Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor Simple Answer

Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor? A Simple Answer (And the Complex Truth)

The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, remains one of history's most infamous events. While the simple answer is often summarized as a surprise attack to cripple the US Pacific Fleet, the reality is far more nuanced and deeply rooted in a complex web of political, economic, and military factors. This post will unravel the simple answer and delve into the multifaceted reasons behind Japan's audacious attack, offering a clear, comprehensive, and historically accurate understanding. We’ll explore the key motivations, the strategic goals, and the long-term consequences of this pivotal moment in World War II.

The Simple Answer: A Preemptive Strike

The simplest answer to the question, "Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?" is to cripple the US Pacific Fleet and prevent American interference in Japan's planned expansion in Southeast Asia. Japan aimed to secure vital resources and establish dominance in the Pacific. By destroying a significant portion of the US Navy's battleships and aircraft, they hoped to buy themselves time to conquer their intended targets before the US could mount a significant counteroffensive. This was a preemptive strike, a gamble with enormous consequences.

Beyond the Simple Answer: Unraveling the Complex Motivations

While the preemptive strike is crucial, it's only part of the story. A deeper understanding necessitates exploring the contributing factors:

#### 1. Japan's Expansionist Ambitions: The Need for Resources

Japan, a resource-poor island nation, desperately needed raw materials like oil, rubber, and iron ore to fuel its rapidly growing industrial and military machine. These resources were largely controlled by Western powers, primarily the United States, who had imposed sanctions on Japan following its invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and its subsequent expansion into China. These sanctions severely hampered Japan's war effort, pushing them towards aggressive expansion into Southeast Asia, rich in the necessary resources.

#### 2. The US Embargo and Economic Pressure: A Catalyst for War

The US, increasingly concerned about Japan's militaristic ambitions and expansionist policies, responded with economic sanctions, notably an oil embargo in July 1941. This proved a decisive turning point. The embargo cut off Japan's vital oil supply, crippling its war machine and leaving its leaders with a stark choice: abandon its expansionist plans or find a way to secure these resources by force. The attack on Pearl Harbor was seen as the necessary, albeit risky, solution.

#### 3. The Failure of Diplomacy: Missed Opportunities for Peace

Despite numerous diplomatic efforts, attempts to reach a peaceful resolution between the US and Japan ultimately failed. Both sides held deeply entrenched positions, and misunderstandings, coupled with poor communication, hampered progress. Japan's demands were deemed unacceptable by the US, and the growing mistrust between the two nations created an environment ripe for conflict. The lack of effective diplomatic solutions directly contributed to the inevitability of war.

#### 4. Miscalculations and Assumptions: The Japanese Gamble

The Japanese military leadership significantly miscalculated the extent of American resilience and underestimated the US capacity for industrial mobilization. They believed a crippling blow to the Pacific Fleet would give them a sufficient window to consolidate their gains in Southeast Asia before the US could effectively retaliate. This underestimation proved to be a fatal flaw in their strategic calculations.

#### 5. Pearl Harbor as a Symbol: A Blow to American Pride

The attack on Pearl Harbor was not just a military strategy; it was a symbolic act intended to strike at the heart of American pride and demoralize the American public. The surprise nature of the attack, the significant loss of life, and the destruction of naval assets aimed to shock the US into submission and prevent a strong response.

Conclusion: A Complex Web of Causes

The attack on Pearl Harbor was not a simple act of aggression but a complex event born from a confluence of factors. Japan's expansionist ambitions, fueled by a desperate need for resources, were exacerbated by US economic sanctions and the failure of diplomacy. The Japanese military's miscalculations and their gamble for a swift victory ultimately led to a disastrous misjudgment and the plunge of both nations into a devastating global conflict. Understanding the complexities behind this pivotal moment is crucial for comprehending the broader context of World War II and its enduring legacy.

Article Outline: Why Did Japan Attack Pearl Harbor?

I. Introduction: Briefly introduces the event and the complexity of its causes.

II. The Simple Answer: A concise explanation of the preemptive strike strategy.

III. Unraveling the Complex Motivations:
A. Japan's Expansionist Ambitions: Details the need for resources and the limitations faced by Japan.
B. US Embargo and Economic Pressure: Explains the impact of sanctions and the pressure they exerted on Japan.
C. Failure of Diplomacy: Discusses the failed attempts to reach a peaceful resolution.
D. Miscalculations and Assumptions: Analyzes the Japanese military's misjudgments and underestimations.
E. Pearl Harbor as a Symbol: Explains the symbolic significance of the attack.

IV. Conclusion: Summarizes the complex interplay of factors that led to the attack.

Nine Unique FAQs

1. What was the immediate goal of the Pearl Harbor attack? To cripple the US Pacific Fleet and prevent American interference in Japan's planned expansion in Southeast Asia.

2. Did the Japanese expect the US to declare war after Pearl Harbor? While they anticipated a US response, the extent and swiftness of the declaration of war likely exceeded their expectations.

3. What role did Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto play in the attack? He was the architect of the attack, though he reportedly had reservations about its long-term consequences.

4. What were the key resource needs that drove Japan's expansion? Oil, rubber, and iron ore were crucial for their military and industrial machine.

5. How effective was the Pearl Harbor attack in achieving its short-term goals? It was largely successful in crippling the US Pacific Fleet's battleships, but aircraft carriers escaped significant damage.

6. How did the US public react to the attack on Pearl Harbor? The attack spurred a wave of national outrage and solidified public support for entry into World War II.

7. Did the attack on Pearl Harbor change the course of World War II? Yes, it dramatically altered the course of the war by bringing the United States directly into the conflict.

8. What were the long-term consequences of the Pearl Harbor attack for Japan? It ultimately led to Japan's defeat in World War II.

9. Are there any ongoing debates or controversies surrounding the Pearl Harbor attack? Debates continue regarding the extent of US intelligence failures prior to the attack and the strategic decisions made by the Japanese military.

Related Articles:

1. The Role of the US Oil Embargo in Causing Pearl Harbor: Explores the economic pressure exerted by the US on Japan.

2. The Diplomatic Failures Leading up to Pearl Harbor: A deeper dive into failed negotiations and communication breakdowns.

3. Japanese Military Strategy and the Pearl Harbor Attack: A detailed analysis of the planning and execution of the attack.

4. The Human Cost of Pearl Harbor: Stories of Survivors and Victims: Focuses on the personal experiences of those affected.

5. The Aftermath of Pearl Harbor: The US Response and Mobilization: Examines the immediate aftermath and the US's subsequent actions.

6. Comparing Pearl Harbor to Other Surprise Attacks in History: Places the attack within a broader historical context.

7. The Debate Surrounding US Intelligence Failures Before Pearl Harbor: Analyzes controversies and unanswered questions.

8. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's Legacy and Doubts About Pearl Harbor: Explores the complex figure of Yamamoto and his potential reservations about the attack.

9. The Pacific Theater of World War II: The Long Road to Victory: Places Pearl Harbor within the broader context of the Pacific War.


  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: The Rising Sun John Toland, 2014-11-26 “[The Rising Sun] is quite possibly the most readable, yet informative account of the Pacific war.”—Chicago Sun-Times This Pulitzer Prize–winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words, “a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened—muddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox.” In weaving together the historical facts and human drama leading up to and culminating in the war in the Pacific, Toland crafts a riveting and unbiased narrative history. In his Foreword, Toland says that if we are to draw any conclusion from The Rising Sun, it is “that there are no simple lessons in history, that it is human nature that repeats itself, not history.” “Unbelievably rich . . . readable and exciting . . .The best parts of [Toland’s] book are not the battle scenes but the intimate view he gives of the highest reaches of Tokyo politics.”—Newsweek
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: The Final Secret of Pearl Harbor Robert Alfred Theobald, 1959
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Staff Ride Handbook for the Attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941 Jeffrey J. Gudmens, 2005
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Attack on Pearl Harbor Alan D. Zimm, 2013-10-19 ÒNothing previously published has offered such a close examination of Japanese strategy . . . an in-depth study of the Japanese planning, preparation and execution of the attack with particular focus on factors not thoroughly considered by other historians, if at all . . . detailed analyses that lead to a much better understanding of what the Japanese did, why they did it, and especially how the attack was very nearly an abject failure instead of a stunning success.ÑNaval Institute Proceedings For seven decades, conventional wisdom has extolled the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor as brilliant in its planning and execution . . . this masterful analysis topples that pillar of Pacific War history . . . with its amazing depth of meticulous research and analysis, this forceful book is essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in Pearl Harbor.ÑWorld War II The first militarily professional description of the Pearl Harbor attack, and for those who are serious about military history and operations, it is a joy to read. . . . a superb military analysis of the attack . . . not only renders all other histories of Pearl Harbor obsolete, it has set the bar high for other histories of the Pacific War.ÑWar In History
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Day Of Deceit Robert Stinnett, 2001-05-08 Using previously unreleased documents, the author reveals new evidence that FDR knew the attack on Pearl Harbor was coming and did nothing to prevent it.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: 7 December 1941 Leatrice R. Arakaki, John R. Kuborn, 1991 Published by Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9328 for the Pacific Air Forces Office of History, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Pearl Harbor Homer N. Wallin, 2001-09 Pearl Harbor will long stand out in mens minds as an example of the results of basic unpreparedness of a peace loving nation, of highly efficient treacherous surprise attack and of the resulting unification of America into a single tidal wave of purpose to victory. Therefore, all will be interested in this unique narrative by Admiral Wallin. The Navy has long needed a succinct account of the salvage operations at Pearl Harbor that miraculously resurrected what appeared to be a forever shattered fleet. Admiral Wallin agreed to undertake the job. He was exactly the right man for it _ in talent, in perception, and in experience. He had served intimately with Admiral Nimitz and with Admiral Halsey in the South Pacific, has commanded three different Navy Yards, and was a highly successful Chief of the Bureau of Ships. On 7 December 1941 the then Captain Wallin was serving at Pearl Harbor. He witnessed the events of that shattering and unifying Day of Infamy. His mind began to race at high speeds at once on the problems and means of getting the broken fleet back into service for its giant task. Unless the United States regained control of the sea, even greater disaster loomed. Without victory at sea, tyranny soon would surely rule all Asia and Europe. In a matter of time it would surely rule the Americas. Captain Wallin salvaged most of the broken Pearl Harbor fleet that went on to figure prominently in the United States Navys victory. So the account he masterfully tells covers what he masterfully accomplished. The United States owes him an unpayable debt for this high service among many others in his long career.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department Dean Acheson, 1987-09-17 Winner of the Pulitzer Prize With deft portraits of many world figures, Dean Acheson analyzes the processes of policy making, the necessity for decision, and the role of power and initiative in matters of state. Acheson (1893–1971) was not only present at the creation of the postwar world, he was one of its chief architects. He joined the Department of State in 1941 as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and, with brief intermissions, was continuously involved until 1953, when he left office as Secretary of State at the end of the Truman years. Throughout that time Acheson's was one of the most influential minds and strongest wills at work. It was a period that included World War II, the reconstruction of Europe, the Korean War, the development of nuclear power, the formation of the United Nations and NATO. It involved him at close quarters with a cast that starred Truman, Roosevelt, Churchill, de Gaulle, Marshall, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Attlee, Eden Bevin, Schuman, Dulles, de Gasperi, Adenauer, Yoshida, Vishinsky, and Molotov.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: At Dawn We Slept Gordon William Prange, Donald M. Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon, 1982 At 7:53 a.m., December 7, 1941, America's national consciousness and confidence were rocked as the first wave of Japanese warplanes took aim at the U.S. Naval fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor. As intense and absorbing as a suspense novel, At Dawn We Slept is the unparalleled and exhaustive account of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. It is widely regarded as the definitive assessment of the events surrounding one of the most daring and brilliant naval operations of all time. Through extensive research and interviews with American and Japanese leaders, Gordon W. Prange has written a remarkable historical account of the assault that-sixty years later-America cannot forget.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: The Attack on Pearl Harbor John C. Davenport, 2009 Traces events leading up to and resulting from the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on American battleships at Pearl Harbor, which brought the United States into World War II.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Bankrupting the Enemy Edward S Miller, 2007-09-10 Award-winning author Edward S. Miller contends in this new work that the United States forced Japan into international bankruptcy to deter its aggression. While researching newly declassified records of the Treasury and Federal Reserve, Miller, a retired chief financial executive of a Fortune 500 resources corporation, uncovered just how much money mattered. Washington experts confidently predicted that the war in China would bankrupt Japan, not knowing that the Japanese government had a huge cache of dollars fraudulently hidden in New York. Once discovered, Japan scrambled to extract the money. But, Miller explains, in July 1941 President Roosevelt invoked a long-forgotten clause of the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 to freeze Japan s dollars and forbade it to sell its hoard of gold to the U.S. Treasury, the only open gold market after 1939. Roosevelt s temporary gambit to bring Japan to its senses, not its knees, was thwarted, however, by opportunistic bureaucrats. Dean Acheson, his handpicked administrator, slyly maneuvered to deny Japan the dollars needed to buy oil and other resources for war and for economic survival. Miller's lucid writing and thorough understanding of the complexities of international finance enable readers unfamiliar with financial concepts and terminology to grasp his explanation of the impact of U.S. economic policies on Japan. His review of thirty-seven studies of Japan's resource deficiencies begs the question of why no U.S. agency calculated the impact of the freeze on Japan's overall economy. His analysis of a massive OSS-State Department study of prewar Japan clearly demonstrates that the deprivations facing the Japanese people were the country to remain in financial limbo buttressed its choice of war at Pearl Harbor. Such a well-documented study is certain to be recognized for its significant contributions to the historiography of the origins of the Pacific War.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Japan's Struggle to End the War United States Strategic Bombing Survey, 1946
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Operation Snow John Koster, 2012-09-17 Americans have long debated the cause of the December 7, 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many have argued that the attack was a brilliant Japanese military coup, or a failure of U.S. intelligence agencies, or even a conspiracy of the Roosevelt administration. But despite the attention historians have paid to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the truth about that fateful day has remained a mystery—until now. In Operation Snow: How a Soviet Mole in FDR’s White House Triggered Pearl Harbor, author John Koster uses recently declassified evidence and never-before-translated documents to tell the real story of the day that FDR memorably declared would live in infamy, forever. Operation Snow shows how Joseph Stalin and the KGB used a vast network of double-agents and communist sympathizers—most notably, Harry Dexter White—to lead Japan into war against the United States, demonstrating incontestable Soviet involvement behind the bombing of Pearl Harbor. A thrilling tale of espionage, mystery and war, Operation Snow will forever change the way we think about Pearl Harbor and World War II.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Pearl Harbor Roberta Wohlstetter, 1962 This account of the Pearl Harbor attack denies that the lack of preparation resulted from military negligence or a political plot
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: The Bomber Mafia Malcolm Gladwell, 2021-04-27 A “truly compelling” (Good Morning America) New York Times bestseller that explores how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war—from the creator and host of the podcast Revisionist History. In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history. Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War II saw the airplane as an afterthought. But a small band of idealistic strategists, the “Bomber Mafia,” asked: What if precision bombing could cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal? In contrast, the bombing of Tokyo on the deadliest night of the war was the brainchild of General Curtis LeMay, whose brutal pragmatism and scorched-earth tactics in Japan cost thousands of civilian lives, but may have spared even more by averting a planned US invasion. In The Bomber Mafia, Gladwell asks, “Was it worth it?” Things might have gone differently had LeMay’s predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. Hansell believed in precision bombing, but when he and Curtis LeMay squared off for a leadership handover in the jungles of Guam, LeMay emerged victorious, leading to the darkest night of World War II. The Bomber Mafia is a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Countdown to Pearl Harbor Steve Twomey, 2017-11-21 A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter chronicles the 12 days leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, examining the miscommunications, clues, missteps and racist assumptions that may have been behind America's failure to safeguard against the tragedy, --NoveList.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: December 7, 1941 Gordon William Prange, Donald M. Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon, 1988 The last of the Prange manuscripts about Pearl Harbor--Page ix. A detailed chronological account of the day. Includes reminiscences of officers, both American and Japanese.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: The Craft of International History Marc Trachtenberg, 2009-02-09 This is a practical guide to the historical study of international politics. The focus is on the nuts and bolts of historical research--that is, on how to use original sources, analyze and interpret historical works, and actually write a work of history. Two appendixes provide sources sure to be indispensable for anyone doing research in this area. The book does not simply lay down precepts. It presents examples drawn from the author's more than forty years' experience as a working historian. One important chapter, dealing with America's road to war in 1941, shows in unprecedented detail how an interpretation of a major historical issue can be developed. The aim throughout is to throw open the doors of the workshop so that young scholars, both historians and political scientists, can see the sort of thought processes the historian goes through before he or she puts anything on paper. Filled with valuable examples, this is a book anyone serious about conducting historical research will want to have on the bookshelf.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: From Pearl Harbor To Calvary Mitsuo Fuchida, 2016-03-28 The true story of the lead pilot of the Pearl Harbor attack and his conversion to Christianity. “As I looked across at my companion, I marveled afresh at the goodness of God-this man was my enemy; now he is my brother! Such is the miracle of the grace of God.”—Rev. Elmer Sachs, Director of Sky Pilots International. These words were written of Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the first wave of the air attacks on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 as a Captain in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. After the war, Fuchida was introduced to the gospel through the testimony of Jacob DeShazer. He began reading the Bible and eleven years after Pearl Harbor, he became a Christian. Fuchida spoke boldly of his conversion in his native Japan, and a few years later, he was recruited by Rev. Elmer Sachs to join Sky Pilots International. He came to the United States where he had the opportunity to share his story across the country. From Pearl Harbor to Calvary is the story of Mitsuo Fuchida’s conversion and ministry in his own words. Central to his narrative is the message that God works through even the most improbable of circumstances to further the gospel.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Bodies of Memory Yoshikuni Igarashi, 2012-01-09 Japan and the United States became close political allies so quickly after the end of World War II, that it seemed as though the two countries had easily forgotten the war they had fought. Here Yoshikuni Igarashi offers a provocative look at how Japanese postwar society struggled to understand its war loss and the resulting national trauma, even as forces within the society sought to suppress these memories. Igarashi argues that Japan's nationhood survived the war's destruction in part through a popular culture that expressed memories of loss and devastation more readily than political discourse ever could. He shows how the desire to represent the past motivated Japan's cultural productions in the first twenty-five years of the postwar period. Japanese war experiences were often described through narrative devices that downplayed the war's disruptive effects on Japan's history. Rather than treat these narratives as obstacles to historical inquiry, Igarashi reads them along with counter-narratives that attempted to register the original impact of the war. He traces the tensions between remembering and forgetting by focusing on the body as the central site for Japan's production of the past. This approach leads to fascinating discussions of such diverse topics as the use of the atomic bomb, hygiene policies under the U.S. occupation, the monstrous body of Godzilla, the first Western professional wrestling matches in Japan, the transformation of Tokyo and the athletic body for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and the writer Yukio Mishima's dramatic suicide, while providing a fresh critical perspective on the war legacy of Japan.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Bound by War Christopher Capozzola, 2020-07-28 A sweeping history of America's long and fateful military relationship with the Philippines amid a century of Pacific warfare Ever since US troops occupied the Philippines in 1898, generations of Filipinos have served in and alongside the US armed forces. In Bound by War, historian Christopher Capozzola reveals this forgotten history, showing how war and military service forged an enduring, yet fraught, alliance between Americans and Filipinos. As the US military expanded in Asia, American forces confronted their Pacific rivals from Philippine bases. And from the colonial-era Philippine Scouts to post-9/11 contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, Filipinos were crucial partners in the exercise of US power. Their service reshaped Philippine society and politics and brought thousands of Filipinos to America. Telling the epic story of a century of conflict and migration, Bound by War is a fresh, definitive portrait of this uneven partnership and the two nations it transformed.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: World War II For Dummies Keith D. Dickson, 2020-01-07 Looking to ally yourself with World War II knowledge? More than 75 years after its end, World War II remains one of the most devastating and impactful events in human history. It was a global war, and the nations that fought it employed every available resource, harnessing both technology and people to one purpose. Today, we remember WWII for its battles, tragedies, and horrors, but also for its outcome: a greater good that triumphed over evil. The breadth of World War II facts and history can be overwhelming, which is why World War II For Dummies is the perfect book for any reader, from history buffs to WWII novices. Full of accurate and easy-to-understand information (so you don’t have to speak military to comprehend), this book will help you explore a war that defined and shaped the world we live in today. You’ll discover all the players—individuals as well as nations—who participated in the war and the politics that drove them. Battle by battle, you’ll find out how the Axis powers initially took control of the war and how the Allies fought back to win the day. World War II for Dummies also covers: The origins and causes of World War II The rise of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich How the war was handled at home Germany’s invasion of Poland, France, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and Luxembourg Great Britain’s refusal to surrender after 42 days of German aerial attack The United States’ entrance into the war after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor The Allied invasion of Normandy (D-Day) Germany’s last-ditch effort to stop the Allies at the Battle of the Bulge The use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Become an expert on this historical catalyst with World War II For Dummies—grab your copy today. P.S. If you think this book seems familiar, you’re probably right. The Dummies team updated the cover and design to give the book a fresh feel, but the content is the same as the previous release of World War II For Dummies (9780764553523). The book you see here shouldn’t be considered a new or updated product. But if you’re in the mood to learn something new, check out some of our other books. We’re always writing about new topics!
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Blinders, Blunders, and Wars David C. Gompert, Hans Binnendijk, Bonny Lin, 2014-11-26 The history of wars caused by misjudgments, from Napoleon’s invasion of Russia to America’s invasion of Iraq, reveals that leaders relied on cognitive models that were seriously at odds with objective reality. Blinders, Blunders, and Wars analyzes eight historical examples of strategic blunders regarding war and peace and four examples of decisions that turned out well, and then applies those lessons to the current Sino-American case.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: The Storm on Our Shores Mark Obmascik, 2019-04-09 NATIONAL BESTSELLER “Mark Obmascik has deftly rescued an important story from the margins of our history—and from our country’s most forbidding frontier. Deeply researched and feelingly told, The Storm on Our Shores is a heartbreaking tale of tragedy and redemption.” —Hampton Sides, bestselling author of Ghost Soldiers, In the Kingdom of Ice, and On Desperate Ground The heart-wrenching but ultimately redemptive story of two World War II soldiers—a Japanese surgeon and an American sergeant—during a brutal Alaskan battle in which the sergeant discovers the medic's revelatory and fascinating diary that changed our war-torn society’s perceptions of Japan. May 1943. The Battle of Attu—called “The Forgotten Battle” by World War II veterans—was raging on the Aleutian island with an Arctic cold, impenetrable fog, and rocketing winds that combined to create some of the worst weather on Earth. Both American and Japanese forces were tirelessly fighting in a yearlong campaign, and both sides would suffer thousands of casualties. Included in this number was a Japanese medic whose war diary would lead a Silver Star-winning American soldier to find solace for his own tortured soul. The doctor’s name was Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi, a Hiroshima native who had graduated from college and medical school in California. He loved America, but was called to enlist in the Imperial Army of his native Japan. Heartsick, wary of war, yet devoted to Japan, Tatsuguchi performed his duties and kept a diary of events as they unfolded—never knowing that it would be found by an American soldier named Dick Laird. Laird, a hardy, resilient underground coal miner, enlisted in the US Army to escape the crushing poverty of his native Appalachia. In a devastating mountainside attack in Alaska, Laird was forced to make a fateful decision, one that saved him and his comrades, but haunted him for years. Tatsuguchi’s diary was later translated and distributed among US soldiers. It showed the common humanity on both sides of the battle. But it also ignited fierce controversy that is still debated today. After forty years, Laird was determined to return it to the family and find peace with Tatsuguchi’s daughter, Laura Tatsuguchi Davis. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mark Obmascik brings his journalistic acumen, sensitivity, and exemplary narrative skills to tell an extraordinarily moving story of two heroes, the war that pitted them against each other, and the quest to put their past to rest.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Baseball Saved Us Ken Mochizuki, 2018-01-01 Author Ken Mochizuki reads his award-winning book. There is some soft background music, and a few gentle sound effects, but the power of the words need little embellishment...This treasure of a book is well-treated in this format. - School Library Journal
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: The Age of Airpower Martin Van Creveld, 2011-04-12 Airpower, more than any other factor, has shaped war in the twentieth century. In this fascinating narrative history, Martin van Creveld vividly portrays the rise of the plane as a tool of war and the evolution of both technology and strategy. He documents seminal battles and turning points, and relates stories of individual daring and collective mastery of the skies. However, the end of airpower's glorious age is drawing near. The conventional wisdom to the contrary, modern precision guided munitions have not made fighter bombers more effective against many kinds of targets than their predecessors in World War II. U.S. ground troops calling for air support in Iraq in 2003 did not receive it any faster than Allied forces did in France in 1944. And from its origins on, airpower has never been very effective against terrorists, guerrillas, and insurgents. As the warfare waged by these kinds of people grow in importance, and as ballistic missiles, satellites, cruise missiles and drones increasingly take the place of quarter-billion-dollar manned combat aircraft and their multi-million-dollar pilots, airpower is losing utility almost day by day.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Free to Die for Their Country Eric L. Muller, 2003-05 One of the Washington Post's Top Nonfiction Titles of 2001 In the spring of 1942, the federal government forced West Coast Japanese Americans into detainment camps on suspicion of disloyalty. Two years later, the government demanded even more, drafting them into the same military that had been guarding them as subversives. Most of these Americans complied, but Free to Die for Their Country is the first book to tell the powerful story of those who refused. Based on years of research and personal interviews, Eric L. Muller re-creates the emotions and events that followed the arrival of those draft notices, revealing a dark and complex chapter of America's history.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: The Doolittle Raid Duane P. Schultz, 1989-08 A historic account of the 1942 mission to bomb Tokyo describes the planning, White House secrecy, and the tragic aftermath of the raid.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Restricted Data Alex Wellerstein, 2021-04-09 Nuclear weapons, since their conception, have been the subject of secrecy. In the months after the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the American scientific establishment, the American government, and the American public all wrestled with what was called the problem of secrecy, wondering not only whether secrecy was appropriate and effective as a means of controlling this new technology but also whether it was compatible with the country's core values. Out of a messy context of propaganda, confusion, spy scares, and the grave counsel of competing groups of scientists, what historian Alex Wellerstein calls a new regime of secrecy was put into place. It was unlike any other previous or since. Nuclear secrets were given their own unique legal designation in American law (restricted data), one that operates differently than all other forms of national security classification and exists to this day. Drawing on massive amounts of declassified files, including records released by the government for the first time at the author's request, Restricted Data is a narrative account of nuclear secrecy and the tensions and uncertainty that built as the Cold War continued. In the US, both science and democracy are pitted against nuclear secrecy, and this makes its history uniquely compelling and timely--
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: The Myth of the Great War John Mosier, 2011-03-29 Based on previously unused French and German sources, this challenging and controversial new analysis of the war on the Western front from 1914 to 1918 reveals how and why the Germans won the major battles with one-half to one-third fewer casualties than the Allies, and how American troops in 1918 saved the Allies from defeat and a negotiated peace with the Germans.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Pearl Harbor Percy L. Greaves (Jr.), 2010
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Infamy John Toland, 1983 From a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and bestselling author, a revealing account of the events surrounding the day that the Japanese military launched a sneak attack on U.S. forces stationed in Pearl Harbor. Includes evidence that top U.S. officials knew about the attack but remained silent for political reasons and the conspiracy afterward to hide the facts. Photographs.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Japanese American Incarceration Stephanie D. Hinnershitz, 2021-10-01 Between 1942 and 1945, the U.S. government wrongfully imprisoned thousands of Japanese American citizens and profited from their labor. Japanese American Incarceration recasts the forced removal and incarceration of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II as a history of prison labor and exploitation. Following Franklin Roosevelt's 1942 Executive Order 9066, which called for the exclusion of potentially dangerous groups from military zones along the West Coast, the federal government placed Japanese Americans in makeshift prisons throughout the country. In addition to working on day-to-day operations of the camps, Japanese Americans were coerced into harvesting crops, digging irrigation ditches, paving roads, and building barracks for little to no compensation and often at the behest of privately run businesses—all in the name of national security. How did the U.S. government use incarceration to address labor demands during World War II, and how did imprisoned Japanese Americans respond to the stripping of not only their civil rights, but their labor rights as well? Using a variety of archives and collected oral histories, Japanese American Incarceration uncovers the startling answers to these questions. Stephanie Hinnershitz's timely study connects the government's exploitation of imprisoned Japanese Americans to the history of prison labor in the United States.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Why the Samurai Lost Japan John D Beatty, Lee A Rochwerger, 2018-12-15 Beginning in the late 19th century, Imperial Japan embarked on a program of aggressive military overseas adventures in Asia and the Pacific. From 1904 to 1941, Japan's desire for resource independence had driven them to conquer Korea, Manchuria, large parts of China, and French Indochina, and to occupy large swaths of Pacific islands. These conquests provided tremendous resources, but still, they needed more. All these conquests were driven by the Samurai: the ancient warriors of Japan, answerable only to the needs for resources, an ill-defined bushido code, and their Emperor. They led Japan into a horrible war stretching across a third of the Earth's surface, knowing full well they could not defeat their enemies. Their plan was the uncertain hope that the West would falter and offer an olive branch, accepting Japanese hegemony in the Pacific and East Asia and granting them the resources they needed. This was a miscalculation driven by a folly of epic proportions. Four months of early and easy victories in 1941 convinced them of their invincibility. They refused to believe that their fighting spirit could be defeated by superior firepower and the sheer numbers of opponents. And the samurai had no Plan B.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Interrogations of Japanese Officials United States Strategic Bombing Survey, 1946
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: No Ordinary Time Doris Kearns Goodwin, 2008-06-30 Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Pulitzer Prize–winning classic about the relationship between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, and how it shaped the nation while steering it through the Great Depression and the outset of World War II. With an extraordinary collection of details, Goodwin masterfully weaves together a striking number of story lines—Eleanor and Franklin’s marriage and remarkable partnership, Eleanor’s life as First Lady, and FDR’s White House and its impact on America as well as on a world at war. Goodwin effectively melds these details and stories into an unforgettable and intimate portrait of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt and of the time during which a new, modern America was born.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 (Vol. 1) (The Pacific War Trilogy) Ian W. Toll, 2011-11-14 Winner of the Northern California Book Award for Nonfiction Both a serious work of history…and a marvelously readable dramatic narrative. —San Francisco Chronicle On the first Sunday in December 1941, an armada of Japanese warplanes appeared suddenly over Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Six months later, in a sea fight north of the tiny atoll of Midway, four Japanese aircraft carriers were sent into the abyss, a blow that destroyed the offensive power of their fleet. Pacific Crucible—through a dramatic narrative relying predominantly on primary sources and eyewitness accounts of heroism and sacrifice from both navies—tells the epic tale of these first searing months of the Pacific war, when the U.S. Navy shook off the worst defeat in American military history to seize the strategic initiative.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: The New Pearl Harbor David Ray Griffin, 2007 Gathering stories from the American press, from the work of other researchers and the words of members of the Bush administration, David Ray Griffin brings together an account of the 9/11 tragedy and presents a case with so many unanswered questions over what happened on September 11 2001.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Pearl Harbor Craig Nelson, 2016-09-20 “A valuable reexamination” (Booklist, starred review) of the event that changed twentieth-century America—Pearl Harbor—based on years of research and new information uncovered by a New York Times bestselling author. The America we live in today was born, not on July 4, 1776, but on December 7, 1941, when an armada of 354 Japanese warplanes supported by aircraft carriers, destroyers, and midget submarines suddenly and savagely attacked the United States, killing 2,403 men—and forced America’s entry into World War II. Pearl Harbor: From Infamy to Greatness follows the sailors, soldiers, pilots, diplomats, admirals, generals, emperor, and president as they engineer, fight, and react to this stunningly dramatic moment in world history. Beginning in 1914, bestselling author Craig Nelson maps the road to war, when Franklin D. Roosevelt, then the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, attended the laying of the keel of the USS Arizona at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Writing with vivid intimacy, Nelson traces Japan’s leaders as they lurch into ultranationalist fascism, which culminates in their scheme to terrify America with one of the boldest attacks ever waged. Within seconds, the country would never be the same. Backed by a research team’s five years of work, as well as Nelson’s thorough re-examination of the original evidence assembled by federal investigators, this page-turning and definitive work “weaves archival research, interviews, and personal experiences from both sides into a blow-by-blow narrative of destruction liberally sprinkled with individual heroism, bizarre escapes, and equally bizarre tragedies” (Kirkus Reviews). Nelson delivers all the terror, chaos, violence, tragedy, and heroism of the attack in stunning detail, and offers surprising conclusions about the tragedy’s unforeseen and resonant consequences that linger even today.
  why did japan attack pearl harbor simple answer: Strategy and Command Louis Morton, 2015-07-11 For the United States, full involvement in World War II began and ended in the Pacific Ocean. Although the accepted grand strategy of the war was the defeat of Germany first, the sweep of Japanese victory in the weeks and months after Pearl Harbor impelled the United States to move as rapidly as it could to stem the enemy tide of conquest in the Pacific. Shocked as they were by the initial attack, the American people were also united in their determination to defeat Japan, and the Pacific war became peculiarly their own affair. In this great theater it was the United States that ran the war, and had the determining voice in answering questions of strategy and command as they arose. The natural environment made the prosecution of war in the Pacific of necessity an interservice effort, and any real account of it must, as this work does, take into full account the views and actions of the Navy as well as those of the Army and its Air Forces. These are the factors-a predominantly American theater of war covering nearly one-third the globe, and a joint conduct of war by land, sea, and air on the largest scale in American history-that make this volume on the Pacific war of particular significance today. It is the capstone of the eleven volumes published or being published in the Army's World War II series that deal with military operations in the Pacific area, and it is one that should command wide attention from the thoughtful public as well as the military reader in these days of global tension.