Attack on Pearl Harbor

Here's another essay from Military Studies. No grade yet, so feel free to tell me what you think. The Attack on Pearl Harbor, Why It Happened December 7, 1941 was a major turning point in United States history. "President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy." Works Cited: The Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/wwii/pearlhar_1 The Japanese wanted oil and raw materials after the western nations stopped trade with Japan. This I believe is what led up to the war in the Pacific. Americans had no desire to go to war, they just wanted Japan to stop its expansion. If Japan would have withdrawn from China, this attack would not have occurred. Japan had not looked kindly on America for a while before the war however. One of the main reasons was America's refusal to recognize Japan's authority in occupied CHina. The United States truly believed they were prepared for anything Japan tried to do. U.S officials believed they were well informed "through an ability to read Japan's diplomatic codes" Works Cited: Naval History and Heritage Command http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/pearlhbr.htm This raid from Japan caused Americans to become much more united than before. I believe that if Japan had not attacked Pearl Harbor, Americans would not have become a stronger people. I think the military learned so much from this attack and strengthened its forces. The Japanese viewed this attack as the ultimate way to disabled the American military by attacking American Naval Forces. The Japanese were successful at accomplishing their goal of crippling the Pacific fleet. Japanese commanders had developed a really well-thought out strategy and were in the fight to win or die. I don't think American commanders really knew what Japan was capable of at the time. This attack caused U.S commanders to really analyze tactics after the Naval fleet was extremely weakened. Works Cited: Attack on Pearl Harbor World War II History Homepage http://worldwar2history.info/Pearl-Harbor/ The military technology at the time was still in its early development, but some radars were in place. The radar spotted the Japanese planes, but they were thought to be American planes. I think that if radar had been more carefully studied, this fatal mistake would not have happened. U.S leaders should have been more alert of the approach of this war, because there were warning signs. The main sign was that the Japanese had been sending Naval messages, but those who were assigned to interpret Japanese code were instructed to focus on diplomatic messages rather than all others. The major problem that existed during this time was that cryptography technology was in the very early stages of being developed. It seems that Japan had an advantage over the Americans due to its use of more effective technology. The Japanese had also gathered data collected by spys to gain an even stronger edge on America. I think that if American officials would have viewed the Japanese as more of a threat, they would have acted earlier. The Japanese had been planning for this surprise attack six months before it happened. I don't think the U.S really understood what Japan was capable of until this attack. What also made this a brutal war was that since Japan was winning so many attacks, they started believing they were invincible. After the attack, an investigation was begun to see what could be gained from the war. U.S officials finally saw that they were not clearly focusing on the right warning signs. During the days following the attack, the U.S military began repairs to ships and also began to develop a better understanding of battle strategies. I think this attack was a very valuable learning experience for the entire nation. It caused much reflection and in the end, made the American military into a much stronger total force. Work Cited: Pearl Harbor Attack http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1649.html Bibliography: Naval History and Heritage Command http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/pearlhbr.htm Attack on Pearl Harbor World War II History Homepage http://worldwar2history.info/Pearl-Harbor/ The Japanese Attacked Pearl Harbor http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/wwii/pearlhar_1 Pearl Harbor Attack http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1649.html