Mini Theater of Important Events Pearl Harbor

Mukden Incident 1931 Japan seizes Manchuria for its natural resources. To justify this they faked an attack called the “Mukden incident” carried out by Japanese soldiers disguised as Chinese. The League of Nations investigates and condemns the Japanese action Japan withdrawals from the League of Nations The alleged Japanese plan was to attract Chinese troops by an explosion and then blame them for having caused it, to provide a pretext for a formal Japanese invasion. In addition, to make the sabotage appear more convincingly as a calculated Chinese attack on an essential target — thereby masking the Japanese action as a legitimate measure to protect a vital railway of industrial and economic importance

Soldiers from the Imperial Japanese Army enter Nanking in January 1938 Rape of Nanking 1937-38 Japan seizes the Chinese capital of Nanking. During a six week period between 200,00 and 300,000 people were killed According to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, total number of civilians and prisoners of war murdered in Nanking and its vicinity during the first six weeks of the Japanese occupation was over 200,000. These figures do not take into account those persons whose bodies were destroyed by burning, drowning, or other means. According to the verdict of the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal on 10 March 1947, there are "more than 190,000 mass slaughtered civilians and Chinese soldiers killed by machine gun by the Japanese army, whose corpses have been burned to destroy proof. Besides, we count more than 150,000 victims of barbarian acts buried by the charity organizations. We thus have a total of more than 300,000 victims." Soldiers from the Imperial Japanese Army enter Nanking in January 1938

U.S. Sanctions 1940 Japan demands the right to exploit economic resources in French Indochina The U.S. apply economic sanctions against Japan unless Japan withdraws to its former borders of 1931 Without resources or oil and scrap iron from the United States Japan could not further their militaristic goals

Attack Japan decides to launch an attack on the U.S. and European colonies of Southeast Asia. Japanese attack the U.S. military fleet at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 at 7:48 am At the same time they attack the Philippines and advance toward the British colony of Malaya

Route taken by the Japanese Fleet

The Japanese attack consisted of: Two aerial attack waves totaling: 353 aircraft launched from six Japanese aircraft carriers Japanese naval aircraft prepare to take off from an aircraft carrier (reportedly Shokaku) to attack Pearl Harbor during the morning of 7 December 1941. Plane in the foreground is a "Zero" Fighter. This is probably the launch of the second attack wave. The original photograph was captured on Attu in 1943.

The following pictures are from the Official U. S The following pictures are from the Official U.S. Naval National Archive Collection They were taken from captured Japanese or found when they captured islands. A Japanese Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Plane ("Kate") takes off from a carrier as the second wave attack is launched. Ship's crewmen are cheering "Banzai" This ship is either Zuikaku or Shokaku. Note light tripod mast at the rear of the carrier's island, with Japanese naval ensign.

Japanese Navy Type 99 Carrier Bombers ("Val") prepare to take off from an aircraft carrier during the morning of 7 December 1941. Ship in the background is the carrier Soryu.

The Commanding Officer of the Japanese aircraft carrier Shokaku watches as planes take off to attack Pearl Harbor, during the morning of 7 December 1941. The Kanji inscription at left is an exhortation to pilots to do their duty. The Kanji inscription at left is an exhortation to pilots to do their duty.

A Japanese Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Plane ("Kate") takes off from a carrier as the second wave attack is launched. Ship's crewmen are cheering "Banzai" This ship is either Zuikaku or Shokaku. Note light tripod mast at the rear of the carrier's island, with Japanese naval ensign.

A Japanese Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Plane ("Kate") takes off from the aircraft carrier Shokaku, en route to attack Pearl Harbor, during the morning of 7 December 1941.

A Japanese Navy "Zero" fighter (tail code A1-108) takes off from the aircraft carrier Akagi, on its way to attack Pearl Harbor during the morning of 7 December 1941. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives Collection.

Photograph from a Japanese plane of Battleship Row at the beginning of the attack. The explosion in the center is a torpedo strike on the USS West Virginia Photograph from a Japanese plane of Battleship Row at the beginning of the attack. The explosion in the center is a torpedo strike on the USS West Virginia

Battleships USS Arizona Total loss when a bomb hit her magazine. USS Oklahoma Total loss when she capsized and sunk in the harbor. USS California Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired. USS West Virginia Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired. USS Nevada Beached to prevent sinking. Later repaired. USS Pennsylvania Light damage. USS Maryland Light damage. USS Tennessee Light damage. USS Utah Sunk

U.S. Losses: 188 U.S. aircraft 2,402 U.S. personnel were killed 1,282 were wounded.

The USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ship's 1177 crewmen who lost their lives on December 7, 1941

Japanese Losses: 29 aircraft 5 midget submarines 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor was captured. Japanese oil painting depicting the nine crewmen who were lost with five destroyed midget submarines

America’s First Prisoner of War Taken in WWII The only survivor of the Japanese midget submarines Sakamaki

Sakamaki Sakamaki was one of ten sailors (5 officers and 5 petty officers) who volunteered to attack Pearl Harbor in midget submarines. Of the ten, nine were killed including the other crewman in his submarine. Sakamaki had set an explosive charge to destroy his disabled submarine, which had been trapped on Waimanalo Beach. When the explosives failed to go off, he swam to the bottom of the submarine to investigate the cause of the failure and became unconscious due to a lack of oxygen. Sakamaki was found by a Hawaiian soldier, and was taken into military custody. When he awoke, he found himself in a hospital under American armed guard. His submarine was captured intact and was subsequently taken on tours across the United States as a means of encouraging the purchase of war bonds. After being taken to Sand Island, Sakamaki burned himself with cigarettes and requested that he be allowed to commit suicide, which was denied. Sakamaki spent the rest of the war in prisoner of war camps on the mainland United States. At the war's end, he returned to Japan.

Significance: Dec. 8, 1941 the U.S. declares war on Japan Created broad spread support for the war December 11th: Germany declares war on USA