw America as a threat to their
In an effort to attain control of the Pacific Ocean, Japan launched an unprecedented attack against the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Despite the isolationist attitude of America prior to joining World War II, an embargo against Japan in part prompted the terrible offence. Hideki Tōjō, a radical conservative, had recently been elected Prime Minister of Japan, under his leadership; a plan to expand the Empire of Japan was developed. The attack planned by the Japanese Admiral Isoruko Yamamoto who had been educated in America, and had served two tours of duty in the United States was strategically quite brilliant (Japan). Many factors afforded the opportunity for Japan’s success in the assault. The ignorant arrogance of the United States government in balancing its military distribution created a serious vulnerability. Additionally, the U.S. radar technology was still very new and delivery of intercepted Japanese intelligence was poorly handled. Although significant damage was incurred, the greatest assets of the U.S. Navy, its aircraft carriers, were not docked at Pearl Harbor. Not only did over 2,000 Americans perish (both military and civilian), 55 Japanese aviators died as well. Despite previous rallies to remain uninvolved with World War II, Americans were so angry at the unprovoked attack, lines formed around the block at military recruitment offices; in effect, attacking Pearl Harbor woke a sleeping giant.
Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration the atomic bomb was being developed. After Roosevelt died, his vice president Harry Truman was appointed President of the United States. Truman was never informed about the bombs development until an emergency cabinet meeting (Kuznick 9). Truman had to make the fatal decision on whether the bomb was to be dropped on Japan. With the idea of going to war, Truman had to think about the lives of the thousand American soldiers. The American soldiers had begun using the method of island hopping, because the bomb was not available. The idea of dropping a bomb was that the war itself could possibly end in its earliest points. The dropping of the atomic bomb could also justify the money spent on the Manhattan Project (Donohue 1). With a quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt “This will be a day that will live in infamy”, Pearl Harbor was a tragic day for Americans. The United States had lost many soldiers, which they had claimed that they will eventually get revenge. The alternates of dropping the bomb was also discussed at the Interim Committee. The American government was trying to get an invitation response from the Japanese government. If the United States did not drop the bomb and ‘Operation Downfall’ ha...
The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 by the Japanese signaled the start of Japanese military control throughout the Pacific and the start of World War II. June of 1942 the Japanese Navy is defeated at the Battle of Midway and it is considered by most to be the turning point of the war. The American military began a campaign of island hoping to take control of strategic islands in the south pacific. Even with the islands they had already controlled Americans knew if they wanted to win they would have to capture the entire island of Iwo Jima, including its three airfields, to provide an area for damaged bombers and other aircrafts. Iwo Jima is needed to save the lives of the Americans flying the B-29 bombers to help prevent losing more Americans in the dangerous Pacific Ocean. The decision was quickly made to attack and take the island of Iwo Jima, code named operation detachment. June 1944, Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi was chosen as command of Iwo Jima (National Geographics). Kuribayashi had lived and trained in the United States so knew the only way to have a chance against the American’s superior fire power was to fight the battle from underground where they would be protected (Hickman). Iwo Jima was an important island for the Japanese because it provided an area of attack and functioned as a buffer zone for Americans attempting to bomb their homeland. Initial bombing raids against Iwo Jima began in June 1944 (Navy Department Library). The B-29’s and naval ships’ bombing destroyed ...
“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” These words were spoken the day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The bombing of Pearl Harbor cost more than 2,000 lives and nearly destroyed 20 naval vessels. Eight of these ships happened to be battleships, but luckily no aircraft carriers were in the area. On December 8, the day after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt gave his address to the nation. He ended this address with, “I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire,” thus beginning the United States role in WWII.
In the morning hours of December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked the Hawaiian islands at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had been feeling the pressures of World War II (WWII) as did many others. With the resources of the Japanese dwindling, the Japanese decided to attack the U.S. while simultaneously planning the attack during the negotiations of continued peace between our two countries. The Japanese were able to cover up there planning for nearly a year. Planning for the attack and ultimately war in the pacific, started in January of 1941, and was finalized during the war games in November of 1941. The U.S. on the other hand would become a reactive force after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The inability to crack the Japanese code lead, to a lack of intelligence during this time making the plan of attack for the Japanese a successful one. It would seem that the year of planning and the strategies laid out in the “Combined Fleet Operations Top Secret Order 1” of the Japanese navy would become a reality in the pacific, allowing for an easy sweep of the military targets for the Japanese fleet.
...ike steel, coal, and oil all critical to Japan’s success in expansion. Roosevelt did this in fear of Japan possibly becoming strong enough to challenge America.
As the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 the United States officially entered World War Two. The Japanese government later learned later that this single event sets off an explosion that subsequently caused the United States to attack the Midway Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Pearl Harbor was one of the United States largest naval bases and the largest in the Pacific Ocean. This attack ceased all trade with Japan and officially added Japan as one of the US enemies. With a new world war started it created new concerns for the army. “World War II introduced a whole new set of problems in naval tactics” (Smith, 1). The main change driving these changes was the fact that aircraft carriers became more prevalent and common in every major countries naval force. Japan was able to pull off the Pearl Harbor attack as a result of aircraft carriers to launch their airplanes. As a result of the battles leading up to the Battle of Midway and conflicts with Japan this created a lot larger of an impact on WWII as a whole and to boost unity in America leading to a more prosperous period of history following the war.
Attack on Pearl Harbor was a very tragic event in US history. The Japanese kept on pushing North Americas buttons. When the Japanese occupied Manchuria that really ticked off North America, it was a very bad move by the Japanese, FDR was not very happy with Japan’s aggression against the Chinese. In result FDR froze all raw materials going to Japan. Oil was the biggest export material going into Japan, taking that away really shook Japan’s economy. Japan really planned and implemented the attack on Pearl Harbor. United States was caught off guard by the bombing. United States was really shaken up by the whole thing. We weren’t expecting such a thing from the Japanese. United States eventually joined the Allied Forces with World War 2. The US really taught the Japanese a lesson they needed to learn.