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The attack of the Naval Base at Pearl Harbor was one of the best military surprises in the
history of war.
Under Admiral Yamomato, the Japanese Navy delivered a stunning blow to the United
States. The brilliant, two
wave attack, utterly surprised the Americans. Over 2,000 American sailors were killed in
this onslaught, as well as
109 marines, and 218 soldiers 1. By looking at what Japan did preceding the attack one
can see how the American
troops should have been better prepared for such an attack.
The Japanese started their military increase in 1937, when Emperor Hirohito
reigned, and they took over
China 2. Their increase continued in 1939, when they tuned South to take over Hainan
on February 10. Gordon
Prange states a reason for Japan conquering small areas as well: "In March of the same
year Japan laid claim to the
Spratlys-coral islands offering potential havens for planes and small naval craft, located
on a beautiful navigational
fix between Saigon and North Borneo, Manila, and Singapore 3."
When France fell in 1940, Japan put troops in Northern French Indochina, this was their
stepping stone to further
advancement southward. In 1941, Japan got ready to expand into Southeast Asia. These
areas included Malaya, the
Philippines, the Netherlands, and the East 4.
"The United States had to consider Japan in the context of its Axis Alliance, for
aid and concessions to
Tokyo in effect, meant aid and concessions for Berlin and Rome .5" Japan had a long list
of grievances against the
United States, the foremost being the recognition of the Chiang Kai-Shek regime and the
nonrecognition of
Manchuko.6 The U.S. Military in Asia was a constant annoyance to Japan. They felt
that all Allied forces in Asia
must be removed.7
By the beginning of July 1940, Washington placed all exports on aviation fuel
and high-grade scrap iron
and steel under license and control of the Federal Government. In September 1940 after
Japanese forces moved into
northern Indochina, Roosevelt finally announced an embargo on scrap iron and steel to
Japan. Japanese anger
focused on the embargoes which the U.S. had placed on American exports to Japan. By
the end of 1940 Washington
had cut off all war supplies except petroleum.8
Japan thought that the U.S. Navy was directed at them. The U.S. had stationed a
large fleet in Pearl Harbor
in the Spring of 1940. The nation who Commodore Matthew Perry had opened to the
modern world now stood
face-to-face with the U.S. The Japanese called this Taiheiyo-no-gan or Cancer of the
Pacific.9
On November 27, the Commander of the Coast Guard at Honolulu was put on
war warning. He was to put
vessels in water to run up and down and listen for submarines.
In Japan, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander of the Japanese Combined
Fleet, was trying to come up
with a way to launch a surprise attack on the American fleet. He ordered Admiral Onishi
to start studying a way to
launch the assault.10 Onishi had called in Commander Minoru Genda , a crack airman,
and ten days later he had a
plan.
It consisted of their fleet attacking the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. This
seemed to be an enormous
task, considering that Japan was thousands of miles away from Hawaii.
Many problems arose, especially about the shallow depth of Pearl Harbor. At its
deepest points it was only
about forty feet deep. Commander Genda, worked wonders with this problem.11 He
experimented on the Inland
Sea, setting up short torpedo runs. Genda eventually modified the torpedo by attaching
fins to it. Everything was
done in top secrecy.12
Finally, Admiral Onishi and 13 other officers were called to Tokyo to be given
the word. Lord states,
"Then from September 2 to 13, they all tested the idea on the game board at the Naval
War College".13
On September 13, the rough draft for Pearl Harbor was issued. Next, came the
training stage. Men were
selected for key jobs. Commander Mitsuo Fuchida was transferred to the carrier Akagi,
and named commander of
all air groups in The First Air Fleet.
A few problems remained. For instance the torpedoes were still having trouble
and getting stuck in the
mud. Commander Genda finally came up with the solution of putting wooden stabilizers
on them to keep them from
hitting the shallow bottom of Pearl Harbor .14
In addition, information showed how battleships were paired together and
torpedoes wouldn't be able to
reach the inner ship. So ordinance men fit 15-inch and 16-inch armor piercing shells with
fins to penetrate the thick
armor-plated decks of the ships.15
Instead of taking the normal route to Hawaii, they would go far north. They
crossed over between Midway
and the Aleutian Islands, then cutting south to Hawaii. This was done in order to avoid
commercial traffic. Suguru
Suzuki went this route on the Taiyo Maru. He went to check vital information for Japan.
He concluded many things
from this trip. First, being that they would have to refuel along the way. Second, it was
possible to launch survey
planes from a secure position. On his voyage he didn't encounter a single ship.16
While in Hawaii, he gained information about Hickman Air Field. He also
obtained aerial shots of Pearl
Harbor taken on October 21. He gained these from a private plane for visitors. Tourists
were not prohibited from
taking them. When he returned to Tokyo, he compared notes with Lieutenant
Commander Toshihide Maejima, who
was also on board.
In Tokyo, on November 7, Yamamoto set the date of December 8 for the attack.
This was December 7
Hawaiian time. This was done because of favorable moonlight and the best chance to
catch men off duty and ships
in port.
The rendezvous point for the Striking Force was in cold Tankan Bay. On
November 21, the last ship
arrived. There were now 33 ships in all.17 With Admiral Nagumo was aboard the
Akagi.
On the 25th, Yamamoto ordered the fleet to get going the following day. The
fleet was very tedious about
leaving no traces of any thing behind, so they burned their garbage. The fleet also
suffered other drawbacks, like
when the Akagi's propeller became entangled with a cable. The weather had also become
a factor, because of the
harsh seas, steady gales of wind, and thick fog. Lord also tells us that formation had
become a problem because of
all the ships traveling at different speeds.18
The fleet first tried refueling on the 28th. This turned out to be dangerous work
as they lost several men
during the ordeal. The men eventually became better at this. However, the men had to
worry about the weather,
which was getting worse. The oil drums now spilled and fell over due to the wind. At
this time all the ships were
changed to winter oil and used the highest grade fuel to keep the smoke at a minimum.19
Messages from Japan began to flow in about what ships were now in the harbor.
On December 3rd in Pearl
Harbor, they found out that there were 2 battleships, 1 carrier, 2 Class-A cruisers, and 12
destroyers departed. 5
battleships, 3 Class-A cruisers 3 Class-B cruisers, 12 destroyers, and 1 seaplane aircraft
carrier entered.20
On the 5th the fleet refueled most of the day and night. Then, on the 6th Kusaka
refueled the remainder of
the task force. He wanted to have the tanks as full as possible for the morning of the
attack. By late morning the
task was accomplished, and the tankers withdrew.21
The fleet was now 640 miles due north of Oahu. With the slow tankers now
gone, the remainder could
surge ahead. Shortly before noon, Kusaka was ready to go full speed ahead.
Late on the night of the 6th, they received word that intelligence could detect no
Sea or Land alerts. There
were no barrage balloons sighted by the scouting subs either. At 1:20 A.M. the last
message came saying:
December 6 (local time) Vessels moored in Harbor: 9 Battleships; 3 Class-B Cruisers; 3
Seaplane
tenders; 17 Destroyers. Entering Harbor are 4 Class-B Cruisers; 3 Destroyers. All
Aircraft
Carriers and Heavy Cruisers have departed Harbor . . . No indication of any changes in
U.S. Fleet
or anything else unusual.22
The crews and pilots were now ready. The pilots had been training and studying
for months. They learned
the position of the ships and what they looked like by using scale models. They were
drilled until they knew Pearl
Harbor backward and forward.23 Admiral Nagumo planned to hit Pearl Harbor in two
mighty waves with a total of
353 planes. The first was to go at 6:00 A.M. with 40 torpedo planes, 51 dive bombers, 49
horizontal bombers, and
43 fighters to provide cover. The second wave was set to go at 7:15 A.M. with 80 dive
bombers, 54 high-level
bombers, and 36 more fighters. This left 39 planes to guard the task force if the
Americans struck back.
All eight battleships were in port. Including the battleships there totaled 96
warships in Pearl Harbor on
this Sunday Morning. At the airfields, General Short had lined the fighters in antisabotage formation. Earlier, he
had receiving a message that there may be an attack coming. This made the planes easy
targets for Fuchida's assault
team.24
At 7:03, the Ward, a destroyer picked up a Japanese midget sub. The Ward
opened fire on it. They
unloaded five depth charges and watched as a huge bubble of oil rose.25
In the planes hurtled. Commander Takahashi's dive bombers went to the
airfields. Murata's 40 torpedo
planes started swinging into position to attack the big ships. Commander Fuchida
marked time off Barbers point
with the horizontal bombers. They were all about to attack together instead of in stages,
but it did not matter now.
A few minutes earlier Commander Fuchida had signaled TO . . . TO . . . TO . . .
in Morse code aboard the
command ship of the Pearl Harbor Striking Force.26 The "TO" signal meant charge.
Four minutes later Fuchida's radioman, even before the fist bomb fell, used the
2nd signal TORA . . .
TORA . . . TORA . . ., which meant "We have succeeded in Surprise attack".27 At 7:55
A.M. the dive bombers had
begun the attack on Ford island and the air bases.28 At 7:56 A.M. an ensign aboard the
Raleigh saw the torpedo
planes flying in low. The ensign believed that they were Marine planes flying
maneuvers, so he called out anti
aircraft crews to practice with them. Suddenly torpedoes rocketed into the Raleigh
herself. The close by Detroit got
off unharmed, but the Utah shuddered under two blows. Several seaman still thought
that it was the Army doing
this. A fifth Japanese plane in that group let fly at the Oglala and Helena. The torpedo
completely missed the
Oglala and crushed the Helena.29
A 23 piece band waited until 8:00 to play morning colors.30 It was now 7:58 and
the planes started to take
position. Lord tells how the attack started on Battleship row:
The band crashed into "The Star Spangled Banner." A Japanese plane skimmed across
the harbor
. . . dropped a torpedo at the Arizona . . . and pealed off right over the Nevada's fantail.
The rear
gunner sprayed the men standing at attention, but he must have been a poor shoot. He
missed the
entire band and Marine guard, lined up in two rows. He did succeed in shredding the
flag, which
was just being raised.31
As soon as they finished playing they scattered for shelter.
A PA system announced again and again that this wasn't a drill. Ship after ship
began to catch on. The
Oklahoma sounded its air raid siren.
The Oklahoma took the first of five torpedoes aimed at it. The West Virginia
took the first of six. Next, the
Arizona got two , although slightly blocked by the Vestal, and the California received
two. The only ships that
seemed safe were the inside ships like the Maryland and Tennessee.32
The Oglala, which was affected by the blast from the Helena, was in shambles.
Broken glass and china
littered the deck.
The Oklahoma was worst of all. The second torpedo to hit her put her lights out.
The next three to hit
ripped her side open. The sea rushed in and swept through her.33
Most ships never carried out their morning colors. At 7:58 Washington already
knew that Pearl Harbor was
being attacked.
The Airfields were being destroyed. Flames were billowing from Wheeler. The
dive bombers crushed the
planes lined up in anti-sabotage formation. Zeroes were barreling over the Wainane
Mountains and were shooting
up the base. By 8:05, 33 of the 49 planes at Kaneohe were already blazing.
Crews aboard the ships tried to fire back at the Japanese attackers. They used
machine guns and the
anti-aircraft crews got some shots off. As planes flew about the Nevada again machine
guns kept them away. The
Arizona had no protection except the tiny Vestal , which was moored beside it. Nothing
could stop the steel pouring
down from Fuchida's horizontal bombers. A large bomb fell in-between No.4 and No.6
guns. Another hit the
number 4 turret.34
The West Virginia was taking a terrible beating. A Japanese torpedo plane
headed for the casemate, and it
landed just underneath. More and more torpedoes continued to come. The ship slowly
swung back to starboard
after rigorous counterflooding.35
Suddenly the Arizona blew up. The boiler and magazine blew under direct hits.
Over 1,000 men were
killed in the explosion. The second bomb in her went down her chimney stack.36 The
Maryland, moored inside the
Oklahoma, was safe from torpedoes and only caught two bombs.
The Tennessee had more trouble, as one of the converted 16-inch shells fell on
her number 2 turret.
Splinters from the Tennessee ripped apart more of the West Virginia. The Arizona,
Oklahoma and West Virginia
were sunk. The California was sinking and the Tennessee and Maryland were bottled up
by the wrecked ships along
side them. The Pennsylvania was squatting in dry-dock. Only the Nevada was left. She
seemed hopeless with one
torpedo and two bombs in her already. The Raleigh was sagging heavily to port. The
San Francisco and the St.
Louis were on limited availability because of repairs. There were many ships in Drydock that waited for bombs to
hit them.
As Fuchida's first wave ended at about 8:30, he was pleased. The second wave
commenced 95 minutes
after the first. This wave completed most of the job.37 There was more resistance this
time as the American's had
more time to get ready. The second wave had a harder task. Gun crews were able to
assemble, and shoot down
Japanese planes.38 Crews aboard all types of ships winged enemy planes. The Nevada
got up enough steam in 45
minutes to head out of the channel. All Japanese aircraft converged on the ship. They
dropped bombs on the
Pennsylvania, which was sitting in dry dock.39
The Americans lost five battleship, 4 other warships, almost 200 aircraft, and
over 2,400 lives of American
men and women in over two hours. This is even more staggering when one totals the
Japanese loses at only 29
aircraft and 55 men.40
Some say that Pearl Harbor could have been avoided. If the crews had paid more
attention to warnings and
radar. Commander Arthur Davis told Admiral Kimmel that if long searches had taken
place they might have
detected the Japanese and been ready for them.41 If they had spotted them, the results
may have been vastly
different.
The Japanese fleet utterly crushed the Pacific Fleet. We now see how the
Japanese kept their secret
away from the Americans. The way that they kept their plan and training secret, was
truly phenomenal. They
planned their assault with care and discipline. The Japanese took great pride in executing
their plan as best as they
possibly could. The participants worked and trained for the chance to take part in their
country's great assault. This
bombardment hindered the American efforts in a quite substantial way. If the American
Carriers had been in port
that day, like the Japanese had hoped the result could have been even more devastating.
Endnotes
Keywords:
attack naval base pearl harbor best military surprises history under admiral yamomato
japanese navy delivered stunning blow united states brilliant wave attack utterly surprised
americans over american sailors were killed this onslaught well marines soldiers looking
what japan preceding attack american troops should have been better prepared such
japanese started their military increase when emperor hirohito reigned they took over
china their increase continued when they tuned south take over hainan february gordon
prange states reason japan conquering small areas well march same year japan laid claim
spratlys coral islands offering potential havens planes small naval craft located beautiful
navigational between saigon north borneo manila singapore when france fell troops
northern french indochina this their stepping stone further advancement southward ready
expand into southeast asia these areas included malaya philippines netherlands east
united states consider context axis alliance concessions tokyo effect meant concessions
berlin rome long list grievances against united foremost being recognition chiang shek
regime nonrecognition manchuko military asia constant annoyance they felt that allied
forces asia must removed beginning july washington placed exports aviation fuel high
grade scrap iron steel under license control federal government september after japanese
forces moved into northern indochina roosevelt finally announced embargo scrap iron
steel anger focused embargoes which placed american exports washington supplies
except petroleum thought that navy directed them stationed large fleet pearl harbor spring
nation commodore matthew perry opened modern world stood face face with called this
taiheiyo cancer pacific november commander coast guard honolulu warning vessels water
down listen submarines admiral isoroku yamamoto commander combined fleet trying
come with launch surprise fleet ordered admiral onishi start studying launch assault
onishi called commander minoru genda crack airman days later plan consisted attacking
pacific pearl harbor seemed enormous task considering that thousands miles away from
hawaii many problems arose especially about shallow depth deepest points only about
forty feet deep genda worked wonders with problem experimented inland setting short
torpedo runs genda eventually modified torpedo attaching fins everything done secrecy
finally onishi other officers were called tokyo given word lord then from september
tested idea game board naval college september rough draft issued next came training
stage were selected jobs mitsuo fuchida transferred carrier akagi named groups first
problems remained instance torpedoes still having trouble getting stuck finally came
solution putting wooden stabilizers them keep them from hitting shallow bottom addition
information showed battleships paired together torpedoes wouldn able reach inner ship
ordinance inch inch armor piercing shells fins penetrate thick armor plated decks ships
instead taking normal route hawaii would north crossed between midway aleutian islands
then cutting south hawaii done order avoid commercial traffic suguru suzuki went route
taiyo maru went check vital information concluded many things trip first being would
have refuel along second possible launch survey planes secure position voyage didn
encounter single ship while gained information about hickman field also obtained aerial
shots taken october gained these private plane visitors tourists prohibited taking returned
tokyo compared notes lieutenant toshihide maejima also board november yamamoto date
december december hawaiian time done because favorable moonlight best chance catch
duty ships port rendezvous point striking force cold tankan november last ship arrived
there ships nagumo aboard akagi yamamoto ordered going following very tedious leaving
traces thing behind burned garbage also suffered other drawbacks like akagi propeller
became entangled cable weather become factor because harsh seas steady gales wind
thick lord tells formation become problem because traveling different speeds first tried
refueling turned dangerous work lost several during ordeal eventually became better
however worry weather which getting worse drums spilled fell wind time changed winter
used highest grade fuel keep smoke minimum messages began flow what december
found there battleships carrier class cruisers destroyers departed battleships class cruisers
class cruisers destroyers seaplane aircraft carrier entered refueled most night then kusaka
refueled remainder task force wanted have tanks full possible morning late morning task
accomplished tankers withdrew miles north oahu slow tankers gone remainder could
surge ahead shortly before noon kusaka ready full speed ahead late night received word
intelligence could detect land alerts there barrage balloons sighted scouting subs either
last message came saying local time vessels moored seaplane tenders destroyers entering
aircraft carriers heavy departed indication changes anything else unusual crews pilots
ready pilots been training studying months learned position what looked like using scale
models drilled until knew backward forward nagumo planned mighty waves total planes
torpedo dive bombers horizontal bombers fighters provide cover second wave dive
bombers high level more fighters left guard force americans struck back eight port
including totaled warships sunday morning airfields general short lined fighters anti
sabotage formation earlier receiving message coming made easy targets fuchida assault
team ward destroyer picked midget ward opened fire unloaded five depth charges
watched huge bubble rose hurtled takahashi dive went airfields murata started swinging
into position fuchida marked barbers point horizontal together instead stages matter
minutes earlier signaled morse code aboard command striking signal meant charge four
minutes later radioman even before fist bomb fell used signal tora tora tora which meant
succeeded surprise begun ford island bases ensign aboard raleigh flying ensign believed
marine flying maneuvers anti aircraft crews practice suddenly torpedoes rocketed raleigh
herself close detroit unharmed utah shuddered under blows several seaman still thought
army doing fifth plane group oglala helena completely missed oglala crushed helena
piece band waited until play colors started take lord tells battleship band crashed star
spangled banner plane skimmed across dropped arizona pealed right nevada fantail rear
gunner sprayed standing attention must been poor shoot missed entire band marine guard
lined rows succeed shredding flag just being raised soon finished playing scattered shelter
system announced again again wasn drill after began catch oklahoma sounded raid siren
oklahoma took five aimed west virginia took next arizona although slightly blocked
vestal california received only seemed safe inside like maryland tennessee oglala affected
blast helena shambles broken glass china littered deck oklahoma worst second lights next
three ripped side open rushed swept through most never carried colors washington
already knew attacked airfields destroyed flames billowing wheeler crushed lined anti
sabotage formation zeroes barreling wainane mountains shooting base kaneohe already
blazing crews tried fire back attackers used machine guns some shots flew nevada again
machine guns kept away arizona protection except tiny vestal moored beside nothing
could stop steel pouring down horizontal large bomb between guns another number turret
west virginia taking terrible beating headed casemate landed just underneath more more
continued come slowly swung back starboard after rigorous counterflooding suddenly
blew boiler magazine blew direct hits killed explosion bomb down chimney stack
maryland moored inside safe only caught bombs tennessee trouble converted inch shells
number turret splinters tennessee ripped apart west virginia sunk california sinking
maryland bottled wrecked along side pennsylvania squatting dock nevada left seemed
hopeless bombs already raleigh sagging heavily port francisco louis limited availability
repairs many dock waited bombs wave ended pleased commenced minutes completed
most resistance harder able assemble shoot types winged enemy enough steam head
channel converged dropped pennsylvania sitting dock americans lost five battleship other
warships almost lives women hours even staggering totals loses some avoided paid
attention warnings radar arthur davis told kimmel long searches taken place might
detected spotted results vastly different utterly crushed pacific kept secret away kept plan
training secret truly phenomenal planned assault care discipline great pride executing
plan best possibly participants worked trained chance take part country great
bombardment hindered efforts quite substantial carriers hoped result even devastating
endnotes
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