07 December, 2021

07 December, 1941

Well, if you’ve been paying attention the last few days, you knew this was coming.

TORA! TORA! TORA!

And with those words, the attack begins.

“A day that will live in infamy!”

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07 | December | 2008 | Today's History Lesson (wordpress.com)

At just a few minutes before 8:00 am, the guns on the Japanese fighters started blazing and the bombs and torpedoes started falling.

Ninety minutes later, after two separate waves of attacks, it was over…for both sides.

As far as the U.S. was concerned, it was a huge disaster.  Yamamoto’s goal of tactical surprise was perfectly executed.  The various groups of planes arrived over their targets with almost surgical precision (if air attacks can be assessed that way), making it nearly impossible for the U.S. soldiers to focus on one target.  What’s more, the Japanese had off-loaded handful of midget submarines early on the 7th.  At least one had been discovered and sunk several hours before the attacks began, but still no serious alarms were raised.  As the smoke rose over Oahu, five battleships rested on Pearl’s harbor floor, three cruisers were damaged or sunk, and three destroyers were damaged or sunk, along with a handful of other ships.  More than 300 aircraft had been wrecked or damaged, and 2,400 people had taken their last breaths, with another 1,300 wounded.

FDR’s remarks:

The commander in charge of the attack, Admiral Yamamoto is alleged to have said afterwards:

"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

I highly recommend the movie I referenced earlier, as well.

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