Date 19 February 1942 Location Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia Belligerents Australia United States Empire of Japan Commanders and leaders David V. J. Blake Chuichi Nagumo Strength 30 aircraft 45 ships 242 aircraft Casualties and losses 250–320 killed 300–400 wounded 23 aircraft destroyed 10 ships sunk 25 ships damaged 7 aircraft destroyed[1] [show] v t e Axis naval attacks against Australia [show] v t e Pacific War The bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942 was both the first and the largest single attack mounted by a foreign power against Australia. On this day, 242 Japanese aircraft attacked ships in Darwin's harbour and the town's two airfields in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to contest the invasions of Timor and Java. The town was only lightly defended, and the Japanese inflicted heavy losses upon the Allied forces at little cost to themselves. The urban areas of Darwin also suffered some damage from the raids, and there were a number of civilian casualties. This event is, on occasion, referred to as the "Pearl Harbor of Australia".
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii on December 7, 1941 “a date which will live in infamy”. From 8am Pearl Harbour was bombed, although the event lasted just 2 hours, the loss of life and naval vessels was devastating for the Americans. The attack occurred within the time frame of World War Two, and is considered a prominent historical event as it drove the United States, “the world’s most powerful economy” into the war which thereafter had considerable impacts. The causes of the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbour include; Japanese imperialistic tendencies and ambitions, the tripartite axis agreement which encouraged Japan into aggression and the war. Other causes of the bombing of Pearl Harbour consist of the harsh impact the Great Depression (1929-1939) and the freezing of assets and exports from USA on Japan.
Japanese forces then decided to invade Port Moresby in New Guinea. Many lives were lost, The U.S losses one carrier destroyed, one damaged, one oiler and one destroyer sunk, 66 aircraft lost and 543 men were killed or wounded. The Japanese lost, one small carrier destroyed, one carrier severely damaged, one destroyer and three small naval ships sunk, 77 carrier aircraft lost and 1074 men killed or wounded. Not long after that, just 5 months before the battle of Midway there was the battle at Pearl harbour, one month after the battle of the Coral Sea. As a result, Japan’s plan to attack Midway was brought into the picture, so that they could get a upper hand and demolish the U.S.
After London, Hull was the most severely damaged British city. The city was a target for the Luftwaffe because of the importance of its shipping port and as an industrial centre. It also received bombardment meant for the more inland cities or from retreating German aircraft dumping bombs before reaching the open sea. Over 1,200 were killed and 3,000 injured during the raids on Hull.
The Americans had estimated that there were about 65,000 Japanese troops on the island; the Americans plan was to destroy what was left of the Japanese merchant fleet and use airstrips in the region to launch bombing raids on Japan’s industrial heartland. Being named the bloodiest battle in the Pacific War meant more than just a few casualties. The invasion began on April 1, when 60,000 American troops landed on the front lines. The battle proceeded in four phases: First, the advance of the eastern coast; Second, the clearing of the northern part of the island; Third, the occupation of the outlying islands and Fourth, the main battle which started on April 6, and did not end until June 21. The final phase was extremely difficult because the Japanese were well entrenched and the naval
Ishiro Honda’s Message to the World The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki obviously had an overwhelming effect on the people of Japan. Not only did the bombs cause extreme physical damage on both the cities and their civilians, but it also had psychological effects on the survivors. In the years after the war, an arms race developed between the United States and Soviet Union, leading to the testing of each respective countries hydrogen bombs (Noriega 65). In early 1954 an event famously known as “The Second Atomic Bombing of Mankind” occurred (Roberto). This event was a result of a Japanese fishing ship sailing into the range of an American hydrogen bombing test site (Roberto).
When I hear the word war, the things that first come out in my mind were destructions, deaths, famine, guns and terrors. If we are going to look back in our history, a lot of wars had happened. One of those was “the bombing of Pearl Harbor drew ire of the people of the United States. The bombing was regarded as treacherous, and it was just a matter of time that the Americans would declare war against Japan.” (Muhi and Maguigad 169) The US – Japan war was one of the most known destructive wars. It greatly affects the life of the Japanese and the other nationalist because the missile that was launched emits radiation which affects lots of people.
The Bombing of Dresden took place between 13 February and 14 February 1945 by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Air Force. Only twelve weeks after the bombing Nazi Germany, surrendered. This bombing of Dresden was one of the most brutal and most controversial bombings in World War II, because Dresden was a very charming cultural place of little or no military importance and the city was also known as the "Florence on the Elbe“. Recent research suggests that 35,000 were killed but some German sources have said that it was over 100,000 people who died in the heavy bombing. The bombing was tactically necessary from the Allied point of view.
On August 6, 1945, American plane dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion utterly destroyed more than half of the city. About 90,000 people were killed immediately; another 40,000 were injured, many of whom died in an agony from radiation sickness. Three days later, the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and killed 37,000 people and injured another 43,000. Together, the two bombs eventually killed an estimated 200,000 Japanese civilians.
The attack was labeled "the most lethal terrorism in human experience." Also, 9-11 was by far the worst terrorist attack on American siol. This attack took a lot of planning, many say it was "strategically planned" meaning they had everything very organized & in order. Not only was it very well planned, also the terrorists had arranged for the planes to crash into specific locations such as: the Twin Towers, the White House, & the Pentagon building in D.C. Approximately 3,000 lives were sadly lost during this horrible attack.