Pearl Harbor located on an inlet of the island of Hawaii. This is located 10 km (6 mi) west of Honolulu, and is one of the famous naval bases of the .
The United States government first started using the inlet in 1887 and
then was given the right to maintain and repair a coaling station for ships.
The harbor was surveyed but improvements were not made until after the
United States obtained the Hawaiian Islands in 1898. In the year of 1911,
the work of extracting a wide channel from the sea, across the sandbar
and the coral reef at the mouth of the harbor was completed.
In the morning of December 7 1941, the United States of America was
suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of
Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation and was still in
conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the
maintenance of peace in the Pacific. One hour after Japanese air
squadrons had begun bombing in Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the
United States and his colleague delivered to the Secretary of State a
formal reply to a recent American message.
While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing
diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed
attack. Japanese submarines and carrier-based planes attacked the U.
S.
Pacific fleet. Military airfields near Pearl Harbor also attacked by the
Japanese planes. Eight American battleships and 13 naval vessels were
sunk or badly damaged.
Almost 200 American aircraft carriers were
destroyed, and approximately 3, 000 naval and military personnel killed or
wounded. The attack marked the entrance of Japan on the side of Germany
and Italy into World War II and the entrance of the United States on the
Allied side.
After the attack, the U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt determined an
assignment of inquiry to determine whether disregard had contributed to
the success of the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor.
The commission’s report
found the naval and army commanders of the Hawaiian area, Husband E.
Kimmel and Major General Walter C. Short, guilty of “failure of duty” and
“errors of judgment.” The two men were afterward retired. Other later
inquiries, differed in their conclusions. The Congress of the United States,
in an effort to dispose of the conflict, decided on a full, public
investigation.
On February 1 st, 1941, Admiral James O. Richardson was officially
replaced by Admiral Husband E. Kimmel. Richardson was supposedly
removed because he strongly voiced his disagreement with the U.
S. Pacific
Fleet spending any more time in Pearl Harbor then they already had.
Kimmel shared that view, and also wanted to keep his office, so he simply
kept his opinion to himself. The fleet”s main objective while staying in
their new location, was to distract the Japan from South Asia by, capturing
the Caroline and Marshall Islands, disturbing Japanese trade routes and
defending Guam and Hawaii as well as the United States.
Admiral Iso roku
Yamado, commander-in-chief of Japan”s Combined Fleet devised a plan
that would protect the Japanese mainland from European invasion as well
as launch offensive maneuvers. He decided to attack Pearl Harbor and
Allied forces in Southeast Asia simultaneously, in an effort to demoralize
American forces. Yamado felt this was the closet way to get a peace
settlement.
The attack was carefully planned out and guidelines were established,
surprise was crucial, aircraft carriers were the primary targets to avoid
opposition, all types of bombing were to be used, it would be necessary to
refuel at sea and a daylight attack would be most affective. There was
much opposition from Japanese Naval General Staff yet the attack went on
as planned.
The political congressional committee opened its investigation in November 1945.
Testimony from many people reviewed all known information about the attack on Pearl Harbor. The committee reported its
findings in July 1946. It placed the primary blame on General Short and
Admiral Kimmel, who were declared guilty only of errors of judgment, and
not of failure of duty. The committee recommended the join of the U. S.
armed forces, which occurred the following year.
The USS Arizona National
Memorial site stands above the remains of the battleship in Pearl Harbor,
honoring the Americans who died in the attack.