Attack on pearl harbor
The Pearl Harbor incident was an incident in which planes and mini submarines of the Royal Japanese Navy suddenly attacked Pearl Harbor, the US naval base and the airport of the US Army and Navy in Oahu, Hawaii, in the early morning of February 7,/kloc-0. The attack finally involved the United States in World War II. This is the first time that another country attacked American territory after the Sino-Mexican War in the19th century. This incident is also known as the attack on Pearl Harbor or the Battle of Pearl Harbor.
1October 26th, a fleet of six aircraft carriers left Japan for Pearl Harbor under the command of Nayun Zhong Yi, a Japanese vice admiral. On the way, the fleet maintained complete radio silence. In addition to these six aircraft carriers, the Japanese fleet also includes two battleships, three cruisers, nine destroyers and three submarines. In addition, eight oil tankers and two destroyers are only on standby in the North Pacific.
On the morning of February 7, 65438, this fleet plane bombed all American airports on Oahu and many ships moored at Pearl Harbor, including battleships there. Almost all the planes on the ground were destroyed, and only a few planes were able to take off and fight back. 12 Battleship was sunk or damaged. 188 planes were destroyed, 155 planes were destroyed, and 2403 American soldiers were killed. The battleship Arizona exploded and sank alone, killing thousands of people.
The first shot and the first victim of this battle were the attack of American destroyers on Japanese mini-submarines. The mini submarine was sunk. Japan sent five mini submarines to torpedo American ships after the air raid began. All five ships sank later, and only four were found later. Only one of the ten sailors on these five ships survived, and the wine roll and the man were caught. He was the first American prisoner in World War II.
The Japanese aircraft carriers involved in this attack are Chicheng (flagship), Kaga, Canglong, Longfei, Xianghe and Ruihe. These six aircraft carriers can carry 44 1 aircraft, including fighters, torpedo bombers, dive bombers and horizontal bombers, of which 55 were destroyed. These planes attacked in two waves. Lieutenant General Nan Yun decided to give up the third attack and withdraw his main force.
According to various reports and military documents released by the US and Japan, the process of attacking Pearl Harbor is as follows:
3:42: An American minesweeper found a periscope in front of Honolulu Port.
6:00: The aircraft carrier Enterprise, which is 370 nautical miles away from Pearl Harbor, sends a 18 reconnaissance plane to Pearl Harbor from 370 nautical miles away.
6: 10: Lieutenant General Nan Yun ordered the first wave to take off after receiving the attack order. The Japanese fleet is now located 220 nautical miles north of Oahu.
6:20: The first wave 183 bombers and fighters take off for Pearl Harbor.
6:30: An American supply ship found a submarine outside Pearl Harbor. This discovery was transmitted to an American destroyer "Ward" and a reconnaissance plane was sent to the local area.
6:45: The destroyer Ward attacks the submarine. The submarine was sunk.
6: 53: The destroyer Ward reported that the submarine was attacked.
7:02: A radar station located in the north of Oahu found an unknown plane at 132 nautical mile of the island.
7: 10: the radar station reported to the air defense command that an unknown aircraft was found.
7: 15: The report of submarine attack arrives at the US military command. At the same time, 167 the second wave of Japanese planes took off.
7:20: The U.S. air defense command thinks that the unidentified plane is a B- 17 bomber from the mainland, and he orders the radar station to close.
7:40: The first wave reaches the north shore of Oahu.
7:49: The first wave of commanders gave the order to attack.
7:53: The first wave of commanders issued "Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! " The news reported that the sneak attack was successful.
7: 55-8: 25: The first attack of torpedo bombers and dive bombers.
7: 58: The US Navy issued a warning to all ships: "Pearl Harbor was attacked by air. This is not an exercise! "
8:00: The B- 17 bomber of the continental United States and the reconnaissance plane of Enterprise arrive at Pearl Harbor at the same time, but they are unprepared and unable to intervene.
8:02: The battleship Nevada begins to fire at the aircraft attacking from starboard. Two planes were shot down. The stern of the Nevada was torpedoed. Nevada was the only battleship that tried to escape from Pearl Harbor, but it had to run aground on the beach after being hit many times to prevent the ship from sinking.
8: 08: Radio KGMB stops its program and calls on all soldiers to return to their posts.
8: 10: The ammunition depot in the front of the battleship Arizona was hit and exploded. Arizona sank in nine minutes, killing 80% of the crew.
8: 12: Hawaiian supreme commander walter short reports to the entire Pacific fleet and Washington: "The battle with Japan began with the attack on Pearl Harbor."
8: 17: The American destroyer Helm was the first American ship to attack a submarine in Pearl Harbor.
8: 26: Honolulu Fire Brigade reported that 3 people were killed and 6 people were injured (possibly hit by anti-aircraft gun bullets).
8: 39: A seaplane found a submarine in the harbor and opened fire on it.
8: 40-9: 15: Bomber attack.
8:40: An American destroyer collided with a Japanese submarine and began to drop depth charges. The submarine floated up after being injured. A local radio station reported the air strikes in Japan.
8:50: The commander of the second wave of attacks gives an attack order.
8:54: The second attack begins. 54 bombers and 78 dive bombers attacked, and 36 fighters protected air superiority.
9:00: A Dutch ocean-going ship is the first ally to participate in the war.
9: 15—9:45: dive bomber attack.
9:30: Ships outside the port and north of the island are attacked.
From 9:45: The attack is weakened.
10:00: The first wave of aircraft returned to the fleet parked in the north of the island 180 nautical mile.
1 1: 15: the governor of Hawaii announced the state of martial law on the radio.
It is reported that the Japanese army has landed in Oahu.
12: 10: the us reconnaissance plane flew to the north of the island, but did not find any enemy planes or ships.
12:40: the governor of Hawaii and the president of the United States agreed to introduce wartime laws and establish military government rule in Hawaii.
13:00: The captain of the Japanese flight team and Lieutenant General Nan Yun discuss the possibility of the third wave attack.
13:30: Nanyun ordered to return.
The governor of Hawaii signed the wartime law.
The purpose of the attack on Pearl Harbor is to (at least temporarily) eliminate the main force of the US Navy in the Pacific Ocean. Isoroku Yamamoto himself believes that a successful attack can only bring a year's strategic advantage. From 193 1, Japan went to war with China before Japan occupied Manchuria. From 194 1 year 1 year, Japan began to plan a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor to gain strategic advantages. After some discussions and disputes within the navy, Japan began training for this operation in the middle of the year.
Part of Japan's plan is to suspend negotiations with the United States before the attack (and it must be before the attack). As of February 7, 65438, the diplomats of the Japanese ambassador in Washington have been having extensive discussions with the US Foreign Office, including the US response to Japan's invasion of Southeast Asia. Before the attack, the Japanese ambassador received a long telegram from the Japanese Foreign Ministry and was ordered to give it to Secretary of State Cordell Hull before the attack (afternoon 1 p.m. Washington time). However, the ambassador failed to decipher and print the long credentials in time. Finally, this declaration was submitted to the United States after the attack. This delay increased American anger at the attack, which is the main reason why President Roosevelt called this day a "shameless day". Admiral Yamamoto seems to agree with this view. The movie Tiger co-produced by Japan and America! Tiger! Tiger! He was quoted as saying, "I'm afraid we have awakened a sleeping giant, and now he is full of anger." Yamamoto himself may never have said this sentence, but even so, he seems to feel the same way.
In fact, this credential was decoded by the United States before Japan submitted it to the United States. George marshall sent an urgent warning to Hawaii immediately after reading the credentials, but the telegram had to be transmitted through the civil telecommunications bureau because of the chaos in the internal transmission system of the US military. It lost its "emergency" sign on the way. A few hours after the attack, a young Japanese-American postman sent the telegram to the US military headquarters.
background
Japan began to develop into Southeast Asia in A.D. 194 1, which aroused the anxiety of the big countries in this region. In the past ten years, the dissatisfaction of these countries with Japan's development was limited to submitting diplomatic protests at most, but in July of 194 1, the colonial governments of the United States, Britain and the Netherlands announced that it was forbidden to transport strategic materials to Japan, especially steel and oil. This step is a threat to Japan's economy and military, with the aim of forcing Japan to limit its activities in Southeast Asia and return to the negotiating table. Roosevelt ordered the fleet to be stationed at Pearl Harbor (because it is much closer to Japan than the west coast of the United States, which is a direct threat to Japan). Roosevelt thought this decision was very important. When Admiral Richardson protested this decision, he fired Richardson. However, the response of the United States and other countries seems to only strengthen the Japanese military's decision to occupy and use this area. Japan's oil production is very small, and the storage of refined oil is even less, so the embargo is a very serious problem for Japan. The Japanese government decided to occupy the resources of Asia, especially Southeast Asia, as an answer to the embargo. They cannot assume that if they start to act, the United States will stand by and watch. That's why Isoroku Yamamoto considered destroying American power in the Pacific beforehand.
His idea of attacking Pearl Harbor Naval Base is a tactical step to achieve this strategic goal. According to Japanese data, Yamamoto began to consider the attack on Pearl Harbor at 194 1. A few months later, after doing some preliminary investigation, he was allowed to start preparing for the operation. The Japanese navy strongly opposes such actions. Yamamoto threatened to retire if the operation was suspended. 194 1 summer, this action was officially approved at a command meeting attended by the emperor himself. 165438+ 10, at another imperial meeting attended by the emperor himself, the decision to send troops to the Pacific Ocean was approved. At the meeting in 165438+ 10, it was also decided that the United States would give up its action only if it fully agreed with Japan's main demands.
immediate result
As far as its strategic purpose is concerned, the attack on Pearl Harbor is a brilliant victory in the short and medium term, and its result far exceeds the farthest imagination of its planners. In the whole history of war, such achievements are rare. In the following six months, the US Navy was insignificant in the Pacific battlefield. Without the threat of the US Pacific Fleet, Japan's power over other Southeast Asian powers can be completely ignored. Since then, it has occupied the whole Southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific Ocean, and its influence has been extended to the Indian Ocean.
long-term effect
In the long run, Pearl Harbor is a complete disaster for Japan. In fact, Admiral Yamamoto, who planned Pearl Harbor, predicted that even if the attack on the US Navy was successful, it would not and could not win a war against the United States because the productivity of the United States was too high. One of Japan's main targets was three American aircraft carriers, but none of them were in the port at that time: Enterprise was on its way back to Pearl Harbor, Lexington had just left a few days ago, and Saratoga was being repaired in San Diego. The navy and other observers around the world believe that invalidating the wounds of most American battleships is the greatest achievement of this campaign. Without these battleships, the US Navy had to rely on its aircraft carriers and submarines. In fact, at that time, there were only a few ships in the US Navy, and these ships were also the main force to resist and counterattack Japan in the later period. Facts have proved that the effect of destroying warships is far less than expected.
Perhaps most importantly, Pearl Harbor immediately mobilized a country with different opinions. It united the United States and defeated Japan together, which may be the reason why the Allies later demanded unconditional surrender. Some historians believe that whether Japan hit the repair shed or the aircraft carrier at that time, the attack on Pearl Harbor itself had already decided the fate of Japan's defeat.
Historical significance
This battle is of historical significance. Because Japan failed to sink the American aircraft carrier, it had only a small military role. But even if Japan sinks an American aircraft carrier, it will not help Japan in the long run. This attack completely involved the United States and its powerful industrial and service economy in World War II, which led to the demise of the Axis countries all over the world. Since then, the victory of the allied forces and the dominant position of the United States in international politics have changed.
From the perspective of military history, the attack on Pearl Harbor marks a turning point for aircraft carriers to replace battleships as the main force of the navy. However, the world's naval powers did not understand this until after the Battle of Coral Island and the Battle of Midway Island.