On this day, December the 7th, in the year of 1941, the Japanese Empire delivered a surprise attack against Pearl Harbor, an American Naval Base in Hawaii, killing thousands of military personnel.

As Japan extended its reach in the Asian Pacific, it drew the attention of America who had territory in the area. If Japan wanted to continue to expand, they would have to get American land, but doing this would invoke an American response. 

To prevent this, Japan’s plan was to do a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor to cripple America’s Pacific fleet, preventing a response, leading America to pursue a peace treaty. This did not happen.

During the attack, multiple naval ships were either destroyed or severely damaged. Thankfully for the Americans, some of their ships were out of the base, saving the fleet from complete annihilation. In total, 2,403 Americans were killed during the attacks.

The attack had the opposite effect of its intended purpose, rather than demoralizing America, it gave them a railing cry and a reason to wage war against Japan, and therefore the rest of the Axis Powers (Germany and Italy) (History).

The war with Japan would end with America dropping atomic bombs on two Japenese cities to avoid a full scale Allied invasion of the main Japenese islands (National WWII Museum) (National WWII Museum).

To read more daily facts and tidbits, see the Barron Perspectives “On this Day Archives” webpage.