How the attack on Pearl Harbor turned the tide of WWII 80 years ago

On December 7, 1941, the surprise attack by Japanese aircraft against Pearl Harbor precipitated the entry of the United States into the Second World War, marking a decisive turn in a conflict that turned planetary.

Japanese expansionism

Beginning in the late 19th century, Japanese expansionism accelerated in 1931 with the invasion of Manchuria and large Chinese territories. In 1940, the Japanese Empire joined the Axis forces. He continued his policy of conquest and invaded French Indochina, in search of energy resources and raw materials.

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To try to stop its expansion, the United States imposed economic sanctions on Japan in the summer of 1941. In the face of a largely isolationist internal American opinion, Washington is reluctant to enter the war, both on the European front and in the Pacific. The attack on Pearl Harbor is going to change the dynamics.

The “day of infamy”

Prepared in the strictest secrecy, the Pearl Harbor attack is launched from six Japanese aircraft carriers with their 400 aircraft positioned 350 kilometers from the target.

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Its objective is to annihilate the North American fleet, whose main base in the Pacific is Pearl Harbor, to later conquer Southeast Asia.

In the early morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japanese planes are heading towards the small island of Oachu, in the Hawaiian archipelago.

A first squadron, appearing in the sky at 0755, followed by a second half hour later, kills 2,403 Americans and wounds another 1,000. In total 21 warships – including eight battleships – are sunk or damaged, in addition to 328 combat aircraft. The Japanese lose 64 men, 29 planes and 5 pocket submarines.

The Japanese offensive does not stop there. In less than 24 hours, the Japanese empire attacks the United States in the Philippines and Great Britain in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

The US entry into the conflict

For the first time since 1812, the United States is attacked on its territory. President Roosevelt speaks of “a day of infamy.”

The day after the attack, the US Congress officially declared war on Japan, followed by Great Britain. Three days later, Germany in turn declared war on the United States.

In late December, Churchill and Roosevelt decide to join forces against Nazi Germany under a single command.

America turns to a war economy. It rebuilds its fleet and mass-produced airplanes, guns and means of transport. All men between the ages of 20 and 40 are mobilized.

The war of the Pacific

In the six days following Pearl Harbor, Japan continues its expansion: Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Burma fall into its hands, one after another.

Beginning in June 1942, the United States halted the Japanese advance at Midway and then Guadalcanal, and began the reconquest of the Pacific islands, one by one. In late 1944, the Americans launched massive air strikes against Japan. One month after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945), Japan capitulates.

Parallel to the Pacific front, the United States lands en masse in Africa, Sicily and southern Italy and France. The Hitler Reich capitulated on May 7, 1945.

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