Both I think backfired somewhat because they caused America to come together and fight the enemy. On a calm Sunday morning on December 7, 1941, the Japanese shocked the world by bombing the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The bombing happened because the U.S. Pacific Fleet based in Pearl Harbor could foil their plans to attack the American mainland. As insurance, the Japanese navy undertook an operation to cripple the Pacific Fleet by a surprise air attack. It succeeded.
This was the day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. They did this without warning and without a formal declaration of war. As a result of this attack, more than 2000 Americans were killed, along with over a thousand being wounded. The attack was meant to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Japanese were planning in Southeast Asia. This led to the U.S. to abandon their support for non-interventionism, declaring war on Japan and entering World War II.
Leading up to Pearl Harbor, the U.S., along with Britain, East Indies and the Netherlands, formed an oil and steel agreement against Japan that did not allow these materials to be traded with them, this embargo later caused major panic in Japan due to the restricted resources. The attack on Pearl Harbour occurred on the island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. It was here that the seven naval ships (of eight) were heavily damaged by the torpedoes and bombs dropped from the Japanese’s aeronautic surprise attack. The attack on Pearl Harbour was a major tactical victory by the Japanese, however as a result of the attack, the United States declared war on the Empire of Japan, resulting in the declaration of war from Germany and Italy; opposing the United States. This tactical feat included multiple significant leaders; Chuichi Nagumo and Isoroku Yamamoto were the Commanders/Leaders of the attack.
Three days later, another atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. It is estimated that between 150,000 and 250,000 people were killed as a result of the bombings. However, once the Japanese government witnessed the destructive power of the bombs, they had no choice but to surrender. Had the bombs not been used, the war would have gone on for much longer.
I disagree that the Japanese in WW2 were defeated more because of their weakness rather than the strength of the Allied forces. The Japanese weaknesses included their incapability in managing the empire they took on. The strengths of the allied powers included their intelligent military strategies, an example was the "Island Hopping Strategy of Attack" used by America. Also, the dropping of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had an impact on Japan which caused them to surrender. The term "defeated more" refers to the factor which had the greatest impact on Japan, causing them to be drove to a state of devastation and have no other way than surrender unconditionally.
The historians who support Truman, sometimes called the traditionalists, agree that Japan had been defeated but argue that Japan was not ready to surrender and was, in fact, preparing for one last great battle that would have cost millions of lives. Popular opinion tends to side with the revisionists, but I will argue that Truman made the right decision, not only for the United States but also for Japan; in fact, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved Japan. Revisionists argue that the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima after Japan’s armed forces and over sixty of its major cities had been already been destroyed. Moreover, historians such as Howard Zinn argue that Truman knew that the Japanese were trying to surrender but that he ignored them because he wanted to use the Bomb (23). Gar Alperovitz, another revisionist, says that Truman’s main purpose in dropping the bombs was to demonstrate its power in order to intimidate the Russians (127).
It is important to United States History as it marks the first time war had been brought to the country’s shores. It ended the belief that the United States was untouchable because of its distance from other worldly powers and it propelled the country into the spotlight as a world power to be reckoned with. In the early morning hours of December 7th 1941 an intelligence report was obtained by United States government officials indicating that an attack on a United States port by the Japanese was imminent. But the information was not passed on to officials at Pearl Harbor until after the attack was already in progress. The attack came in two waves, the first of which consisted of 183 planes and the second of which consisted of 167 additional planes.
Global Essay The main focus of the United States when it dropped the atomic bombs on Japan was to force Japans unconditional surrender in order to save American lives. Many documents in government history support that this was the main focus. In 1947 Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson had in his memoirs that he believed that the Japanese would fight to the death and very end. This meant putting more American lives at risk in the war. Although the U.S. would’ve defeated Japan in the war eventually, the bombs made it so that they would surrender quicker so lives would be saved.
The americans that weren't in the attack, they lost their loved ones. Many innocent americans died because of this bombing. the bombing of pearl harbor would change how the american citizens and government viewed war and
The Destruction of Pearl Harbor There has never been an event that has shaped the American spirit like the 1941 aerial attack made by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese gave a horrific blow to the American Pacific fleet and the Honolulu community by killing more than 1,500 civilians and soldiers. This historic event gave forth a new perspective and idea on preserving the safety of the American nation. In a time of devastating warfare, the pride of American society was to be put to the ultimate test. [Kluckholn] When the United States set a trade embargo in place with Japan five months prior, it infuriated the oil-deprived empire to set in action the assault on Pearl Harbor.