Pearl Harbor, Japan’s sudden air attack on the US naval base in Hawaii

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harboron the island of Oahu in Hawaii – home of the US Pacific Fleet – was launched during World War II the December 7, 1941, at dawn on Sunday morning. It was a sudden attack by the Japanese air force, which occurred in two waves and caused the death of 2,403 US soldiers and the destruction of 8 battleship battleships.

The causes must be traced back to expansionist policy of Japan, which intended to build a “new world order“in Asia and the Pacific, in a similar way to what Nazi Germany and fascist Italy tried to do in Europe. The plans of the Tokyo government, however, were hindered by United Stateswho had imposed a trade embargo to Japan to curb its expansionism. That episode marked the entry of the United States into the Second World War: on 8 December 1941, US President Roosevelt declared war on Japan, defining the attack as a “day of infamy”.

That moment marked the history of the United States: it is still commemorated today during the National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day and inspired the film “Pearl Harbor” of the same name.

The causes of the attack by Japanese aviation

In the 1930s a regime established itself in the Japanese Empire nationalist and militaristin some respects similar to European totalitarianisms. In 1931 the Japanese army invaded a peripheral region of China, the Manchuria, and in 1937 he brought the war to the heart of Chinese territory. The goal was to become the dominant power in the Asia-Pacific region.

Him too United States they had interests in the Pacific: they controlled the Philippinesbecame their colony at the end of the nineteenth century, and they had commercial interests in the area.

In 1939, as we know, the Second World War began in Europe. The United States and Japan they were not directly involvedbut the conflict still exacerbated tensions because the Americans supported the United Kingdom, while the Japanese were close to Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. After the start of the war in Europe, the government in Tokyo intended to continue its expansion, but had to decide in which direction to direct it. There were two options: towardsContinental Asiaattacking the Soviet Union, or in the direction of Southeast Asiafacing the United States. The June 25, 1941in a “liaison” meeting of the government with the military leaders, it was decided to attack in the South-East and in July the army occupied the French colony ofIndochina.

In the United States, Japanese expansionism was greatly feared, also because it appeared similar to that of Hitler in Europe, but a large part of public opinion he did not want the country to be involved in conflicts of other areas of the world. The government, led by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, reacted to expansionism with economic measures: in 1940 it imposed the first sanctions and, after the invasion of Indochina, stopped it altogether exports of oil and other strategic goodsfollowed by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. For Japan, the American decision was a serious obstacle, since without oil it would not have been able to continue its expansion. The September 6th one imperial conference (i.e. a government meeting with the emperor present) decided that, if negotiations to stop sanctions failed, there was no alternative to war. In October the general Hideki Tojo he became head of government and established the deadline for closing the negotiations: November 30th. If no agreement was reached by then, war would begin.

The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor

The Japanese military leaders were aware of the military and industrial potential of the United States and they believed that the only possibility of victory lay in dealing them a mortal blow at the outset of hostilities. The navy, led by the admiral Isoroku Yamamotodeveloped an ambitious plan: to conduct aircraft carriers close to the Hawaii and destroy by air attacks the American Pacific Fleet, which was anchored at Pearl Harbor, a port ofisland of Oahu.

The Japanese fleet, which included six aircraft carriers and numerous escort units, put to sea on 26 November under the admiral’s orders Chuichi Nagumo. The Tokyo government decided to send the declaration of war to its counterpart half an hour before the attack began, so that the US army would not have time to prepare countermeasures. However, the ambassador to Washington took time to decipher the text and he delivered the statement after the attack began.

Just before 8am on December 7thwas recorded first wave of the attack: 183 Japanese aircraftamong which torpedo bombers (i.e. planes that dropped torpedoes), bombers and fighters, arrived in the skies of Pearl Harbor, catching the enemy completely by surprise. The American intelligence services, which had deciphered the secret code used by the Japanese authorities, had intercepted many communications in the previous months, but they did not know where and when the enemy would attack and had not prepared any countermeasures. The Japanese planes were therefore able to bomb Pearl Harbor virtually undisturbed.

Around 09:00, shortly after the first wave aircraft had retreated, the ship arrived at Pearl Harbor. second attack wave, consisting of 171 aircraft. This time the American anti-aircraft reacted and some fighters managed to take off to face the enemies, but the Japanese still carried out the attack successfully.

The balance of US losses: ships destroyed and soldiers killed

The immediate consequences of the attack were disastrous: all eight battleships Americans (including the USS Arizona and the USS Oklahoma) were hit and four sank or suffered non-repairable damage; many other military ships suffered serious damage; well 188 aircraft were destroyed to the ground; 2,403 soldiers lost their lives. The Japanese, however, lost only five submarines and 29 aircraft.

The Japanese air force, however, it did not hit any of the three aircraft carriers who were part of the Pacific Fleet, because on the day of the attack they were on a mission away from Pearl Harbor. Furthermore, Admiral Nagumo committed a serious mistake: after the second wave he ordered his fleet to head towards Japan, not wanting to risk the ships being hit by American planes or submarines. If he had launched the third waveas his subordinates insistently proposed to do, he could have destroyed the shipyards and fuel depots, forcing what remained of the American fleet to abandon Hawaii.

The aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor had very different consequences than those hoped for by Japanese leaders. In the United States the event caused a very strong emotional reaction and December 7 was considered “the day of infamy“, because the country had been attacked without a formal declaration of war. At the same time, the episode favored the spread of anti-Japanese sentiment throughout the country.

Also, the huge industrial apparatus American allowed the navy to replace losses and equip itself relatively quickly with one carrier-based fleet. After suffering some defeats in the first months of the war, the American military was able to counterattack and defeat Japan.

Pearl Harbor also profoundly affected the progress of the conflict in Europebecause on December 11, 1941, Italy and Germany, allies of the Japanese, declared war on the United States and involved them in hostilities.