PEARL HARBOR

THE SURPRISE RAID BY JAPAN ON THE U.S. NAVAL BASE AT PEARL HARBOR KILLED 2.403 PEOPLE AND PRECIPITATED THE ENTRY OF AMERICA INTO WORLD WAR II.

THROUGHOUT THE 1930s Japanese expansionist policy in East Asia stained that nation's diplomatic relation with the rest of the world. As late as July 1940, Japan professed the intention to avoid a conflict with with the United States, but on October 11, 1941, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was given approval for his plan to attack the U.S Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japan continued ostensibly negotiating with the United States until November 29, but by then the Japanese fleet had already left harbor under radio silence to take up position for the attack.

"TORA! TORA! TORA!"

On December 2 the Japanese attack fleet was put on action stations with the order Niitaka Yama Ni Nabare ("Climb Mount Niitaka"), and by dawn on December 7 the ships were in position 250 miles north of Hawaii. At 6.00am the first wave of 183 bombers, torpedo planes and fighter escort took off from Japanese aircraft carrier. at 7.48am the commander of the first wave signaled To, To, To (" Fight, Fight, Fight") and them the infamous Tora! Tora! Tora! ( " Tiger! Tiger! Tigr!") to indicate that they had caught the Americans unawares. Meanwhile, a second wave 134 Japanese bombers and 36 fighter escorts had taken off from the carriers, arriving at Pearl Harbor at 8.40am ti continue the destruction.

THE UNITED STATE ENTERS WORLD WAR II

At 9.45am the last of Japanese planes returned to the carriers after a two-hour raid that had killed 2,403 American servicemen and civilians, and damaged or destroyed 19 ships and some 200 planes, at a cost of just 29 Japanese planes and 64 dead or missing servicemen. 

The previous day, U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt had appealed directly to Japan's emperor Hirohito to avoid war with the United State -  the following day Roosevelt asked congress for authorization to go to war against Japan. With the official declaration by Congress the war already raging in Europe, Africa, and Asia expanded to become a second world war in fact as well as in name