Pearl Harbour

The decision of the United States to enter World War II was not a decision on the spot. World War I lasted for about 2 years before the U.S. entered. As one factor after another piled up to the entrance of the United States more than a probability, a factor will be the last straw for the United States, the bombing of Pearl Harbour.

Pearl Harbor was attacked in the morning of December 7, 1941 and will prove to be the biggest mistake of Japan. A result which extended the entire war. More immediately, however, there would be abandoning the constraint that the United States had maintained that the war had raged in Europe over two years. The United States entered World War II, although the Japanese did not attack Pearl Harbor. The Axis powers, Germany and Italy, were able to gain a lot in Europe and Japan have decided they would join the Axis powers, it was not the regulation and with the U.S.

At the beginning of the war, the United States, was neutral for the events that unfolded rapidly in World War II. Japan, irritated by the resistance to U.S. expansion in the South Pacific (the Philippines and the Virgin Islands), had attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet (docked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii) the day before the December 7 , 1941.

Indeed, the U.S. had been remotely involved in many aspects of the war up to that point. There was, however, a lot of friction between Franklin D. Roosevelt and other American leaders regarding the exact role of the United States should take before the attack (Remember Pearl Harbor). Japan and Germany had been expanding their territories to a very fast pace and Roosevelt and other key players in the government of the United States wanted to end this expansion (Remember Pearl Harbor.) In Indeed, even Roosevelt had been reluctant to enter this war was going on in Europe.Au Instead the U.S. has used various forms of economic constraints that have been designed to bring Japan under control (Remember Pearl Harbor). Recognizing even before the release of the Hull Note that the war was more a probability than a possibility, the U.S. Navy began to build their fleets in the Pacific, fleet who were stationed in large measure to Pearl Harbor (Remember Pearl Harbor). General Douglas MacArthur is quoted as having proclaimed in fact just two days before the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor that: "Nothing would please me better than if they would give me three months and then attack here" ("If Remember Pearl Harbor "3).

Statements such as this, and the construction of the Pacific Fleet in itself is testimony to the fact that the U.S. was not only in the end the war planning, but was engaged in a deliberate effort finally encourage Japan to attack.

The United States and Japan were not the only ones to engage in activities which they knew would encourage the other to go to war. There were a number of events that led to the attack at Pearl Harbor, in fact, that could either be considered as a series of errors by the Japanese or as a deliberate attempt by this country to encourage U.S. to war.

The original intention of the Japanese was to deliver an ultimatum of war before the real attack of the United States. Foreign Minister of Japan and the supreme command of the navy, however, were unable to agree exactly when a war ultimatum to be delivered in the U.S. (Borg and Okomoto 1). This would lead to a final act of negligence which, with the bombing itself, could not help but lead to U.S. involvement in World War II.

On December 7, 1941 at 13:00 Washington time. It was decided by the Japanese as the time the ultimatum of war would be delivered in the United States ("America at War American Military History:. Revolutionary War to World War II" 1). This schedule was to allow fifty minutes before the actual attack to give the U.S. time to compromise on the requirements of Hull and meet international requirements for a declaration of war. What was really in the hours before the bombing was a series of Bumbles on the part of the Japanese (Borg and Okomoto 1). Bumbles they were, however, which translate directly into a war.

On the morning of December 7, 1941 everything was normal for Japanese bombers and torpedo planes approached the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor headquarters to find them virtually defenseless. Based on Sunday was spent in a more relaxed pace than usual. The crews got up late and officers often remained on the ground. On this day almost all gun ships were unmanned, and most of the ammunition was locked up. Two aircraft carriers the three Pacific Fleet was at sea the third was back in the U.S. being replaced.

At 7:55 (12:55 am in Washington DC), bombers and attack aircraft torpedo broke the morning calm. The first wave of Japanese planes arrived to find the basis of virtually defenseless. At the end of the second wave of planes two hours later, 21 U.S. ships were sunk or damaged. Almost the entire U.S. Pacific Fleet had been decimated at a cost of only 29 Japanese planes.

Five of the eight warships stationed in the harbor that day were cast, eleven smaller ships (cruisers and destroyers) were also badly damaged. 2.335 There were military and 68 civilians were killed and 1,178 were injured. The U.S.S. Arizona has the most kills with 1,177 soldiers killed when a bomb he hit 1760 pounds causing ammunition to explode on board ("Remember Pearl Harbor" 5).

The U.S. Navy had been dealt a blow by the Japanese, but it was not the overwhelming victory over the Japanese had thought it was (Lippman 2). One main reason is the inability to hit the U.S. aircraft carriers out of action. The commander of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor only launched two waves of attacks on American ships, he thought the attack was a great victory by Japan. The commander could launch a third wave, but decided not to, but by not launching the third wave, he left many shipyards of Pearl Harbors and oil storage tanks intact. If they were destroyed from the naval base would become useless. Another reason for the attack was not that