Pearl Harbor is a US naval base near Honolulu , Hawaii, which was the scene of a devastating surprise assault on December 7 , 1941 by Japanese forces. Just eight a.m. That Sunday morning, nearly 20 American naval warships, including eight battleships, and over 300 aircraft, were destroyed or damaged by hundreds of Japanese fighter planes.
The US military was completely unprepared for the devastating surprise attack that drastically changed the course of the Second World War, especially in the Pacific Theater.
Japan tried to overcome its economic and demographic turmoil during the Great Depression of the 1930s by driving itself into China, with the expansion into Manchuria beginning in 1931. When the invasion was rejected by a commission appointed by the League of Nations, Japan withdrew from the international organisation.
Another Sino-Japanese war began in July 1937 at Beijing's Marco Polo Bridge. In this December, after a six weeks of mass killings and rapes that have now become notorious for the Nanjing mass murder, the Japanese military seized Nanjing (Nanking), capital of the Chinese Nationalist Party, and Guomindang (Kuomintang).
In view of these atrocities, the USA started to enforce economic sanctions on Japan, such as trade embargos on aircraft exports, oil and scrap metal, among other main items, and provided Guomindang forces economic assistance. In September, 1940, the two Fascist governments then fought against the Allies and signed the Tripartite Alliance with Germany and Italy.
For months leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack, Tokyo and Washington negotiated without success. Although the US hoped for oil and other main commodities embargoes to avoid Japan expansionism, tariffs and other sanctions did indeed encourage Japan to stand firm and fuel its people's indignation at the continued intervention of the West in Asian affairs.
In Japan, the US war has become unavoidable, to protect its status as the world's greatest nation. Their only hope was the element of surprise because the odds were thrown at them.The attack on Pearl Harbor seemed like Japan 's success. About 2,400 Americans, including civilians, died in the attack and another 1,000 injured. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called the Congress to declare war on Japan the day after the invasion.
In its goal of completely destroying the Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor attack failed. In the assault there was no single American aircraft carrier, and the Japanese bombers missed fuel stores, munition sites and repair facilities. In June 1942, the Japanese lost because US forces won the Battle of Midway, turning the war in the Pacific decisively.