Japanese Imperial Expansion

There were numerous strategic and political reasons that lead to the bombing of Pearl Harbour on December 7th, 1941. However nationalism, militarism and imperialistic notions were key influential factors, which together contributed to the almost complete annihilation of the US Pacific fleet. Based on Japan’s nationalistic beliefs of superiority over Asian nations, the surprise attack attempted to fulfill a change in the balance of power within South East Asia and expose the vulnerability of the West.

On December 7th, 1941, Japanese fighter planes staged an attack on U.S naval and military forces based in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. In around just two hours, America suffered from approximately 3,435 casualties including 2,000 deaths. The shattering defeat cost the U.S, 8 battle ships and around 200 airplanes. The following day, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. This was approved, and more than two years into the conflict, America had eventually fully committed to the war.

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. It was indeed a great shock to the United States, many documents show that the bombing on Pearl Harbor was an attempt to stop the United States from entering into World War II. This attack was the turning in point World War II, and United States making the decision to help the Allies. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because of its narcissistic political mentality and angered by United States placing the embargo act on oil.

The 200 Japanese planes destroyed Darwin’s harbour, military and airfields within minutes. Heavy bombers attacked the harbour, while dive-bombers attacked the military and civil airfields. 80 torpedo bombers attacked the ships that lay silently in the harbour that morning, leaving two Australian troopships at the bottom of the ocean. The attack lasted a long and gruelling 40 minutes, however this wasn’t the end. An hour later a second wave of bombers attacked the RAAF base.

On December 7 1941, The Japanese attacked a naval base on Pearl Harbor. The destroyed about twenty naval ships and nearly 2,400 Americans died. (History.com staff, 2009). It was a Japanese Victory. This surprise attack led the United States to enter the war. (Historyonthenet staff 2000).Americans viewed Japanese as threats.

About 350 aircrafts came storming over Pearl Harbor dropping hundreds of bombs attempting to sink The United State’s ships. On December 7,1941 Japan made a surprise attack on the U.S. at Pearl Harbor. Nearly 2,400 people were killed during the bombing. The following day The United States declared war on Japan which brought them into World War 2. Japan attacked pearl harbor because they wanted to be imperialistic, they were upset about the embargo and laws placed on them, and Japan was concerned about the size of the United States Navy fleet.

Pearl Harbor is the name given to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by the Japanese against the Americans on December 7th, 1941. Although there was growing tension between the United States and Japan dew to sanctions and frozen assets put on Japan, the attack was still a surprise for the world. 2400 Americans were killed in the attack, along with many ships and nearly two-hundred airplanes.1 The attack united the American people and under Franklin Roosevelt 's leadership, America declared war on Japan, with a unanimous vote in the senate and 388 to 1 vote in the house, with the lone dissenter being an avid pacifist. Soon after, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States and the United States declared war on the Axis powers in turn. America had finally joined the Second World War. When Roosevelt gave his speech that war was being declared, most of the country was behind him. There were fears that

On December 7th, 1941 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was the target of an unannounced military attack by the Japanese Navy. This resulted in the United States entry into World War II. After almost 4 years of war, 400,000 US casualties, 6 months of air strikes on Japanese cities and an impending defeat of Japan, an ultimatum was delivered to Japan by the United States: surrender or be destroyed.

“December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan” (Roosevelt). Japan surprise attacked the Hawaiian naval base, Pearl Harbor, approximately at 7:55 am. The intent of the Japanese strike was to prevent the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with plans to seize overseas territories belonging to United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States.

Singapore was highly protected by both the British and the Australians forces and acted as a major base for these countries. To the British it was their biggest naval base in Asia and since Britain had the most powerful Navy in the war, Singapore was seen to be impenetrable. Over 130,000 British and Empire troops defended Singapore, and then later in 1941 Australia contributed by sending over 15,000 men. However the mistake that the British made was that they were prepared and almost certain that the Japanese would attack from the sea. But on February 8th 1942, the Japanese marched on through down Malaya and surprised Singapore at the north entry and then used precise air attacks to cause widespread panic and unnerve their enemy. Singapore was overtaken in 7 days and the British surrendered on 15th February 2014. Out of the 145 000 combined soldiers in Singapore, most of them would spend the rest of the war in prison camps like Changi Prison while thousands of them were killed.

Japan’s emperor had his mind set on expanding his country through the South Pacific. He was halted and stopped by America’s vast amount of ships, which blocked their progress and way. By this, mayhem started. On December 7, 1941, the first aerial attack on America occurred. Japan flew across the Pacific Ocean, over Pearl Harbor, in the early morning. Bombs began to fall from the sky and started to cause havoc of the Americans located there. The battle lasted several hours, and many citizens died. Around two-thousand and four hundred people were killed, leaving another thousand wounded. Along with the deaths, about seventeen ships and 5 battleships were destroyed. Following the surprise attack from the Japanese, President Roosevelt called for a state of emergency. The next day, December 8, 1941, America declared war on Japan. America was seeking for a way of revenge on Japan. Before the

Japan's Attack on Pearl Harbour In December 1941, Pearl Harbour was attacked by the Japanese. It was the consequence of a series of events which brought tension between Japan and America to boiling point. Japan was a country growing in power and stature and America soon came to realise that this growth could prove a threat to them. America aimed to stop Japan's growth in its tracks as they realised that if the situation was left to evolve much longer then the situation may be out of their control.

On December 7th, 1941, Japan bombed the United States Army, Air Force, and Naval Bases, in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor. The next day on December 8th, 1941, the U.S. entered World War II declaring war on Japan as they provoked us to do so with their sneaky aerial attack. Behind the scenes of the extensive fighting, American

Shortly before 8am on Sunday 7 December 1941 , the first of two waves of Japanese aircraft launched a devastating attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet, moored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The raid, which came with no warning and no declaration of war, destroyed four battleships, leaving an additional 4 damaged in merely two hours. The attack destroyed 188 US aircraft, killed more than 2,400 Americans, and injured another 1,200 . Although remembered as “the day that will live in infamy”, the exact reason behind the attack on Pearl Harbor still remains unknown. Some believe that the Japanese were galvanized by Germany to attack the United States because of the assumption that the United States would be unable to concentrate all of its resources toward the fight with Japan. Germany desired assistance in the fight during World War II and, because of that, nearly guaranteed the United States’ defeat if Japan attacked. On the other side, it is believed that the Japanese prompted the Pacific war with the attack on Pearl Harbor in order to eliminate their primary competitor for resources in the Pacific and fulfill its destiny of creating a “greater East Asian co-prosperity sphere” .

The events of World War Two such as the failed Malaya campaign, the fall of Singapore, the bombing of Pearl Harbour and the stretched resources of Britain, led to Australia developing a more independent foreign policy however, independent of Britain. The changing of alliance between Britain, Australia and the United States of America has led to a substantial impact on shaping Australian society and where Australia are today. The fall of Singapore and the Malaya campaign brought the war extremely close to Australia even reaching Australian soil for the first time and generated new opinions and perspectives on the war for all Australians. Furthermore, with its greatest military defeat of all time, Britain had to recover and Australia had to