World War Two was one of the most bloody wars in the history of the world. There were two major theaters of action: Europe and the Pacific. The war in the Pacific was as bad as the war in Europe.
After World War One the United States held the Washington Naval arms Conference in 1922. The result of this conference was the limitation of Japan’s naval power.
In late 1929 the American stock market collapsed. Countries around the world felt the impact including Japan. To start their economy moving the government of Japan decided to use military industries to get out of the depression.
In the early 1930’s the military leaders of Japan decided to take control of the country. In 1931 the Japanese army invaded China in the Manchuria region. Soon Japan took over Manchuria and made it a puppet state.
Japan was later condemned for the take over of Manchuria by the United States and by the rest of the world. In 1932 Japan withdrew its membership in the League of Nations.
The take over of Chinese land lead to hostility between Japan and China. The hostility finally erupted at a bridge outside of Beijing. The name of the bridge was the Marco Polo Bridge. The Japanese and Chinese soldiers met and started to fight. This started the Second Sino-Japanese War. The war lasted from 1937 and did not end until the end of World War Two in 1945.
In 1936 Japan, Italy, and Germany united forces to form a pact. The pact was known as the Japanese-Tripartite Pact. This pact is more commonly known as the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis.
In response to the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis, the United States put a ban on all war materials including scrap iron, steel and most importantly a ban on oil. Without oil from the United States, Japan would run short of oil in a few years and would not be able to keep its navy running for its continuing expansion.
It was Japan’s hope to become a vast empire in Asia. In the summer of 1941 Japan took over sections of south east Asia. In doing this Japan gained valuable tin, rubber and some oil. There was no resistance taken against Japan because of the war going on in Europe. The United States tried to stop Japan’s expansion by placing an embargo on Japan. Japan had to make an important decision: stop its expansion to lift the embargo, or go to war.
It was a beautiful Sunday morning on the morning of December 7, 1941, on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Little did anybody know that that morning would be remembered as one of the most important and tragic days in the history of World War Two and in United States history.
The Japanese had been planing the attack on Pearl Harbor since September of that year. The plans were told to the pilots on October 5 and the order to begin the attack was given December 5.
At 7:02 a.m., a large fleet of planes was spotted near the Hawaiian Islands. The planes were thought to be a fleet of US B-17s that were due to land that day.
At 8:10 am, Japanese planes swarmed the island of Oahu. The planes destroyed warships, airfields, barracks, hangars and houses.
Several ships were destroyed during the bombing. Among the many ships that were destroyed the USS Arizona was the most devastating loss. Over 1,200 sailors died on the battleship. Another ship with many casualties was the USS Oklahoma which lost 400 sailors. Many sailors tried to escape the fires on the ships by jumping off the ships. Most who did this were killed by the burning oil on the water.
At 8:30 am, the Japanese planes were running low on ammo and left. Fearing that they would return after reloading the army brought out anti-aircraft guns.
At 9:00 am, 175 more Japanese bomber and fighter planes attacked Pearl Harbor. Several more US ships were destroyed and more people died. The anti-aircraft guns had little effect on the planes and at 10:00 am, the second attack ended.
The Japanese attack destroyed many ships and killed many people. All together 18 ships were sunk or badly damaged, and 308 US planes were destroyed. There were 2,343 deaths, 1,272 wounded and 1,000 Americans were missing. The Japanese only lost 29 planes and their crews.
The United States was outraged and shocked. The Japanese were happy for their success in the attack.
On December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a speech before Congress and to millions of people listening on the radio. He told them "Yesterday December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." Then he called for a war with Japan. After the speech Congress agreed almost unanimously to declare war.
Even isolationists such as Charles Lindbergh agreed with Congress’ decision. Lindbergh said "Now it has come, and we must meet it as united Americans regardless of our attitude in the past toward the policy our government has followed... We must now turn every effort to building the greatest and most effective Army, Navy and Air Force in the World."
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