“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.” Those words were spoken on December 8th by the thirty-second President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They were delivered in an address to members of the US Senate and House of Representatives, following the attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor located on the island of Oahu.
Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, in a move to expand their empire and gain more resources, Japan invaded China in 1939. In the months following the invasion, the US cut back on shipments of raw materials to Japan, in an effort to slow down Japan’s military movement. Then in July of 1940, Japan moved into French Indochina, also known as Vietnam, with permission from the German installed government in France. Following this, Japan would join forces with Germany and Italy in the Tripartite Pact, forming the Axis Powers.
With Japan now poised to launch an attack on other areas of the south Pacific Ocean, President Roosevelt froze all Japanese assets in the US in July of 1941, cutting them off from much needed oil. That led to the Japanese to begin planning attacks on key installations in the Pacific, ranging from a British naval base in Singapore, US bases in the Philippines, as well as Midway and Pearl Harbor. Their goal, to cripple any opposition and/or response to Japanese expansion in the south Pacific. Finally, on November 26th, 1941, a fleet of ships left Japan on a 3,500 mile journey to launch an attack that would change the course of history.
The Japanese fleet was led by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo and altogether had fifty-six naval vessels and four hundred and fourteen aircraft. The fleet was comprised of six aircraft carriers, the Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku, Zuikaku, two battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 9 destroyers, 8 tankers, 23 fleet submarines, and 5 midget submarines. The fleet’s objective was to cripple the US Pacific fleet through means of destroying the fleet itself and the shipyards at Pearl Harbor, as well as bombing the airfields on Oahu. In doing so, Japan would eradicate any means of stopping their expansion in the South Pacific long enough for them to take over and solidify their hold on the region.
The attack was launched at 7:48 a.m. local time, after scout aircraft had located the island of Oahu. The first wave of fighters were tasked with taking out the battleships, aircraft carriers, and airfields. They reached the island at 7:55 a.m., and began their attack. Japanese fighters strafed unprepared ground crews at multiple airfields, while the bombers began to tear apart the battleships that were lined up all in a row. The second wave of fighters was tasked with mopping up the battleships and other vessels, and destroying aircraft hangars and the airstrips. These planes arrived at 8:40 a.m., and faced slightly more resistance than the first wave. Their attack continued until just after 9 a.m., when the second wave returned to the fleet and Nagumo had ordered a return to Japan.
On that day, 2,403 Americans were killed, and 1,178 wounded, including several civilian casualties. Eighteen ships had been sunk or run aground, including five of the eight battleships. There were also 188 aircraft destroyed and 159 damaged. The Japanese suffered 64 dead and one captured. They lost twenty-nine aircraft and all 5 of their midget submarines.
It’s important we look back on this tragic day and remember those that were lost. At the time, the US was not in a wartime posture, so most of the casualties were people who volunteered to join the military of their own free will. And not only that, but most of them were young men, seventeen and eighteen year olds, who were assigned to sleep aboard ship, while the officers had their own housing on land. Though this was only the beginning of what would become one of the largest conflicts the world has ever seen.