A day we will never forget..
The morning on December 7th, 1941, Japan placed their attack on the U.S.'s biggest Naval fleet at the time in Pearl Harbor. The United States lost 1998 navy personnel, 109 Marines, 233 army personnel and 48 civilians that were killed in that bombing which resulted in 2,402 soldiers that got killed and 1,282 military personnel and civilians wounded. Serious damage was made also on the battleships and other military equipment with 5 battleships, 3 destroyers, 3 cruisers and 188 planes destroyed.
The reason behind Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor being, the only way to defeat the United States was to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor with a strong blow. They believed that American would tip the scales against Japan in the war, and felt that its military success was dependent on destroying the U.S. Pacific Fleet early in the war. While the United States was recovering from such an attack, the Japanese felt they would be able to pursue its military campaign throughout Asia and the Pacific, without being bothered by the U.S.. Roosevelt kept quiet in order to use the attack as a way to go and fight in World War II. While the Japanese achieved a temporary victory against the United States, the attack set in motion the chain of events that would ultimately lead to the defeat of Japan and the Axis nations in 1945. |