One of the most important episodes of World War II. It happened on December 7, 1941, when Japanese planes bombed the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii, where the US Pacific Fleet was based. This attack, which was the first on American soil since 1812, resulted in the US going to war.
US-Japanese relations had already been strained since the early 1930s. The Americans were reacting to Japan's expansionist policy in China and Indochina by imposing economic sanctions. In the summer of 1941 they escalated the economic war against Japan, imposing an embargo on oil exports. For its part, Japan considered the American oil embargo a hostile act and wanted to teach them a lesson, but without causing them to withdraw from the war. That is why he did not attack the possessions of Great Britain, which was their loyal ally in the region.
The Japanese staff decided on a pre-emptive strike on the naval base at Pearl Harbor, with a double objective:on the one hand, it would dismantle the American Pacific fleet and on the other hand, it would ensure access to the rich wealth-producing sources of the Western Pacific, and especially to the Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia). At the same time, on the fronts of Europe, the Soviets had repelled the German attack on Moscow and were moving on the counter-attack. Our country was experiencing a nightmarish winter under the boot of the German conqueror, with thousands dead from lack of food. On the North African front, Rommel still had the upper hand over the Allies.
As reported by Sansimera, the order to attack Pearl Harbor was given by Rear Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto to the head of the operation Admiral Tsuichi Nagumo on December 1, 1941. Pearl Harbor, located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, was home to 104 ships (war and escort) and stationed 390 aircraft. The naval forces were led by Admiral Husband Kimmel and the land forces by General Walter Short. The Japanese naval force led by 6 aircraft carriers sailed west, undetected by the Americans, and reached 275 nautical miles north of the Hawaiian Islands. From this point they would launch their attack on Pearl Harbor, with successive air waves.
At 3:42 am on December 7th the American minesweeper "Condor" spotted a Japanese pocket submarine just outside Pearl Harbor. Chased and sunk at 6:37 am. from the destroyer 'Ward', which fired the first American shots in World War II. It was one of five small submarines that would engage and destroy American ships during air raids.
The main Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor came at 7:48 AM. with the first wave of planes, commanded by Captain Mitsuo Fujida. It was Sunday and there was general relaxation. American radar detected the Japanese planes, but the officers in charge mistook them for friendly as they were awaiting the arrival of swarms of B-17 bombers.
The Americans were literally caught sleeping and could not react immediately. Their planes were destroyed on the ground after being parked side by side for fear of sabotage. Bombs and torpedoes from Japanese planes also hit many warships. A second wave of planes followed a little later led by Admiral Shigekazu Shimazaki, but this time the Americans had rudimentarily prepared to face the attackers.
In the 90 minutes that the Japanese air attack lasted in total, 2,386 Americans (military and civilians) lost their lives and 1,139 were wounded. 188 planes were destroyed, 155 were damaged, 5 ships were sunk and 13 were put out of action. The Americans, however, managed to keep the logistics networks (shipyards and fuel tanks) intact. For their part, the Japanese lost 64 men (55 airmen and 9 sailors), 29 planes and 5 pocket submarines.
This unexpected attack united American public opinion and eliminated any thought of US neutrality. The next day, December 8, 1941, President Roosevelt declared "December 7th a day of shame for the American nation" and Congress unhesitatingly declared war on the Axis, with a single negative vote by pacifist Republican Congresswoman Janet Rankin. The "sleeping giant" woke up and changed the balance in World War II.
Militarily, the strike was not particularly significant for the US, since the Japanese failed to destroy American logistics facilities. This would have been the objective of the third wave of the air strike, which was never carried out due to Admiral Yamamoto's hesitation.
Also left intact were aircraft carriers and submarines, which would bear the brunt of the war in the Pacific and reverse the initial Japanese advantage. This has given some writers the right to argue that the attack on Pearl Harbor was well-known to President Roosevelt, who let it unfold to dampen the reaction of neutral Americans and plunge the country into war, as Churchill wished.
The first to pay for the Pearl Harbor fiasco were the island's commanders, Admiral Kimmel and General Short, who were relieved of their duties and summarily demobilized. It was the scapegoats, who blamed the mistakes of their superiors in Washington and the inaction of the intelligence services, who let the Japanese act unmolested.
Pearl Harbor in Cinema
- "Tora, Tora, Tora", 1970 American-Japanese production, directed by Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda. Starring:Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotten and Jason Robarts. (Duration 144')
- "Pearl Harbor", American production of 2001, directed by Michael Bay. Starring:Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale. (Duration 183')
- From Here to Eternity, 1953 American production, directed by Fred Zinnemann. Starring:Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr and Montgomery Clift. (Duration 118').