1941 The unfortunate events at Pearl Harbour
By late 1941, Japan had decided that war against the Western powers was the only way to secure the vital raw materials it would need to expand its empire, or what it called “The Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”. Its politicians had considered the “Strike North” option which was to invade Siberia, but had decided on a “Strike South” plan that would gobble up southeast Asia and bring it into conflict with the British, Dutch, and Americans who held possessions in that area. Admiral Isoruko Yamamoto realized that for Japan to succeed it would need a year to consolidate its gains. “I shall run wild considerably for the first six months or a year, but I have utterly no confidence for the second and third years,” he observed. He reckoned that if the American naval base at Pearl Harbour were destroyed, it would give the Japanese those necessary twelve months; therefore he ordered an attack on Hawaii along with coordinated attacks on the Dutch East Indies, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
At 7:02 a.m., on December 7, American radar operators on Oahu spotted large groups of aircraft in flight toward the island from the north, but, with a squadron of B-17s expected from the United States at the time, they were told to sound no alarm. Thus, the Japanese air assault achieved complete surprise. At 7:55 a.m. On December 7 a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appeared out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. 360 Japanese warplanes descended on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbour while a fleet of midget submarines tried to penetrate the area.
At the cost of only 30 planes and 5 submarines, the Japanese destroyed most of the Pacific surface fleet. Five battleships, three destroyers, and seven other ships were sunk or severely damaged, and more than 200 aircraft were destroyed. A total of 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,200 were wounded. Fortunately, the three American aircraft carriers were at sea and missed being sunk; these ships would lead the fightback that began with the June 1942 Battle of Midway. Yamamoto was not given his twelve months and is reported to have said of the missed opportunity, “I fear all we have done today is to awaken a great, sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”