Attack on Pearl Harbor | Nihon Kaigun

Attack on Pearl Harbor
(December 7, 1941)

I'm not going to bother writing much on this one; we all know the deal. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief of Combined Fleet, put together a brilliant operational plan, and we were caught sleeping. Result: we got our butts handed to us. The only bright spot in the whole debacle was that the commander of Japan's carrier force Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, failed to launch the follow-up strikes which might have completely wrecked the base's machine shops and fuel depots, thus providing the US Pacific fleet with some logistical breathing room. The other thing I will say is that I've never been particularly indignant about the fact that the Japanese failed to declare war on us before the bombs started falling. Hey, they tried, but it just didn't quite work out. And after all, the world community hadn't evidenced any indignity over their declaring war on the Russians in 1905 after they had already commenced hostilities. Likewise, nobody told the Egyptians that the Israeli Air Force was gonna bushwhack them in '67, either, and we still think the Israeli's are the good guys, right? Welcome to warfare.

Attack on Pearl HarborJapanAllied
Starting Forces x6
x2
x2
x1
x9
x350
+ 6 minisubs
x8
x2
x6
x29
x5
+ Various Auxiliaries
Losses x29 planes shot down
6 minisubs sunk
x5 sunk (2 permanently)(Arizona, Oklahoma, California, West Virginia, Nevada (beached) )
x3 heavily damaged
x3 moderately damaged
x3 heavily damaged
x188 planes destroyed

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Hospital at Hickam Field, Oahu, US Territory of Hawaii, as seen from the base water tower, 1941Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, US Territory of Hawaii, Oct 10, 1941. Carrier Enterprise and Repair Ship Curtiss are moored alonfside Ford Island on the right of the photograph.Aerial view looking south at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, 30 Oct 1941; note partial view of Battleship Row at left and USS Enterprise at upper leftVertical aerial photograph of Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, 10 Nov 1941; note Battleship Row on top, USS Lexington at bottom, and PBY aircraft at upper rightJapanese Ambassador Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura and Special Envoy Saburo Kurusu with US Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Washington, United States, 17 Nov 1941
Hospital at Hickam Field, Oahu, US Territory of Hawaii, as seen from the base water tower, 1941Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, US Territory of Hawaii, Oct 10, 1941. Carrier Enterprise and Repair Ship Curtiss are moored alonfside Ford Island on the right of the photograph.Aerial view looking south at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, 30 Oct 1941; note partial view of Battleship Row at left and USS Enterprise at upper leftVertical aerial photograph of Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii, 10 Nov 1941; note Battleship Row on top, USS Lexington at bottom, and PBY aircraft at upper rightJapanese Ambassador Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura and Special Envoy Saburo Kurusu with US Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Washington, United States, 17 Nov 1941
Page 1 of a US Army alert order dated 28 Nov 1941 issued to west coast commands indicating the rising tensions with Japan. The first paragraph is a repeat of the alert issued by George Marshall in Washington, DC.A6M2 Zero fighter aboard carrier Akagi prior or during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec 1941Kaga in heavy seas en route to Pearl Harbor, circa early Dec 1941; carrier Zuikaku in backgroundAdvertisement for silk fabrics that appeared in two Honolulu newspapers 3 Dec 1941, four days before the attack. This ad was said to have coded messages alerting Japanese residents in Hawaii. This copy has been “decoded”The top of the Silk Ad from two 3 Dec 1941 Honolulu newspapers turned upside down and viewed in a mirror. This was supposed to reveal the words, “Japan raid.”
Page 1 of a US Army alert order dated 28 Nov 1941 issued to west coast commands indicating the rising tensions with Japan. The first paragraph is a repeat of the alert issued by George Marshall in Washington, DC.A6M2 Zero fighter aboard carrier Akagi prior or during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec 1941Kaga in heavy seas en route to Pearl Harbor, circa early Dec 1941; carrier Zuikaku in backgroundAdvertisement for silk fabrics that appeared in two Honolulu newspapers 3 Dec 1941, four days before the attack. This ad was said to have coded messages alerting Japanese residents in Hawaii. This copy has been “decoded”The top of the Silk Ad from two 3 Dec 1941 Honolulu newspapers turned upside down and viewed in a mirror. This was supposed to reveal the words, “Japan raid.”

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