 War raged in Europe between the Axis and Allies  Britain and France declared war on Germany for its invasion of Poland. Germany quickly overran Poland.  Part of the German success was its use of a new kind of war: blitzkrieg, or "lightning war." This strategy called for tanks, planes, and soldiers to attack all at the same time. The smaller armies of Germany's neighbors didn't stand a chance.  In the spring of 1940, Germany conquered Norway and Denmark, then the Netherlands and Belgium. Surprisingly, Germany also conquered France. By conquering Belgium and entering France from the northeast, Germany bypassed the Maginot Line, a massive system of reinforcements along the French-German border.

 Germany now controlled all of Western Europe except Britain. Hitler decided to drop bombs on Britain for weeks at a time, hoping that it would weaken the British people enough that a German invasion would be successful. This was the Battle of Britain. For the entire summer of 1940, German bombs rained down on Britain. British fighter planes and anti-aircraft guns shot down a large number of German planes, but the bombs kept falling. Finally, in October, the bombing stopped and Hitler abandoned his plans to invade Britain.  Meanwhile, Italy had annexed Albania and was extending its influence in Eastern Europe and in the Mediterranean. Italy had joined together in an alliance with Germany called the Axis. Japan later joined.  German and Italian troops poured into Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, even into North Africa. Then, in June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Suddenly, Germany was fighting a two-front war.  The United States at this time was sending money, weapons, and ships to Britain. German submarines were sinking American ships. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States was close to war with the Axis powers anyway.

 It was a Sunday morning. Many sailors were still sleeping in their quarters, aboard their ships. Some were sleeping on land.  At 7:02 a.m. sailors at the Radar Station on Oahu saw something on their screen. It looked like a lot of planes flying toward them.  They reported what they saw. The commanding officer on duty knew that a squadron of American planes was due in from California about the same time, the commanding officer told the two privates not to worry.  What they didn't know and what nobody in America knew was that Japanese planes had taken off at 6 a.m. from aircraft carriers 230 miles away. What nobody in America thought was possible was happening: The Japanese were attacking Pearl harbor.  At 7:55, the Japanese attacked with deadly force. The first wave of 183 planes dropped bombs and fired bullets at the almost defenseless American ships in Pearl Harbor and planes at three nearby airfields. A second wave of 167 planes followed about an hour later. American sailors fought back, struggling to get their planes off the ground and fire their guns at targets they couldn't quite see.  A fleet of midget submarines was also part of the Japanese attack. These subs dropped deadly torpedoes, which had been modified with wooden fins to run their course in the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor.

 When the attack was finished, 21 of the 96 ships at anchor had been sunk and others had been severely damaged. Of the 394 planes at Hickam, Wheeler, and Bellows airfields, 188 were destroyed and 159 were damaged. The death total was 2,403 (including 68 civilians). The wounded total was 1,178.  Eight battleships were damaged in the attack, along with three destroyers and four other smaller ships. Among the battleship casualties:  The USS Arizona was struck by a torpedo, which hit a gun magazine. The ship went down in 9 minutes, killing 1,177 aboard.  The USS Oklahoma rolled over on its side, pinning many men inside and underwater. Some were rescued; many were not. Of the crew of 1,301, 429 died.  The USS West Virginia was struck numerous times by both torpedoes and bombs. It sank.  The USS Nevada was struck numerous times by both torpedoes and bombs. After the first wave, the Nevada tried to get out to sea through the narrow channel leading into the harbor. The Nevada had almost made it when the second wave of Japanese planes attacked. The planes tried to sink the Nevada and block the channel, but the Nevada chose to beach itself instead.  Two other smaller ships, the Shaw and the Oglala, were badly damaged. (The Oglala capsized.) The Vestal was beached. The Utah, which had been a target ship for the U.S. military, was itself sunk in the attack.  The Japanese attack force lost 29 planes and a handful of midget submarines.

 In a little more than two hours, the Japanese had sunk 21 ships and killed more than 2,000 Americans. It was a devastating blow.  However, the American aircraft carriers were not in port. They were out to sea. As later results would prove, the aircraft carrier was the dominant ship in the navy. By not sinking the American carriers, the Japanese left the American left fleet largely intact. Of the 21 ships that were sunk on December 7, 1941, all but three were eventually refitted and sailed again under the American flag during the war.  When U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan the day after the attack, the answer was a resounding yes. An American that had been deeply divided over how much aid to give the Allies was now united in a common purpose: make the Japanese pay for their attack and rid the world of Nazism and Fascism.  Admiral Yamamoto, who had planned the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, had studied at Harvard University and knew well the temperament and capabilities of the American people. He had warned others in the Japanese government that for the Pearl Harbor attack to succeed, it must be a crushing blow.  The attack was devastating, yes, but it wasn't a crushing blow. Moreover, it gave the American soldiers and their families a rallying cry that carried them through to the end of the war: "Remember Pearl Harbor."

 Dec 7 th 1941 – Japanese attacked the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii  They used 350 planes as well as many small submarines  They were retaliating for the US placing an oil embargo on them  8 battleships were badly damaged, namely the Arizona, Utah & West Virginia  More than 2000 soldiers and civilians were killed  All of the aircraft carriers were out to sea and therefore undamaged