December 7, 1941

Around seven in the morning on the seventh of December, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States, directed upon Pearl Harbor.  Pearl Harbor is a naval base- at that time it was holding a large amount of the US Pacific Fleet, which was reassigned to Hawaii just a year prior.

The attack upon Pearl Harbor was unexpected.  Although the US had learned of a potential Japanese attack, it was not predicted to be directed toward Hawaii, rather at certain European colonies or perhaps Panama.  However, the morning of, aircraft was detected on radar incoming from the west.  The aircraft was assumed to be back-up US fighters and dismissed.  By the time the strike had concluded, over 2.400 Americans were pronounced dead and 20 Navy vessels and 300 planes were either damaged or obliterated.

The mastermind behind the strike, Admiral Yamamoto, formulated the idea knowing a head to head war with America would lead to the demise of Japan.  Japan wanted America's industry because of their lack of resources.  Yamamoto saw the crippling of the US Pacific Fleet as a key in order to gain traction against the US, potentially forcing them into peace terms.  However, quite the opposite occurred- America was out for revenge, refusing to consider peace terms.

Although the Japanese gained numerous victories against the US Pacific Fleet for the following six months, the tides were soon to shift.  By the summer of 1942, the US successfully defended against the Japanese in the Battle of Midway, marking a turning point in the war against Japan.