Pearl+Harbour

__The Japanese Invasion of Pearl Harbour __

**Attack on Pearl Harbobur:**
The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japaneses Navy against the United States  n aval base  at  Pearl Harbour , Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asian against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States.

The base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. Of these eight damaged, two were raised, and with four repaired, six battleships returned to service later in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three  cruisers , three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one mine-layer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 wounded. The power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building were not attacked. Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five  midget submarines  lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. <span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> One Japanese Sailor <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> was captured.

=<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Events leading to the attack: =

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;">Tension between the U.S.A & Japan did not appear until the 1931 Invasion of Manchuria. Japan had started to slowly expand its empire, taking over much of China & French Indochina. Although the U.S took no direct military action, it made its views clear that it did not approve of Japan’s expansion. However, Japan took no mind of the American complaints & continued its conquest.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;">This move prompted the U.S to impose trade sanctions, including an oil embargo on all exports to Japan. The Imperial Japanese Navy estimated that they had less than two years of bunker oil remaining & to support the existing plans to seize oil resources in the Dutch East Indies. The way Japan saw it, was that if they were going to continue with their war of conquest, they would have to destroy the U.S navy based at Pearl Harbour.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-indent: 36pt;">It should be noted that the Japanese had no intentions of starting a war, but rather thought that the lack of resources after such a take down, combined with the reluctance of the Americans to join in battle would prove enough to deter them from further disrupting the Japanese plans.

=Japanese declaration of war:=

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The attack took place before any formal declaration of war was made by Japan, but this was not Admiral Yamamoto's intention. He originally stipulated that the attack should not commence until thirty minutes after Japan had informed the United States that peace negotiations were at an end. The Japanese tried to uphold the conventions of war while still achieving surprise, but the attack began before the notice could be delivered. Tokyo transmitted the 5,000-word in two blocks to the Japanese Embassy in Washington, but transcribing the message took too long for the Japanese ambassador to deliver it in time. The final part of the "14 Part Message" is sometimes described as a declaration of war. While it neither declared war nor severed diplomatic relations, it was viewed by a number of senior U.S government and military officials as a very strong indicator that negotiations were likely to be terminated and that war might break out at any moment. A declaration of war was printed on the front page of Japan's newspapers in the evening edition of December 8, but not delivered to the U.S. government until the day after the attack.



=<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">The Bombing: =

The attack began on December 7, 1941 at 7:55 a.m Hawaii time. As the first wave approached Oahu, it was detected by American radar, but soon dismissed as a threat because of the expected B-17 bombers which were to arrive around the same time. The Japanese had organized two fleets: the first to act as the primary attack, while the second was to finish off whatever remained. The Japanese pilots were ordered to select the highest value targets such as battleships & aircraft carriers as their primary objective.

Considering the surprise nature of this attack, the Americans could do very little to defend themselves, although at least eight Army Air Corps pilots managed to get airborne during the battle & six were credited with downing at least one Japanese aircraft. By the end of the battle, 188 of the 402 American aircraft were destroyed & eight battleships were damaged with only two lost permanently. Fortunately, all three of the American aircraft carriers were absent during the raid. On the side of the Japanese, 29 of their 414 planes were lost as well as 55 Japanese airmen & 9 submariners were killed.

=<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">Aftermath: =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Japanese almost but not fully achieved their goals as Pearl Harbour was in ruins but not without chance of repair. The aircraft carriers spared became a key component in the U.S. naval forces. Within six months, five battleships & two cruisers were patched or re-floated so they could be sent for extensive repair. The action of the Japanese also encouraged the Americans to declare war against Japan; an action that would prove key in the eventual victory of the Allies. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The day after the attack, Roosevelt delivered his famous Infamy Speech to a Joint Session of Congress,calling for a formal declaration of was on the Empire of Japan. Congress obliged his request less than an hour later. On December 11 Germany and Italy, honoring their commitments under the Tripartite Pact, declared war on the United States. The Tripartite Pact was an earlier agreement between Germany, Italy and Japan which had the principal objective of limiting U.S. intervention in any conflicts involving the three nations.The United States Congress issued a declaration of war against Germany and Italy later that same day. Britain actually declared war on Japan nine hours before the US did, partially due to Japanese attacks on Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong, and partially due to Winston Churchill's promise to declare war "within the hour" of a Japanese attack on the United States.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">▪ Arizona: Exploded; total loss. 1,177 dead. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">▪ Oklahoma: Capsized, 429 dead. Refloated November 1943; capsized and lost while under tow to the mainland May 1947 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">▪ West Virginia: two bombs, seven torpedoes, sunk; returned to service July 1944. 106 dead. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">▪ California: two bombs, two torpedoes, sunk; returned to service January 1944. 100 dead. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">▪ Nevada: six bombs, one torpedo, beached; returned to service October 1942. 60 dead. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">▪ Tennessee: two bombs; returned to service February 1942. 5 dead. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">▪ Maryland: two bombs; returned to service February 1942. 4 dead (including floatplane pilot shot down). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">▪ Pennsylvania: in drydock with Cassin and Downes, one bomb, debris from USS Cassin; remained in service. 9 dead.
 * Battleships Damaged or lost: **

Fun Facts about Invasion:

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">More than 180 U.S. aircraft were destroyed.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During the attack the USS Arizona sank with a loss of more than 1,100 men.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A white concrete and steel structure now spans the hull of the sunken ship as a memorial.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pearl Harbor was not in the state of high alert when the attack started, Anti-Aircraft guns were left unmanned.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Japanese fleet had 30 ships.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Three prime targets escaped dam age, the U.S. Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers, the Lexington, Enterprise and Saratoga. They were not in the port when the attack took place.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1178 people were wounded.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On December 8, 1941, Congress declared war on Japan with only one vote against it. The vote against it was of Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, who had also voted against U.S. entry into World War I.



Liz Wesley
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