The Battle of Pearl Harbor
The Pearl Harbor attack was a surprise military campaign launched by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States at the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, just before 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941. The Japanese military leadership called the offensive the Hawaii Operation, Operation AI, and Operation Z.
This battle was a turning point in Japan's deteriorating ties with the United States. Once the US navy was out of the way, the Japanese would be able to capture all of Southeast Asia and the Indonesian archipelago.
A Japanese fleet of six aircraft carriers, two battleships, three cruisers, and eleven destroyers traveled 275 miles north of Hawaii on November 26. From here, around 360 planes were fired for the last attack. Four US Navy battleships were sunk, while four more were destroyed. Furthermore, three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer were lost.
The attack took the lives of 2,403 Americans and injured 1,178 more. This surprise strike horrified the American people, prompting the United States to enter the Second World War in both Europe and the Pacific. The United States decided to declare war on Japan on December 8, 1945. The United States was a neutral nation at the time, but the attack forced it to enter World War II.
Date: December 7, 1941
Location: Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, US
Participants: United States - Empire of Japan
