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At Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on a U.S. military base. On the night before the attack, the Japanese moved a fleet of 33 ships to within 200 miles (322 kilometers) of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, the location of Pearl Harbor. More than 300 planes took off from Japanese aircraft carriers, dropping the first bombs on Pearl Harbor minutes before eight o'clock in the morning on December 7. In the harbor were 8 American battleships and more than 90 naval vessels; 21 ships were destroyed or damaged, as were 300 planes. The battleship USS Arizona was the biggest loss, going down in less than nine minutes. The sinking of the Arizona.accounted for more than half the fatalities. By the end of the raid, more than 2,300 people had been killed and about the same number were wounded.

Pearl Harbor forever changed the United States and its role in the world. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) addressed the U.S. Congress (the law-making body of the government) the next day, he called December 7 "a date which will live in infamy." As a result of Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war against Japan, and on December 11 Germany and Italy, Japan's Axis allies, declared war on the United States. The Japanese bombing had brought America into World War II, a conflict from which it would emerge as the leader of the free world (a term used for countries with a democratic government).

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12y ago
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6y ago

Pearl Harbor Raid, 7 December 1941 -- The 7 December 1941 Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor was one of the great defining moments in history. A single carefully-planned and well-executed stroke removed the United States Navy's battleship force as a possible threat to the Japanese Empire's southward expansion. America, unprepared and now considerably weakened, was abruptly brought into the Second World War as a full combatant. Eighteen months earlier, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had transferred the United States Fleet to Pearl Harbor as a presumed deterrent to Japanese agression. The Japanese military, deeply engaged in the seemingly endless war it had started against China in mid-1937, badly needed oil and other raw materials. Commercial access to these was gradually curtailed as the conquests continued. In July 1941 the Western powers effectively halted trade with Japan. From then on, as the desperate Japanese schemed to seize the oil and mineral-rich East Indies and Southeast Asia, a Pacific war was virtually inevitable. By late November 1941, with peace negotiations clearly approaching an end, informed U.S. officials (and they were well-informed, they believed, through an ability to read Japan's diplomatic codes) fully expected a Japanese attack into the Indies, Malaya and probably the Philippines. Completely unanticipated was the prospect that Japan would attack east, as well. The U.S. Fleet's Pearl Harbor base was reachable by an aircraft carrier force, and the Japanese Navy secretly sent one across the Pacific with greater aerial striking power than had ever been seen on the World's oceans. Its planes hit just before 8AM on 7 December. Within a short time five of eight battleships at Pearl Harbor were sunk or sinking, with the rest damaged. Several other ships and most Hawaii-based combat planes were also knocked out and over 2400 Americans were dead. Soon after, Japanese planes eliminated much of the American air force in the Philippines, and a Japanese Army was ashore in Malaya. These great Japanese successes, achieved without prior diplomatic formalities, shocked and enraged the previously divided American people into a level of purposeful unity hardly seen before or since. For the next five months, until the Battle of the Coral Sea in early May, Japan's far-reaching offensives proceeded untroubled by fruitful opposition. American and Allied morale suffered accordingly. Under normal political circumstances, an accomodation might have been considered. However, the memory of the "sneak attack" on Pearl Harbor fueled a determination to fight on. Once the Battle of Midway in early June 1942 had eliminated much of Japan's striking power, that same memory stoked a relentless war to reverse her conquests and remove her, and her German and Italian allies, as future threats to World peace. December 7, 1941 Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. December 8, 1941 FDR goes to Congress and asks for war.
A surprise attack happened at Pearl Harbor. The attack was by the Japanese Navy, they attacked the United States bases that were in Pearl Harbor.
Japan surprise attacked Pearl Harbor, killing over 3000 people.

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13y ago

Prior to Pearl Harbr then President Roosvelt had been advised by various intelligence sources that the Japanes fleet was heading, and intended to attack the Hawaian Islans. The intelligence data was availble three mothns prior to the attack on Pearl, and was continually updated. Roosevelt ordered the data to be supressed, and not to advise the west coast, or Hawian Island commands. The attack took place on the early morning of December 7th, 1941, right on the schedule predicted by intelligence. * And Elvis is living in Wisconsin

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12y ago

One December 7th 1941 Japanese aircraft launched a surprise attack on pearl harbor sinking all seven battle ships on battle ship row, destroying most of the other vessels and killing over 2,000 American sailors. in two waves the practically wiped out our pacific fleet. However they made some mistakes. 1. Instead of causing us to wet our pants and surrender like they thought we would they ticked us off and we kicked there @$$es back to the homeland. . They failed to harm any of the aircraft carriers which were at sea at the time. I suggest you A Google pearl harbor B get some history books about it C watch some documenterys on it and or D email me at jeremy@davis6.com for more info.

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11y ago

Basicly, the japenese decided their lil island wasn't enough so they flew into PH like pew pew pew and tried to make the USA a lil bit smaller!

Hope I helped! :DDD

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Q: What happened during the Pearl Harbor battle?
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