Short insight on The Attack on Pearl Harbour on 9th December 1940

1. THE
DOMINO
EFFECT

4. HAWAII
Hawaii’s diverse natural scenery, warm
tropical climate, abundance of public
beaches, oceanic surroundings, and
active volcanoes make it a popular
destination for tourists. Due to its mid-
Pacific location, Hawaii has many
North American and Asian influences
along with its own vibrant native
culture. Hawaii has over a million
permanent residents along with many
visitors and U.S. military personnel. Its
capital is Honolulu on the island
of Oahu.

5. THE PEARL HARBOR
• Hawaii joined the union of the
US on August 21, 1959. It is
the only state of the US
entirely made up of islands​
• Pearl Harbour is a lagoon
harbour on the island of
Oahu, Hawaii, at the west of
Honolulu. Much of the
harbour and surrounding lands
is a United States Navy deep-
water naval base. It is also the
headquarters of the United
States Pacific Fleet.

6. CAUSES OF THE ATTACK
BACKGROUND TO CONFLICT
• War between Japan and the United States had been a possibility, though
tensions did not begin to grow seriously until Japan's 1931 invasion of
Manchuria. Over the next decade, Japan continued to expand into China.
• In 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina in an effort to control supplies
reaching China. The United States halted shipments of airplanes, parts,
machine tools, and aviation gasoline to Japan, which was perceived by
Japan as an unfriendly act. The U.S. did not stop oil exports to Japan since
such an action would be an extreme step, and likely to be considered a
provocation by Japan.
• The U.S. ceased oil exports to Japan in July 1941 after Japan invaded
Philippines. This in turn caused the Japanese to proceed with taking over
the Dutch East Indies, an oil-rich territory. On 17 August, Roosevelt warned
Japan that the U.S. was prepared to take steps against Japan if it attacked
"neighbouring countries". The Japanese were faced with the option of
either withdrawing from China or seizing raw materials in the resource-rich,
European-controlled colonies of Southeast Asia.
• Japan was fed up of negotiating with US and therefore decided to launch a
surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor. The Japanese were confident in their
ability to achieve the short, victorious war.

7. OBJECTIVES OF THE ATTACK
 The attack had several major aims.
• It intended to destroy important American fleet units, thereby preventing the
Pacific Fleet from interfering with Japanese conquest in Southeast Asia.
• It was hoped to buy time for Japan to consolidate its position and increase its naval
strength.
• It was meant to deliver a severe blow to American morale, one which would
discourage Americans from committing to a war extending into the western Pacific
Ocean and Dutch East Indies. To maximize the effect on morale, battleships were
chosen as the main targets, since they were the prestige ships of any navy at the
time.
• But the disadvantage of the timing of the attack was the absence from Pearl
Harbour of all three of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers (Enterprise,
Lexington, and Saratoga).
• The targeted ships would be in very shallow water, so it would be relatively easy to
salvage and repair them.
• Most of the crews would survive the attack, since many would be on shore leave or
would be rescued from the harbour.

8. THE ATTACK
• The first wave arrived over Pearl Harbor at approximately 7:45 a.m. to find seven U.S.
battleships moored along "Battleship Row", on the east side of Ford Island.
• The Japanese initially hit the airfields, destroying many aircrafts located on the southern tip of
Ford Island. This attack followed by the dispatch of communications was the World's first
notification that war had begun in the Pacific.
• Moments thereafter, torpedo planes attacked from west hitting the USS Helena, USS Utah and
USS Raleigh, all on the west side of Ford Island. From the east, torpedo planes came in and hit
the USS California, the USS Nevada, USS Oklahoma and West Virginia.
• As the torpedo planes continued the first wave attacks, additional bombs were dropped on
"Battleship Row", hitting several ships. As the first wave departed, the Japanese telegraph
operator taped out Tora, Tora, Tora: the code word for surprise attack achieved.
• The second wave of planes further attacked some of the ships already hit, further destroying the
Navy Yard. The battleship Pennsylvania and three destroyers were bombed in dry dock. Other
bombers went after the Nevada, which had left her berth and was trying to get to sea. Anti-
aircraft gunfire met these ships, causing losses which were far greater than those of the first
attack wave.
• Fortunately, neither wave had the opportunity to hit American aircraft carriers, all of which
were out at sea. However, in less than two hours the Japanese had ruined the U.S. Pacific Fleet's
battleship force, ensuring the US would not interfere with further plans for conquest.
• There was a possibility of a third wave but was later cancelled. It was intended to carried out in
order to destroy as much of Pearl Harbour's fuel and torpedo storage, maintenance, and dry
dock facilities as possible.

9. FIRST WAVE
The first attack wave of 183 planes was
launched north of Oahu, led by
Commander Mitsuo Fuchida. It
included:
o 1st Group (targets: battleships and
aircraft carriers)
o 2nd Group – (targets: Ford Island and
Wheeler Field)
o 3rd Group – (targets: aircraft at Ford
Island, Hickam Field, Wheeler Field,
Barber's Point, Kaneohe)

10. SECOND WAVE
 The second planned wave consisted of 171
planes, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander
Shigekazu Shimazaki. Its targets comprised:
o 1st Group
o 2nd Group (targets: aircraft carriers and
cruisers)
o 3rd Group – (targets: aircraft at Ford Island,
Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, Barber's Point,
Kaneohe)
 The second wave was divided into three groups.
One was tasked to attack Kāneʻohe, the rest
Pearl Harbor proper. The separate sections
arrived at the attack point almost
simultaneously from several directions.

12. THE PEARL HARBOR
WHO WAS INVOLVED-JAPAN
• General Hideki Tojo- He served as Japan’s Chief of Staff
of the Army and Minister of War. He assumed an
additional position of Prime Minister in October 1941,
just before the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Pacific
Fleet. Tojo, initially supported negotiations with the US
but when he realized it was impossible, ordered the
attack on Pearl Harbor.​
• Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto-
Yamamoto became familiar with the mastered
equipment of the US and developed a negative opinion
of the US Navy during his frequent visits. Yamamoto
became the commander of the Combined Fleet and
was to lead Japan’s entire Navy into war. He devised a
well thought out plan to attack Pearl Harbor and
destroy the US Pacific Fleet, which turned out to be a
tremendous success leading him to be admired as a
national hero in Japan.
General Hideki
Tojo
Admiral Isoroku
Yamamoto

13. THE PEARL HARBOR
WHO WAS INVOLVED-USA
• Husband Edward Kimmel (February 26, 1882 –
May 14, 1968)- was a four-star admiral in the US
Navy and Commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific
Fleet at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor. He was removed from that command after
the attack and reduced to the two-star rank of rear
admiral. He retired from the Navy with that rank.
• Walter Campbell Short- A deputy general in the
United States Army and the U.S. military
commander responsible for the defence of U.S.
military installations in Hawaii at the time of the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7,
1941. On December 17, 1941, he was removed
from command of the U.S. Army's Hawaiian
Department as a result of the Japanese attack on
the Hawaiian Islands.
Husband Kimmel
Walter Short

14. CASUALTIES & LOSSES
USA
• 5 battleships sunk​
• 188 aircraft destroyed
• 18 ships sunk , run aground
• 159 aircraft damaged​
• 2,403 killed​
• 1,178 wounded​
JAPAN
• 4 midget submarines sunk​
• 1 midget submarine
grounded​
• 29 aircraft destroyed​
• 64 killed​
• 1 captured​

15. 7TH DECEMBER 1941-
TIMELINE
3:42 am. A
minesweeper
spotted
submarine
periscope ,he
sent a blinker light
message to the
destroyer Ward.​
7:15am
The message sent
to headquarters is
received by
Husband Kimmel.
He told them not
to act until
verification of
this report.
7:33am
warning sent
from Hawaii to
Washington.
But message
isn’t received
until 11:45
8:17am The
US destroyer
Helm fires at
the Japanese
submarine but
misses.
10:00am
Japanese airc
rafts return
to their
carriers. As
the third
wave of
attacks was
debated.
6:53am Destroyer
Ward warns
headquarters of a
submarine attack​
7:20am Japan
ese planes
ignored by
a replacement
at Fort Shafter
7:55am First
wave of
Japanese
planes attack
Pearl Harbour
8:54am
Second wave
of Japanese
aircrafts
attack
Pearl Harbour

16. US BATTLESHIPS LOST OR DESTROYED
WEST
VIRGINIA
USS
ARIZONA
USS
CALIFORNIA
USS
PENNYSYLVANIA
USS
OKLAHOMA
USS
NEVADA
USS
TENNESSEE
USS
MARYLAND

18. WAS THE US PREPARED FOR WAR?
• No. Although it was obvious that war was
coming to the Pacific, the war in Europe and
the on-going Battle of the Atlantic against
German submarines and warships had
convinced the U.S. Navy of the need to send
many ships and aircraft from the Pacific to
the Atlantic to help protect U.S. interests
and, indirectly, to help the British.
• In the Pacific many of the available aircraft
were being sent westward, to bases in the
Philippines, where the Japanese attack was
expected to come first.
• Although warning radar, fighter aircraft, and
antiaircraft guns were available at Pearl
Harbor, the commanders, Adm. Husband E.
Kimmel and Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short, had not
established a viable air defence system.
Husband Kimmel

19. WHY WAS THE JAPANESE ATTACK SO
SUCCESSFUL?
• The Japanese carriers sailed secretly and
approached Pearl Harbor on a northern
route, rarely used by merchant ships.
They did not use their radios and hence
were undetected.
• The pilots had carefully practiced the
attack procedures and had specific
targets assigned for the attack. Thus
prepared, the Japanese carried out the
attack on a Sunday morning, when it was
known that most of the U.S. Pacific Fleet
would be in Pearl Harbor, with many of
the officers and crews ashore.

20. OUTCOME OF THE ATTACK
THE AFTERMATH
The day after the attack, Roosevelt
delivered his famous Infamy Speech to a
Joint Session of Congress, calling for a
formal declaration of war on the Empire
of Japan. On December 11 Germany and
Italy, honoring their commitments under
the Tripartite Pact, declared war on the
United States. Britain actually declared
war on Japan nine hours before the US
did, due to Japanese attacks on Malaya,
Singapore and Hong Kong, and even due
to Winston Churchill's promise to declare
war "within the hour" of a Japanese
attack on the United States. The attack
was an initial shock to all the Allies in the
Pacific Theater.

21. COUNTER ATTACK
• The decision of dropping the atomic
bomb twice on Japan was partly related
to the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan.
• When a general raised objections to the
use of the bombs, Harry Truman
responded by noting the atrocities of
Pearl Harbor and said that
“When you have to deal with a
beast you have to treat him as a
beast.”

22. USS ARIZONA MEMORIAL
The USS Arizona Memorial on the
island of Oahu honors the lives lost on
the day of the attack. The
USS Arizona Memorial has come to
commemorate all military personnel
killed in the Pearl Harbor attack. Alfred
Preis is the architect responsible for the
memorial's design. It commemorates
"initial defeat and ultimate victory" of
all lives lost on December 7, 1941.
Although December 7 is known as Pearl
Harbor Day, it is not considered a
federal holiday in the United States.
The nation does however, continue to
pay homage remembering the
thousands injured and killed when
attacked by the Japanese in 1941.