APUSH+Pearl+Harbor

Pearl Harobor: US enters the war. 1941 The Japanese Admirable Isoroku Yamamoto had been palnning the attack on the US Pearl harbor navy base in Hawii before January of 1941, but at this point the plan only called for an air attack. By the time the US agreed to aid England in anything short of war itself in the war effort in march the plan had fermemnted and grown. In October Hideki Tojo became prime minister and Japan is preparing for war against the United Sates, even though they were not yet part of the war. That same month a German submarine missled the first US ship sunk durring the Eurpoean war. Tensions run high between the US and Japan, and finally the US took action. They demand Japan get out of China and Indochina, restricting drastically the Japanese plan of expansion. This caused strife, prematurly forcing Tojo's hand. He tried to send diplomats to the US to avoid war, while secretly sending out aricraft carriers and warships heading for Pearl Harbor. December, 7, 1941 Japan attacks Pearl harbor while almost simultaneously sending warplanes attack the Philippines, and the US islands of Wake and Guam. Wake, Guam and teh Philippines are all eventually taken. Three days after the attack Germany and Italy declared war against the United States. Pearl Harbor was the entry of the US inot the war. The attack took down 21 ships, 188 aircraft and killed more than 2,400 Americans. By making Americans see that this was real adn people were attacking the attack was a cruel reality check. The ficious attack forced the US to see the war, and ultimately drug them into a war they had long been avoiding.