Actual+History

Good decision! Pearl Harbor was bombed! Read below to find out what actually happened on December 7, 1941! ** Why Pearl Harbor? ** After long debates, the decision was made. The Japanese decided to attack Pearl Harbor over San Diego for many reasons. These reasons b eing that Pearl Harbor was the home of the PACIFIC FLEET. This made the journey much shorter for Japan. Other reasons include that a surprise attack would be more successful with Pearl Harbor being far away from the main land. For example, if the Japanese final decision was to bomb San Diego, the closer they would be towards the main land making Japanese aircraft more detectable, making them turn back. Also, in June 1941, the U.S, Britain, and the Netherlands put Japanese assets to a halt. This stopped Japan from purchasing oil and in time would cause their army to brake and “make [their] navy and air forces completely useless” (Pearl 1). This angered Japanese leaders.

**What actually happened? ** In actual history, the Japanese decided to invade Pearl Harbor. The date was December 7, 1941. It was a Sunday sunny morning on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The surprise attack was split up into two waves, the first wave at 7:40 A.M. The second attack flew over the water around the island to make an approach from the south. At 7:55 A.M, the first bombs were dropped. Other targets were things like warehouses, docks, airfields, and air crafts. Within two hours of the attack, the Japanese had sunk and severely damaged 18 ships, 170 air crafts along with 3,700 casualties . “At least 1,177 lives were [taken] when the Battleship U.S.S Arizona exploded and subsequently sank” (Pearl 1). The attack was brutal.

**Prevention**  U.S. officials found many hints that claimed Japan would attack. The United States disabled Japan’s diplomatic code and found out there was a force coming. President Roosevelt even had sent a warning to the U.S Fleet, but it came in after the attack. Warning radars detected Japanese planes before the attack, but they assumed the planes were a flight of “American B-17s due in from the West Coast” (Pearl 1). If the United States had taken these alerts seriously, the outcome of the surprise attack would have came out differently.

**Significance of Decision ** After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan, making them enter in World War II. As __the United States entered into World War II__, Germany had also declared war on the United States because they were allies with Japan. This made the United States f__ight wars across seas in Europe__. As the War  continued on, many American lives were lost but more battles were won in favor of the ALLIED POWERS. Eventually the Unites States pulled through and Japan and Germany surrendered. It is significance the Japan bombed Pearl Harbor because it caused Americans to get involved and stand up for their country. Due to this nationalism, __Americans got what they wanted__. World Power. .