Pearl Harbor: A Day That Lives in Infamy
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy bombed the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor. The surprise attack shocked the nation and brought it into a world war. To this day, it remains seared in America’s historical memory. Renowned historian Victor Davis Hanson explains why.
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Script:
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy bombed the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor. It was one of the most successful—and failed—surprise attacks in military history.
The attack shocked America and the world.
President Franklin Roosevelt described it as “a date which will live in infamy.”
An armada of six-fleet carriers, equipped with some 350 combat aircraft, crossed 4,000 miles of rough winter seas to reach its destination.
Neither American radar operators on the island nor intelligence officers who had broken many of the Japanese naval codes had an inkling of the approach.
Flying out of the bright early morning sun, two waves of bombers sank four battleships of the US 7th fleet, damaged four others, and killed over 2,300 American sailors and soldiers. The Japanese suffered minimal losses of just 29 aircraft.
The attack was brilliant.
But it did not achieve its goal—for two reasons:
One:
By a twist of fate, the three American aircraft carriers based at Pearl—the ships the Japanese most wanted to destroy—Enterprise, Lexington, and Saratoga—were all out to sea on the 7th—and safe.
Two:
The Japanese didn’t finish the job.
To put the base out of commission required not two, but three attack waves. This final wave would have destroyed a full six months’ worth of stored naval and aviation fuel, dockyards, and maintenance shops, and truly set the Americans reeling.
Yet, at the last moment, Admiral Chūichi Nagumo concluded that the risks were too great—his planes and ships too vulnerable to a counterattack. He made his way back to Japan, leaving the Americans bloodied, but not fatally so.
Why did the Japanese attack at all? What did they hope to accomplish?
The answer is that Japan intended to dominate and control all of Asia: its people and resources. To do that, it believed it had to neutralize America.
From the hindsight of history, this appears suicidal. But at the time, it almost made sense.
To begin with, in 1941 the United States was, militarily speaking, in a sorry state. The ships in its Pacific fleet were few and many were outdated. The Japanese fleet, in contrast, was newer, bigger, and stronger.
Second, America had no appetite for overseas conflict.
Like the rest of the world, the Japanese had watched most of Europe fall to the Nazis while America did little to stop it. If the US wasn’t going to fight in Europe where it had many alliances, why would it fight in Asia where it had few? How much more so if Japan were to destroy most of its Pacific fleet! Surely, the Japanese reasoned, America would sue for peace.
Other current events also went into their thinking.
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, it assumed—again, quite reasonably—that Hitler’s forces in Russia would quickly capture Moscow and take the Soviets out of the war. This would remove any threat the Russians might pose to Japan’s conquest of Manchuria and China.
A new fascist world order appeared to be on the horizon. Germany would rule Europe; Japan, Asia.
But just as Hitler underestimated Soviet strengths and overestimated his own, the Japanese underestimated American strengths and overestimated their own.
Instead of cowing America, the Pearl Harbor attack enraged it. The nation woke up with a fearsome start.
Within six months General Jimmy Doolittle led a surprise bombing raid on Tokyo, an astounding feat no one at the time, including the Japanese, considered possible. American carriers simply did not have enough runway to launch a long-range bomber. But somehow Doolittle managed it. The raid did little actual damage, but it boosted American morale and sent a stern message to Japan: America would not be intimidated.
For the complete script as well as FACTS & SOURCES, visit https://www.prageru.com/video/pearl-harbor-a-day-that-lives-in-infamy
source
One thing that helped American preparedness for WWII was the work of Georgia Congressman Carl Vinson. He pushed through spending bills that created the Two-Ocean Navy. He was called "The Father of the Two-Ocean Navy." He recognized the importance of the aircraft carrier. The nuclear aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is named after him. The Two-Ocean Navy Act was enacted on July 19, 1940. Thanks to Carl Vinson the USA had a head start in ship building before the attack on Pearl Harbor. One of Vinson's sayings was: "The most expensive thing in the world is a cheap Army and Navy." You can see a short video about him on "The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered." It is titled "Carl Vinson and the Two-Ocean Navy." :
*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpqtsvHMk_E
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There is also a Wikipedia article about him:
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Vinson
Despite the incompetence of Roosevelt, not because of his leadership. FDR's programs didn't pull the US out of the Depression, it was WWII that did that. "The New Deal" prolonged the depression.
Pearl harbor was a inside job
Victor Davis Hanson is one of my biggest heroes. Articulate, reasoned, and a remarkable role model. My wife and I celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary next March and we will include a visit to the USS Arizona Memorial in our plans.
To be precise, President Franklin Roosevelt called the unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor a “DATE which will live in infamy,” – not DAY. I think that makes it profoundly more accurate in the necessity for remembrance of the attack.
VDH plus Prager U, could there be a greater combination?
Tojo acted in legitimate self-defense in stopping the Pearl Harbor armed forces from bombing Japan when he used a preemptive strike. This has even been publicly admitted by General Douglas MacArthur. The Japanese didn't want to fight at all. Not even Tojo himself. They were forced to fight for self-defense. Then it later became a rallying cry to liberate Asia from Western colonial rule.
Japan didn't want to fight, but they were not willing to accept American terms of imperialistic domination either. The US demanded Japan surrender on its terms, not Japanese terms. The Japanese were forced to fight. The only reason Japan was willing to fight was self-defense and to wage war was to liberate Asia from Western colonial rule.
It was indeed a Day of Infamy when Roosevelt attacked Pearl Harbor and blamed the Japanese so he could start a war to boost the US economy out of the depression.
Japan Liberated Asia from Western Colonial Rule.
4 Japanese Slogans(WW II)
1.-Defend Japan(Self-defense)
2.-Preserve Japan(Self-preservation)
3.-Liberate Asia(from Western colonial rule)
4.-Expel The Foreigner(The West)(from Asia)
Imagine not liking Japanese, Korean, or Chinese culture/history. I personally never liked the West and I wish I lived in Japan.
NANKING NOT TRUE.
DEATH MARCH? WHAT’S THAT?
JAPAN FREED ASIA.
WE REMEMBER FACTS.
NUKES = WAR CRIME
APOLOGIES NOT NEEDED.
“Japan was provoked into a war of self-defense.”(Douglas MacArthur)
“Japan in initiating hostilities was exercising its right of self-defense.”(Douglas MacArthur)
“A legitimate act of self-defense on Japan’s part.”(Douglas MacArthur)
MacArthur always respected Japan and defended the need for Japan for starting WW2 as a defensive war. In a book he wrote later, Douglas MacArthur confessed “the army of Japan was deployed for defense, self-defense, or exercising its legitimate right of self-defense.
The JB-355/JB 355 Plan. Roosevelt ordered the Flying Tigers in Pearl Harbor to attack Japan first on December 6 or 7, 1941. So in order to prevent Japan from being attacked, Japan used a preemptive strike on the military at Pearl Harbor to stop the Americans from attacking Japan. Therefore, Japan was exercising its legitimate right of self-defense. That is the real reason for the Pearl Harbor attack.
Japan Liberated Asia. Roosevelt ordered the Flying Tigers in Pearl Harbor to attack Japan first on December 6 or 7, 1941. So in order to prevent Japan from being attacked, Japan used a preemptive strike on the military at Pearl Harbor to stop the Americans from attacking Japan. Therefore, Japan was exercising its legitimate right of self-defense. That is the real reason for the Pearl Harbor attack.
The US radar signal picked up the Japanese planes coming to Pearl Harbor? Check here his and the entire WW2 story : https://youtu.be/toJQIuPRJrU
Watch a video titled "Did President Roosevelt Know About Pearl Harbor?"
Yes, but the question remains: Is the US able to fight off the Democrats today? I think so on able… when it comes to willing, we will see.
DVH fabulous!!
This man, looks like, sounds like and just might be lying. So, let's ask the other guys what their opinion might be.
Everything is clear in retrospect, but considering how wasteful and suicidal the japanese were in later engagements, it was mind bogglingly out of character for Nagumo to be conservative at Pearl Harbor.
They shouldve bombed it over and over again, 3, 4, 5 times, whatever it took, regardless of losses. And they shouldve land as many troops there as they could. They were still going to lose the war, but it wouldve made more logical sense given what was to follow.
He thought he was preserving their power for the future good of his military, but in fact he could not win, and he saved japan nothing, because they were already doomed to lose everything.
Mathew 13:12: 'Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.' And so it was for the 3 fascist regimes of WW2.
God bless those men
Moral might?? fm.a prez who caused the depression via the
CFR..then manage to extend it for some 11 yrs…no no this socialist prez .didn't give America a " new deal " what we got was a raw deal..that led America down the socialist path we find ourselves on 2day..
Brilliant!
God bless america
USA should treat 11 Sep 2011 like Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, many politicians and indoviduals fail to correctly name the enemy.
Word.
To be fair, I feel this could cut both ways: ie why do we need a huge-ass military when we can prepare for war on the fly so easily?
Why do Americans keep calling it a "surprise attack"? It wasn't surprising given that USA's allies were at war with Japan and there were many who predicted it would happen. The only thing that was surprising was how dreadfully unprepared the US military was. I don't think the Japanese thought the attack would be a devastating as it was.
Sorry you are giving the govt line. We knew the attack was coming. The carriers where out of port on perpuse. The attack was let to happen so America would go to war.
I knew several men who were in the Navy at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked. They all survived the war and came home.
Our enemies have also learned from our response during WWII. They know they need to cripple our manufacturing base, by off-shoring our manufacturing, we will be unable to quickly respond. Also deflecting our military from fighting a war to fighting social ills. Lastly, by creating fear and panic in the general population, they can easily cow the people of the US. They will test the US by making aggressive moves in their region. They will be able to gauge how the US would react if it was directly attacked. A weak response would mean a direct attack would be successful.
aw man, this makes me feel so patriotic and proud of america!
lets go brandon!
VDH is a national treasure.
They were reported on radar, but the officer in charge, when called thought it was a flight of bombers coming in from the mainland.
Classic patiort intelligent man never try 2 miss a message from this fellow
2:55
It's crazy to see how far Hawaii is from the rest of the country. It's amazing we sailed all that way to control a tiny island at once point.
Could a mini submarine also have participated in the attack. The famous photo taken by a Japanese pilot show two torp wakes originating from the same point and splashes that could be propellor wash as the concussion of a hit pushed the sub too close to the surface.
Just a note, has the Japanese gone for the 3rd wave, it would have failed. They caught us sleeping at 7am. By the time that raid would have happened we were wide awake.
Doolittle on his raid: "What we do will be but a pin prick. But it will be right through their heart."
A "Date" that lives in infamy, not a "Day" that lives in infamy.
nimitz covered this in a tour with press guys of the pearl clean up in progress,'the japanese made 3 mistakes,, most navy personnel were on leave with family,away from barracks on that sunday morning or in church,,,,the fighter bombers missed our stores of oil and other fuels,which would have set us back for months were they destroyed,,,,,,our carriers were not present
When my family lived in Hawaii my father went to a pearl harbor memorial and he told me about the hallway to the bathroom being full with pictures of the attack. He made a joke about old grandpas getting flashbacks when they just wanted to go to the bathroom.
doesn't mention that they HAD to do it, as American diplomacy had cut off 97% of Japan's oil. What would we do if a foreign power cut off 97% of our oil during the middle of a huge war?