Essay on America's Unforgettable Day of Infamy: The Attack on Pearl Harbor

Introduction

The bombing of Pearl Harbor caught the Americans by surprise dragging them to World War 2. Sunday morning December 7, 1941, the Japanese forces orchestrated a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor destroying the US military equipment and naval vessels ("Pearl Harbor"). Japanese fighter jets destroyed about 300 aircraft and 20 naval vessels (Taylor). Initially, the US had imposed sanctions on Japan to cripple its economy as a punishment for its invasion of China. Nevertheless, Japan did not back down; instead, it attacked the US to stand its ground. Unprepared, the US was not able to repel the attack ("Pearl Harbor"). The following day, President Roosevelt declared war on Japan. Due to American's unpreparedness, lack of intelligence, and ignorance among military leaders, the US army left Pearl Harbor exposed, making it an irresistible bombing site for Japan as it tried to affirm its position in global politics.

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Motives for the Attack

Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the war tensions between the US and Japan had increased in the last decade. The rivalry made war seem inevitable. For the better part of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Japan had expansionist ideas, which focused on unifying Asia under its rule ("Why did Japan Attack"). Earlier the country had gone into war with China during the First Sino-Japanese War between 1894-95 ("Pearl Harbor"). It had also been involved in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. Notably, the tensions between the US and Japanese began in the 1930s during the Great Depression after the US tried to cripple the Japanese economy ("Pearl Harbor"). Japanese, which was led by military leaders thought that it would solve its economic troubles by invading China. As a result, they invaded China in 1931 caused the Manchuria massacre. Its actions were condemned by the League of Nations, which led to it withdrawing from the international organization. They occupied the city for 14 years until 1945 ("Why did Japan Attack") Additionally, Japan engaged in six weeks of mass executions in the Nanjing Massacre, after the capture of the capital in July 1937.

The atrocities committed by the country prompted the US to try and stop its expansion since it endangered the American way of life. The US started imposing economic sanctions on Japan. It also issued trade embargos on scrap metal, oil, and other key aircraft exports ("Why did Japan Attack"). The US also supported the Chinese government and Britain through loans to help them win the war. President Roosevelt believed that by injuring its economy, Japan would reduce its expansionist ideologies. However, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Germany, which assured it of military aid in case of an attack by the allies (Taylor). Additionally, negations between Japanese ambassadors and Washington had continued throughout the period with any signs of success. Noticeably, the embargos and helping China increased the Japans's anger towards the Western powers for their interference ("Why did Japan Attack"). As a result, Japan tried to stand its ground as a superpower by carrying out a surprise attack against the US.

US Unpreparedness

Despite having intelligence that Japanese aggression in the Pacific was increasing, the US believed that Japan would not attack first because it would be disadvantaged. As a result, President Roosevelt ignored security advice as he moved the US fleet to Pearl harbor. The available intelligence did not mention pearl harbor as being in the risk of an attack. American military leaders believed that although a war with Japan was inevitable, the enemy would first attack nearby colonies such as Indochina and Singapore ("Pearl Harbor"). Notably, the US army's lack of preparation was evident through unmanned anti-aircraft weapons, lack of active submarine features, locked down ammunition, and lack of scouting aircraft. The events left the US Pacific base exposed to air attacks. Additionally, the aircraft was parked tip to tip, which provided the Japanese pilots with an opportunity to cripple the base's air response. On a fateful day, General George Marshal had received an encrypted Japanese message, intercepted after Washington had failed to reach an understanding with Japanese ambassadors. He sent a warning message to Pearl harbor military base; nevertheless, it was delayed due to bad weather and arrived after the attack.

Attack of Pearl Harbor

For the Japanese, Pearl Harbor was irresistibly an easy target to attack given that the US had squeezed its Pacific Fleet around the shores of Ford Island. The Japanese aimed at destroying the Pacific Fleet to prevent Americans from fighting back as its forces dispersed in the south Pacific. After seven months of planning, Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku launched a surprise attack ("Pearl Harbor"). On Sunday morning around 8.00 am, more than 350 Imperial Japanese Naval aircraft filled Pearl Harbor's sky and sprayed bullets and bombs on naval vessels and packed aircraft (Taylor). They bombed the USS Arizona destroying her forward ammunition magazine. The ship exploded and capsized with more than 1000 soldiers trapped inside. The Japanese also used torpedoes to sink the USS Oklahoma battleship, which had about 400 people aboard. Notably, the attack took less than two hours in which it had caused major damage to all battleships in the harbor. Only USS Utah and USS Arizona were salvaged after the attack ("Pearl Harbor"). Nearly 20 American battleships were crippled and 300 aircraft were destroyed. Unfortunately, 2403 sailors, civilians, and soldiers were killed, while approximately 1000 people were injured ("Pearl Harbor").

The Japanese failed to destroy onshore facilities such as submarine docks, shipyards, repair shops, or oil storage depots. Additionally, aircraft carriers that were vital at the time were not destroyed since they were not in the harbor. As a result, the Pacific Fleet was not crippled totally and recuperated as the country officially joined the World War 2.

US Reactions

The attack left Americans shocked, surprised, and angered. The next day on December 8, President Roosevelt appeared before a joint session of Congress and urged it to declare war on Japan. Congress declared war on the same day. On December 11, Japan's allies Italy and Germany declared war on the US ("Pearl Harbor"). Noticeably, the attack unified Americans on their decision to join the war after two years of restraint. Notably, it was prepared to carry out two conflicts; one in Europe and another in the pacific ("Why did Japan Attack"). In 1942, thanks to Japan's failure to completely neutralize pearl harbor, the Americans defeated them in the Battle of Midway.

Conclusion

Overall, the bombing of Pearl Harbor dragged the US into a conflict that it had abstained from for two years. The country refrained from engaging in the conflict in Europe and Asia for the security of its people at home. However, it assisted its allies Britain and China with loans to facilitate the war. Notably, Japanese expansionist ideas to unite Asia under its rule and other atrocities against human rights attracted economic embargos and sanctions from the US. Americans tried to cripple its economy to prevent its spread in the Pacific, which made war inevitable. Unfortunately, Japan affirmed its position as a major power by attacking Pearl Harbor. It caught the Americans by surprise devastating its naval vessels and aircraft. A case of unpreparedness, lack of intelligence, and negligence of American military leaders caused the devastation, which claimed 2303 civilians and military lives. Americans anger and desire for revenge led to its involvement in World War 2, which ended with it nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Works Cited

Pearl Harbor. History, 2009. www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harborTaylor, Alan. World War II: Pearl Harbor. The Atlantic, 2011. www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/07/world-war-ii-pearl-harbor/100117/

Why did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor? History, 2019. www.history.com/news/why-did-japan-attack-pearl-harbor