Later than others, she began to build her own colonial empire. Only in the second half of the 19th century did this country betray its eternal isolationism and turn to external expansion. However, the Land of the Rising Sun took up the construction of its sphere of influence with unprecedented pressure. A broad program of reforms and extraordinary efforts have propelled Japan into the ranks of first-class powers. ambition new empire inevitably clashed with the interests of the old powers.

Japan itself was very poor on any resources, but nearby lay the grandiose expanses of East Asia. The only problem was that all the most interesting areas for colonization or directly included in Western colonial empires or were under their control. Britain, Holland, France, the United States, naturally, worried about the growth of Japan's power. However, strategic resources - from oil to rubber - were not in Japanese hands.

Although the generally accepted date for the start of World War II is September 1, 1939, Asia has its own opinion on this matter. IN 1931 Japanese troops invaded Manchuria, and since 1937 the full-fledged conquest of China began. At first, the major powers only tacitly supported China's resistance. USSR, USA, European countries sent military materials, volunteers and instructors.

Soviet commanders on the lake Hasan during the Japanese invasion. In the summer of 1938, a two-week conflict took place near Khasan Lake between Soviet and Japanese troops, which ended in the victory of the USSR. Photo © RIA Novosti

In 1938 and 1939, the Japanese probed the positions of the USSR on the lake Hasan and the river Khalkhin Gol. In the first case, the attack degenerated into heavy fighting with an uncertain result. But at Khalkhin Gol, the Japanese contingent was utterly defeated by the Red Army. After that, Japan gradually lost enthusiasm for land campaigns. Plans big war against the USSR were shelved (as it turned out, forever), but the plans for sea campaigns were now being worked out more actively. Moreover, the situation for the Japanese in this direction has improved.

The European countries had no time for East Asia, they had enough of their own concerns in Europe, where a new world war was starting. For now, however, the United States has remained on the sidelines. Americans watched with concern Japan's attempts to expand its sphere of influence across the compass. Politicians in the White House saw themselves as hegemons on pacific ocean.

In 1940, when Hitler beat the Allied armies on the European continent, the Japanese government began sending ultimatums to the British and French, demanding that they stop supplying China with weapons and ammunition. Churchill went for it without much pleasure, although what was happening was reminiscent of a recent Munich agreement.

The British won little time. The Japanese began by plundering the French colonies, for which no one could fight now that France itself had been crushed by Hitler. French Indochina - present-day Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos - was actually annexed by Japan and its friendly Thailand. After that, the Japanese set their sights on the Netherlands-owned Indonesia. The meaning of the Japanese claims was obvious. Nickel, rubber, oil, manganese - Indonesia was to become the resource base of the Japanese Empire.

Aircraft carrier Zuikaku before the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hitokappu Bay. Photo © Wikimedia Commons

After that, Washington was no longer just worried, but began to ring all the bells. Japanese deposits frozen in American banks, and President Roosevelt refused to meet with representatives of Tokyo to discuss plans for the division of Asia. Moreover, Roosevelt announced the need to withdraw Japanese troops from Indochina.

Since September 1941, Japan has been preparing for war. Her opponents became at once UK, France, Netherlands and USA.

pearl harbor

Japan's problem was an acute shortage of resources. The country managed to create a powerful fleet, superbly prepared naval aviation– but was unable to wage war against the great powers for years. Chief of the General Staff of the Fleet Nagano formulated directly: in the very first days of the war, a terrible blow should be dealt to the enemy, from which the enemy will not recover. The main objects of attack were to be Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong and the base of the American Navy in Hawaii, in Pearl Harbor.

A group photo of fighter pilots from the air group of the Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The names of only a few pilots are known. In the second row, third from the right, is Lieutenant Masao Sato, to the left of him are Masatoshi Makino and Yuzo Tsukamoto. Photo © Wikimedia Commons

The key base of the US fleet in the Pacific, Pearl Harbor, or in Russian - pearl harbor was in Hawaii. As you can easily see, it is located very far from those areas that the Japanese wanted to conquer. However, Pearl Harbor could become a base for a strike in the rear of the Japanese fleet and army. The Japanese expected that the defeat of the base and the destruction of the ships located there would give them several months of operations without serious resistance, and fighting spirit Americans will be dealt a crushing blow.

The plan of the army and navy called for the rapid capture of the "defensive perimeter" from Burma through Timor, New Guinea and Wake Atoll to the Kuriles, after which it was necessary to defend the achieved lines. To do this, it was necessary to defeat all the enemy fleets with a stunning blow. The British were at war in Europe and could send literally a few large ships to the Pacific. France and the Netherlands were occupied and could not really resist. remained the main problem – US Navy.

In November, both sides already understood that a clash was inevitable. Moreover, the Americans even began to play for escalation. On November 26, a note was sent to the Japanese government, harsh by any measure. They demanded from Tokyo no longer the withdrawal of troops from Indochina, but complete cleansing of China and the conclusion of a non-aggression pact with all neighbors, including the USSR, the Netherlands and the same China. In fact, the Japanese were offered to surrender.

Meanwhile, the Japanese fleet had already put to sea. His target was Pearl Harbor with its battleships, which were considered the main striking force of the fleet. The backbone of the attacking force consisted of six Japanese aircraft carriers.

Japanese aircraft prepare to take off from the heavy aircraft carrier Shokaku to attack Pearl Harbor. Photo © Military Album

The raid was planned by the admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. This naval commander literally prayed for naval aviation and gave priority to aircraft carrier formations. Directly in command of the attack was Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo. This admiral was credited with a certain disadvantage creative thinking, but hardly anyone could question his professionalism. When there were still discussions between diplomats, the squadron Nagumo already gathered at the island Iturup(now Russian territory). On December 2, already on the way, Nagumo received a dispatch: "The date of the declaration of war is December 8." In Hawaii, due to the time difference, it was also the 7th.

The Americans already knew what was going on. But guessing is not the same as knowing. Hawaii was considered too distant a target for a Japanese attack. Therefore, the intercepted telegram for the Japanese consul in Honolulu was simply put aside in the general queue for decryption. On December 6, the Americans found out that a large Japanese formation was moving towards Singapore. This was true, but from the information received, they concluded that if the Japanese were planning an attack on the English colony, then Hawaii was not in danger.

Husband Kimmel

Meanwhile at Pearl Harbor, Admiral kimmel, commander of the US Pacific Forces, ordered that the base be brought to heightened alert. The Americans were afraid of acts of sabotage, so they made a frankly controversial decision - they concentrated the planes in one place, so that in which case it would be easier to protect them from saboteurs. In fact, they were gathered to die under the blows of Japanese aircraft.

The Japanese planned a combined attack of bombers and torpedo bombers. The fact is that the ships stood in the harbor of Pearl Harbor often in two rows, so it was not possible to hit everyone with torpedoes. There were no anti-torpedo nets in the harbor - it was mistakenly believed that it was too small.

The Americans were significantly lucky: for reasons unrelated to a future war, Pearl Harbor left some of the ships in advance, including the aircraft carriers Lexington and Enterprise. Considering how complex and expensive aircraft carriers are to manufacture, this can be called a huge stroke of luck. As a result, eight battleships and many smaller vessels and ships were in the harbor.

Sunday under the bombs

After seven o'clock in the morning, an American radar spotted unidentified aircraft. This was honestly reported to the authorities, but the officers assumed that this american planes which were just expected. The officer reported to by the radar operators simply said, "Don't worry about it."

Just at that moment, another Japanese radiogram was deciphered in Washington - and they grabbed their heads. Cryptographers left no doubt: we are talking about the imminent start of the war. A warning radiogram was sent to Hawaii. She was literally minutes late.

Photo © Wikimedia Commons

At 07:51 the first wave of bombers under the command of the captain of the 1st rank Mitsuo Fuchida went to the target. Fuchida tapped the signal "Tora-tora-tora!" ("Tiger-tiger-tiger!") This was the signal for the successful launch of the attack.

Japanese bombs began to fall on airfields and ship anchorages.

Admiral Kimmel ran out onto the veranda of his house, just in time to see the torpedo bombers entering his ships. The wife of one of the officers, who was present, pointed to the harbor and shouted: “They are finishing off the Oklahoma!” “I see what they are doing,” the admiral answered through clenched teeth.

The Japanese plan was far from ideal. Many pilots were actually looking for targets on their own, so the bombs fell on not the most important targets. So, they turned it into a sieve, mistaking an old target ship for a combat battleship. Separate group planes smashed the base of flying boats - far from the most significant object at the base. The Japanese even chased individual cars!

Photo © Wikimedia Commons

However, the bulk of the aircraft hit the targets they were originally going to hit. American air defense responded very sluggishly. It was Sunday, many sailors were on leave and now they were dumbfounded watching the death of their ships from the shore. One of the officers was just getting out of the shower and realizing how serious everything was when a bomber flew right over his bathroom at full speed.

On many ships, at first they reacted sluggishly: "What the hell, today is Sunday, are there really no other days to arrange exercises!" However, bombs and torpedoes quickly convinced of the seriousness of what was happening.

To the battleship" Oklahoma"(the same one that the woman pointed out to Admiral Kimmel) was hit by four torpedoes. It was a fatal blow, the ship immediately began to capsize. The battleship, according to eyewitnesses, collapsed on its side "slowly and majestically." Then bombers worked on the battleships. One of bombs hit accurately in the cellars of the battleship " Arizona". A column of fire shot up to 300 meters. The ship flared up like a torch and rapidly began to sink. Almost the entire crew died. The fate of the sailors blocked in the interior of the battleship turned out to be especially terrible: they choked only some time later. The effect of the raid could be even worse, but the Japanese used bombs not best quality And many of them just didn't explode.

At 08:12 Kimmel sent a radio message to Washington: "The Japanese are bombing Pearl Harbor." At that moment, a huge fire was already blazing in the harbor. Many crew members jumped into the water, but now they were burning alive: fuel oil was burning on the surface.

As in the USSR on June 22, 1941, different people reacted to the outbreak of war in their own way. Someone panicked, someone fell into prostration. But on the battleship " Nevada"One sailor, who was considered a hopelessly bad sailor, arbitrarily began to shoot from a submachine gun and managed to shoot off the wing of a Japanese aircraft.

Photo © A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS, LLC

Meanwhile, a second wave had entered Pearl Harbor. The reference point for her was the columns of smoke from the set fire to the ships. This time the Americans were able to put up organized resistance. From the surviving ships, anti-aircraft guns were fired with might and main, and several fighters took off into the air. Resistance was most often provided by junior officers: the commanders were on land or were killed. However, the attack of the second wave was much less successful for the Japanese. The attack of mini-submarines that tried to enter the harbor also failed completely. In fact, if the Americans had been more vigilant, or if the decryption of the radio message had come to Hawaii faster, the Japanese raid could have ended in disaster for them.

fuchida, having spent many hours in the air, offered Nagumo arrange a new attack. Its goal would be port infrastructure and surviving ships. However, the admiral refused. Fuel began to run out, and where are American aircraft carriers, was a mystery. Moreover, a new raid would mean the need to return to aircraft carriers after dark. So Nagumo ordered the attack to be curtailed. The clock was 16:30. The attack on Pearl Harbor is over.

The Americans lost 3,500 sailors killed and wounded. Of these, a thousand people died on " Arizona". 4 battleships (" West Virginia", "California", "Arizona" And " Oklahoma") were sunk, several more smaller ships were killed, about 350 aircraft were damaged or lost. The Japanese lost five mini-submarines, 29 aircraft and 65 people.

Photo © A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS, LLC

Interestingly, there was a man in the American Navy who, many years before the raid, predicted its danger. In 1932, during the exercises of the American Navy, Admiral Harry Yarnell held an impressive demonstration with 152 aircraft. The bombers threw sacks of flour at Pearl Harbor and conditionally drowned everything that was there. However, Yarnell's conclusions were too unflattering for the command of the fleet and they were preferred simply ignore. Yarnell, desperate to convince anyone he was right, resigned in 1939, a couple of years before his prediction came true.

The Japanese began the war with impressive success. In the coming months, they will inflict a series of crushing defeats. But the war in the Pacific had only just begun.

Why did Japan attack the USA?

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Pearl Harbor is the largest US naval base in the Pacific, located on the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands.

During World War II, on December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was suddenly attacked by the Japanese army, destroying most of the American Pacific Fleet within two hours. This elaborate attack by Japanese naval forces became known as the 1941 Hawaiian operation.

The Hawaiian operation was carried out by an aircraft carrier strike group under the command of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, consisting of 33 ships, including six heavy aircraft carriers (with 420 aircraft on board), two battleships, three cruisers, 11 destroyers, three submarines and eight tankers and a formation of 27 submarines with five midget submarines on board. The overall command of the forces was carried out by the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.

The American Pacific Fleet under the command of Admiral Husband Kimmel, located at the naval base of Pearl Harbor, consisted of 93 ships, including nine battleships (one training), eight cruisers, 29 destroyers, five submarines, nine destroyers and minelayers, 10 minesweepers. There were 390 aircraft at the airfields of Oahu, including 167 naval aviation aircraft.

The air defense of the base consisted of 188 anti-aircraft guns, more than 100 machine gun installations and five radar stations. The garrison under General William Short numbered 42,959 men.

Japan began preparations for the operation in January 1941 with the strictest secrecy. Even Japan's allies, Germany and Italy, did not know about its goals and date. The route of passage of the ships practically excluded a meeting with merchant and fishing vessels and was outside the range of American patrol aircraft. During the transition, radio silence was strictly observed, at the same time, radio exchange was carried out in the Inland Sea of ​​Japan using the call signs of those ships that were heading to the Hawaiian Islands in order to disorient the enemy.

On the evening of December 6, Japanese submarines took up their starting positions on the nearest approaches to the island of Oahu and at 2300 hours began launching midget submarines. On December 7, a Japanese aircraft carrier formation entered the area located at a distance of 275 miles (about 450 km) north of the island.

It was Sunday. Part of the personnel of the American ships was on the shore. The entrance to the harbor of Pearl Harbor was not closed by booms (floating) barriers, and there was also no anti-torpedo net barrier for battleships. The disposition of the ships did not change for a long time. Aircraft at the airfields were crowded, on the approaches to the Hawaiian Islands aerial reconnaissance carried out only sporadically.

The Japanese General Staff, on the contrary, had comprehensive data on the disposition of American ships and the state of the base's defenses.

On December 7, at 0615 Hawaiian time, 40 torpedo bombers, 49 bombers, 51 dive bombers and 43 fighters took off from Japanese aircraft carriers. The raid on the base began at 07:55. At 0915 hours, the second group of aircraft (54 bombers, 78 dive bombers, 35 fighters) struck. The entire raid on the base lasted 2 hours and 5 minutes.

Four battleships, a cruiser, two destroyers, several support vessels and 188 aircraft were destroyed. Four battleships, three light cruisers, a destroyer, two support vessels and over 100 aircraft were damaged. American losses in manpower amounted to 3,581 people.

The Japanese lost 29 aircraft and six submarines (of which five were midgets), over 70 aircraft were damaged.

As a result of the Hawaiian operation and the subsequent Philippine and Malayan operations of 1941-1942. Japan won dominance at sea and gained freedom of action in the Pacific Ocean.

With a surprise attack on an American military base, Japan unleashed a war against the United States. On December 8, the USA, Great Britain, Canada and a number of other countries declared war on Japan.

The success of the Hawaiian operation was due to the careful preparation of the Japanese command for the operation, the precise organization of the covert passage of ships, and the suddenness of the strike. The American command made miscalculations in organizing the defense of the main base of the fleet and assessing the situation as a whole.

The operation showed the high combat capabilities of aircraft carriers, midget submarines did not justify themselves.

US President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941 "a day of indelible shame." The slogan "Remember Pearl Harbor" became the leading slogan in the American war against Japan.

After 1945, the naval base of Pearl Harbor was reconstructed and again began to serve as the main base of the US Pacific Fleet.

A memorial dedicated to the battleship Arizona, sunk by Japanese aircraft, has been opened.
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The name "Pearl Harbor" has become a household name for something sudden and crushing, until now this "day of shame" keeps its secrets.

For two hares

The question of when and against whom Japan would enter the war was fundamentally important. The attack on the USSR was a strategic losing move. capture Far East Japan could not give anything and certainly did not bring it closer to the main goal - oil. Sakhalin concessions gave only 100 thousand tons, and millions were required. Japan decided to play southern map". In addition, Japan has always considered the Anglo-Saxons to be its main enemy, which is why the wars in China and Singapore were of a liberating nature for it.

Hull note

Much is said today that the attack on Pearl Harbor was, in fact, provoked by the United States. On November 26, 1941, the so-called "Hull Note" (named after US Secretary of State Cordell Hull) was presented to the Japanese Ambassador to the United States. It contained demands for the complete withdrawal of Japanese troops from Indochina and from China (except Manchukuo). In fact, they were not feasible. The "Note of Hull" was an ultimatum that hurried Japan into hostilities. On this score, however, there is an alternative view. Thus, it is alleged that the aircraft carrier squadron was already on its way to Pearl Harbor when Nota was introduced.

They knew

On November 25, 1941, Roosevelt invited political and military leaders of the country to the White House. In his notes, the US Secretary of War recalled: “The President indicated that we, apparently, would be attacked. The problem boils down to how we can maneuver to get Japan to fire the first shot, while at the same time avoiding great danger to ourselves. It's a difficult task." There had been ambiguous signals about a Japanese attack before, but they all seemed to be ignored by the US leadership. Moreover, almost a day before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt was handed a Japanese note declaring war. The President did not react and did not warn the Pacific base: according to the “necessary” legend, the attack should have been treacherous.

And we knew

Stalin knew that Japan would not attack the USSR. Information reached him that at the "imperial meeting" it was decided to postpone the implementation of the Japanese plan of attack on the USSR "Kantokuen" until the spring of 1942. In addition, in early October, two months before the surprise attack, Richard Sorge informed Moscow that Pearl Harbor would be attacked within 60 days; this information, according to American sources, was brought by the Kremlin to Washington.

Aircraft carriers

The story of Pearl Harbor still bears little resemblance to a treacherous attack. Kazuhiko Togo, a well-known Japanese political scientist, grandson of Shigenori Togo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in the early 40s: “There is an opinion that the United States knew about the attack in advance, hid it and allowed itself to be attacked. But I don't have enough information on this. We do not know to what extent the Americans were aware of the plans of the Japanese. At the same time, there are things that are not clear. For example, shortly before the Japanese attack, all three American aircraft carriers were withdrawn from Pearl Harbor. Such "coincidences" provide rich food for conspiracy theories.

Radars

What do the battle for Moscow and the attack on Pearl Harbor have in common? It would seem that, apart from the date of these epoch-making events, there is nothing, but there is something in common. We are talking about the British GL Mk.II radars, which in October 1941 were delivered to the USSR to protect Moscow from German air raids, and at about the same time to the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where the "pearl bay" is located. Gun laying radars GL Mk.II (Gun Laying Radar, model II, and in Russian “SON”) were the latest radio equipment for those times that allowed guns to be aimed anti-aircraft artillery on enemy aircraft at night and in adverse weather conditions. These radars operated at frequencies around 90 MHz, making it possible to determine the distance to the target, although not very accurately by today's standards. However, the aiming of anti-aircraft guns had to be done manually. Nevertheless, anti-aircraft gunners and such radars brought tangible benefits. In the case of Pearl Harbor, the approach of the first planes was noticed by radar, but the Americans mistook them for "their own".

And what?

Pearl Harbor is one of the "eternal themes" of world history. It has a lot of details that one way or another will play with new colors under different lighting conditions. Like, for example, the fact that Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese admiral and main mastermind behind the attack, studied at Harvard in his time. Or the fact that the United States, in fact, dragged financial corporations into the war, which received superprofits in the war ... Talk will continue about the role of Stalin in this event ... films will be made ...

If you look at where Pearl Harbor is located on the world map, it's hard to believe that this paradise of the Hawaiian Islands became a real hell on one Sunday morning. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor using the troops of Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, assisted by midget submarines delivered to the attack site by Imperial Japanese Navy submarines. This date has remained in the memory of the American people as a reminder of the horrors of a war that must not be repeated.

US Navy military exercises

The US Pacific Fleet, which was located at the military base of Pearl Harbor, was considered one of the strongest fleets in the world. The military base was perfectly protected from attacks from the sea and air. To test combat readiness, the Americans conducted large-scale military exercises.

In 1932, during the exercises, the American Admiral Yarmuth (commander of the "offensive" forces) behaved atypically, and instead of bringing down the entire power of the naval squadron entrusted to him at the Pearl Harbor military base, he decided to attack only with the help of two fast aircraft carriers (which not so long ago appeared in the fleet). Approaching the target at a distance of 40 miles, the admiral sent 152 aircraft into battle. air force attackers brilliantly coped with the combat mission, conditionally destroying all aircraft at the enemy base.

Despite the complete defeat of the defenders, the US military command considered that in a real battle, aircraft carriers would be destroyed, and most aircraft would be shot down, since the real results of the battle would differ significantly from conditional attacks. The exercises of 1937 and 1938, as a result of which carrier-based aircraft again completely defeated the mock enemy, proved nothing to the American military.

The thing is that in the 30s battleships were considered the main force, attacking these powerful warships was considered a deliberately failed idea if the enemy did not have the same class of warships. All major world powers believed that the success of the war at sea depended on a single meeting of the navies of the two powers. The victory was guaranteed to be won by the side whose number of battleships exceeded the opponent. Although aircraft carriers played important role in the fleets, their task was only auxiliary support for battleships. The US military command was skeptical about the results of the exercises.

On November 11, 1940, a battle took place between the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and the Italian battle fleet. Contrary to expectations, an attack by aircraft from a single aircraft carrier was able to destroy one Italian battleship and disable two others. The battle in the harbor of Taranto was recognized by the American military as luck and the result of an irresponsible attitude towards the battle of the Italian military.

Prerequisites for preparing an attack on Pearl Harbor

It is still not known exactly why Japan decided to attack Pearl Harbor. The prerequisites for this were outlined already in 1927. This year, the future Chief of Staff of the 1st Carrier Fleet, Kusaka Ryunosuke, who had just graduated from the Specialized Naval Staff College and was then a second-class captain, began to develop plans to attack the US naval base at Pearl Harbor.

Shortly after graduating from college, he was appointed to teach an aviation course for 10 important people of the state, among whom was Nagano Osami (admiral and future marshal of the Japanese Imperial Navy). It was during this course that Kusaka Ryunosuke wrote a document stating that if a general battle with the American fleet did not take place, since it refused to go to the open sea, it would be urgent to seize the initiative and strike at Pearl Harbor. This operation can be carried out only by aviation forces.

This document was published in only 30 copies and secretly sent to the commanding staff. Most likely, he caught the eye of Admiral Yamamoto, after which a plan was formed in his head to attack Japan on Pearl Harbor. The results of the naval exercises made the Japanese take a different look at the use of aircraft carriers, and the battle in the harbor of Taranto convinced them of their idea.

Although Admiral Yamamoto did not approve of Japan's entry into the Second world war(he especially disliked the conclusion of the Tripartite Pact), as a professional military man, he did everything necessary to prepare the Japanese fleet for future hostilities. In particular, he increased the number of aircraft carriers and implemented a plan to attack Pearl Harbor.

It should be understood that Admiral Yamamoto could not have carried out the attack on Pearl Harbor on his own. When the situation between Japan and the United States escalated to such an extent that war became almost inevitable, Yamamoto turned to Rear Admiral Kaijiro Onishi, who commanded the 11th Air Fleet, for help. Kaijiro had only Zero fighters and G3M and G4M torpedo bombers at his disposal, which, due to insufficient range, could not participate in this operation. Onishi advised the distressed Yamamoto to contact his deputy, Minoru Ganda.

Why was Genda chosen? This man, in addition to being an ace pilot (his combat fighter unit was nicknamed "Genda's conjurers"), had an excellent flair for tactics. Moreover, he was considered the best specialist in Japan for combat use aircraft carriers. Genda carefully studied all the possibilities of attacking the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor and calculated how much material and human resources. To successfully carry out the operation, according to Genda, 6 heavy aircraft carriers were needed. All planes were required to land only the best pilots, and the operation itself must be carried out in the strictest secrecy to ensure complete surprise.

Detailed study of the combat operation

The development of the plan for the attack on Pearl Harbor was entrusted to one of the chief officers of the Combined Fleet, Kuroshima Kameto. This officer was distinguished by eccentricity and originality. When he “created”, he locked himself in his cabin for several days, stripped naked and sat on the table in this form, fumigating the entire room with incense. It was this strange man who developed the entire tactical plan for attacking the US military base, taking into account all possible nuances.

The finished detailed plan was submitted for trial to the Naval General Staff, where it unexpectedly met with the strongest distrust and opposition. Many officers, not believing in the effectiveness of the aircraft carriers, believed that as a result of this operation, they could all die. In addition, some were distrustful of such a large-scale operation, in which too much depended on various factors:

  • The surprise factor could fail, and the aircraft carriers would be shot on the way to the base;
  • The number of ships at the base was unknown, as was their readiness for surprise combat;
  • The air defense status of the military base was also unknown;
  • Weather conditions could also interfere with the implementation of the military operation.

Admiral Yamamoto fiercely defended his plan, as he was a very gambler, ready to put everything he had on the line. When the general staff was ready to abandon the risky operation, Admiral Yamamoto threatened to resign. Due to the fact that Admiral Yamamoto was a highly respected person, his departure would have been a disaster, so the chief of the general naval staff of Nagano had no choice but to accept Yamamoto's plan. Admiral Nagumo was also doubtful of success. To convince him, Yamamoto declared that he was ready to personally lead troops into battle if Admiral Nagumo was afraid. In order not to "lose face", Nagumo was forced to agree.

Why did Japan go to war with the US?

Many still do not understand how Japan entered the war with such a powerful power as the United States of America. Several reasons contributed to this:

  1. In 1937, Japan started a war with China, which was an economically backward country. For 3 years, Japanese troops were moving towards the border of Indochina, which led to an aggravation of the conflict with England and the USA;
  2. In 1940, Japan concluded the Tripartite Pact, which was a military alliance between three countries (Germany, Italy and Japan), which greatly affected the deterioration of relations with the United States;
  3. In July 1941, when Japanese troops invaded Indochina, the United States, Holland, and Great Britain placed an embargo on oil escorts to Japan.

It was the last point that was the last straw in the aggravation of relations between Japan and the United States. Japan's oil fuel reserves would be enough for 3 years, after which the powers with oil fields could demand any price for oil, so the Japanese command decided to seize the oil fields South-East Asia. Naturally, the United States did not like this decision, so the Japanese command had two options for possible events:

  1. Capture oil fields and give battle to the American fleet on the high seas (which was quite problematic, since the forces of the American fleet significantly outnumbered the Japanese fleet);
  2. First, defeat the enemy's navy (by surprise attack), and then concentrate on the occupation.

As you might guess, the second option turned out to be preferable.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The Japanese military formation left the Kure base between November 10 and 18, 1941. On November 22, the combat unit was in Hitokappu Bay, in the Kuril Islands region. All the necessary equipment was loaded onto warships, including canvas covers for guns, barrels of fuel for aircraft. The people who were given a complete set of winter uniforms were not forgotten either.

On November 26, the ships set off for the assembly point. They all took different routes so as not to attract suspicion. It was at the assembly point that it was to be decided whether the war with the United States would begin or not.

On December 1, Japan decided to start a war with the United States, about which Admiral Nagumo, who commanded the entire operation, was informed the very next day. The attack on Pearl Harbor was scheduled for December 7, which was transmitted in a coded order that sounded like "Climb Mount Niitaka."

In addition to aircraft carriers, about 30 different submarines participated in the combat operation, 16 of which were powerful submarines with a large radius of action. 11 submarines howled 1 seaplane each, and 5 carried small submarines.

At 6 o'clock in the morning from aircraft carriers, which were at a distance of 230 miles from the Hawaiian Islands, began to rise combat aircraft. Each plane took off with precise synchronization relative to the pitching of aircraft carriers.

First wave of attack on Pearl Harbor

The first combat wave that went to bomb the US naval base included:

  1. 40 Nakajima B5N2 torpedo bombers, whose torpedoes (especially for attacks in shallow water) were equipped with wooden stabilizers;
  2. 49 aircraft of the same type, which carried huge 800 kilogram bombs - deeply modernized and converted battleship shells;
  3. 51 aircraft of the Aichi D3A1 type (dive bomber), each of which carried a 250 kg bomb on board;
  4. 43 Mitsubishi A6M2 fighters, whose task was to cover the bombers.

Perhaps the forces of the American fleet could have prepared for the attack in advance if they had reacted quickly to the discovery of one of the Japanese mini-submarines. As early as 03:42, one of the US minesweepers noticed the periscope of a submarine, which was located near the entrance to the harbor. The information was relayed to the destroyer USS Aaron Ward, which unsuccessfully searched for it for 3 hours. At 6 o'clock this or another submarine was discovered by the Catalina flying boat, and already at 6-45 the destroyer sank it. 10 minutes after the destruction of the submarine, the destroyer transmitted a message to the duty officer, who got to him only at 7-12.

The approach of Japanese aircraft was seen at 7-02 by the radar station. Privates Joseph Locard and George Elliott, who were the operators of the radar station, reported this to the duty officer Joseph MacDonald, who in turn reported this information to Lieutenant C. Tyler. Knowing that B-17 bombers were due to arrive at the Pearl Harbor military base, the lieutenant reassured the officers on duty, saying that there was no reason for concern. The same was said by the radio station, which the pilots often used as a bearing. That is why numerous danger signals were ignored.

The commander of the Akagi air group, Fuchida, in his memoirs, which he wrote after the war, describes the signal for attack rather inaccurately. Although he filed it at 7-49, but it was a second signal. The first signal given at 7:40 was a black flare, which was not noticed by Lieutenant Commander Itaya, leading a group of fighters. The second signal was noticed by the dive commander, who immediately launched an attack.

Despite the suddenness of the attack, the military musicians on the USS Nevada battleship played National anthem United States, bombarded from all sides. The musicians only once lost their rhythm a little, when one of the bombs almost hit the battleship.

Since the Japanese understood the danger of enemy aircraft carriers, they were the main target of their attacks. But since the American aircraft carriers were absent from the base during the attack, the Japanese aircraft focused on battleships, as they were an important enough target.

The most important Japanese aircraft that participated in this operation, of course, were torpedo bombers. 16 aircraft, due to the absence of aircraft carriers on the base, were left without a specific target and were forced to attack targets at their discretion, which brought some confusion to a well-planned attack.

The first targets to be attacked were:

  1. Light cruiser "USS Raleigh";
  2. The old battleship USS Utah, which was mistaken for an aircraft carrier;
  3. Light cruiser Detroit.

While the attack was underway, Captain Commander Vincent Murphy discussed the details of the report from the USS Aaron Ward (which had sunk a Japanese submarine) with Admiral Kimmel. The liaison arrived and informed the commander that the attack on Pearl Harbor was not an exercise, which Vincent immediately informed the admiral. Kimmel, in turn, conveyed this news to all units navy who were on military bases and on the high seas.

Rear Admiral W. Furlong, who during the Japanese attack was on board the USS Oglala mine layer, saw enemy aircraft in the sky, immediately realized that this was an enemy raid and gave a signal to all ships to leave the bay. At that moment, a Japanese torpedo passed directly under the keel of the USS Oglala, which miraculously escaped damage. It would seem that the minelayer was lucky, but the torpedo, hitting the side of the USS Helena cruiser, damaged the starboard side of the USS Oglala with an explosion, causing the ship to sink to the bottom.

The huge battleship "Arizona" was sunk in 10 minutes, not having time to fire a single shot. Together with him, 1177 sailors went to the bottom. In total, 18 ships of the US Navy were disabled:

  1. Three battleships were sunk;
  2. One ran aground;
  3. One turned over;
  4. The rest received significant damage.

In addition to warships, the targets for Japanese aviation were:

  1. The airfield, which was located on Ford Island;
  2. Base air force US Hickem;
  3. Wheeler Air Force Base;
  4. Seaplane base.

Japanese fighters took up the destruction of American B-17 aircraft, which were nicknamed the "Flying Fortress".

Heavy planes on the ground were an excellent target, which was unable to fight back. After the destruction of the B-17, the American Dontless carrier-based bombers became the target of the Japanese fighters.

Second wave of attacks on Pearl Harbor

The second wave of attack by Japanese aviation consisted of 167 aircraft. There were no more torpedo bombers in the second wave, since the second attack was only the final stage.

It was during the second Japanese attack that American pilots were able to provide at least some resistance to Japanese aviation. Haleyv airfield was able to organize two sorties, consisting of 5 aircraft. These flights took place from 8-15 to 10-00. As a result of sorties, American pilots were able to shoot down 7 Japanese aircraft, losing only one of their own. This is an indication that US combat aircraft were vastly superior to those of Japan.

Results of the attack on Pearl Harbor

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was not so much a daring raid as a necessary measure, since Japan's fuel resources were under threat. Despite all the efforts of politicians and diplomats, the issue of the oil embargo could not be resolved peacefully, so the command of the Japanese army was forced to launch a surprise attack on the base of the American navy.

This operation was planned by excellent Japanese naval specialists, who provided for every detail with Japanese scrupulousness. The best aviators in Japan were selected to participate in the attack.

The main tasks that Japan set for itself when planning the attack on Pearl Harbor were:

  1. Completely destroy the American navy so that it does not interfere with the capture of oil fields;
  2. Demoralize the spirit of the American people.

If the first task was partially completed, then the second came true exactly the opposite. The entire war with Japan was held under the slogan "Remember Pearl Harbor".

Since the American aircraft carriers survived, they were able to turn the tide of the Battle of Midway, after which the Japanese fleet lost 4 aircraft carriers and about 250 aircraft, forever losing the ability to operate without coastal artillery cover.

Due to the excessive caution of Admiral Nagumo, who did not strike at the infrastructure of the base, the docks and oil storage facilities remained intact. Continuing the offensive in this direction, it was possible to consolidate the success, but the Japanese command decided to transfer aircraft to the southeast of Asia, in a hurry to seize rich oil fields.

Pearl Harbor Memorial

The Pearl Harbor Memorials consist of two large complexes:

  1. Battleship Arizona Memorial
  2. Battleship Missouri Memorial.

The Arizona Memorial is located above the site of the death of the battleship of the same name. Since its construction in 1962, more than a million people have been able to visit this memorial. In the United States, there is a tradition that every president of this country must visit this memorial at least once.

The second Missouri memorial is located aboard the decommissioned battleship Missouri, which is a museum ship. It is on this warship Japan's surrender was signed in 1945.

The attack on the Pearl Harbor military base claimed the lives of about 2,500 people. This operation did not bring Japan complete victory over the American navy, but showed the superiority of aircraft carriers over battleships.

On December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft under the command of Chuichi Nagumo dealt an unprecedented blow to the US naval base Pearl Harbor, located in the area of ​​414 Japanese torpedo bombers, bombers and fighters swept in two waves over the naval base. As a result, four were sunk (and the same number were badly damaged), three destroyers, three cruisers, minelayer, destroyed according to various sources from 188 to 272 aircraft.

In one day, the Americans lost 2403 people, 1282 were injured. It was the biggest military loss in US history. The defeat of the linear forces of the Pacific Fleet of America became the reason for its immediate entry into World War II. Prior to this event, the United States since 1939 adhered to a position of neutrality in the war and increased military power through the supply of weapons in Europe.

Attack on Pearl Harbor prepared by Japan very carefully. Command American army did not expect such a development of events, since Hawaii is located at a distance of more than 4 thousand miles from Japan. From their point of view, if an attack was to be expected, then in the southern part on one of the American colonies - Singapore or Indochina. Therefore, at the time of the attack, she was working normally.

Other bases closer to Europe were more secure and secure. Almost all units of the naval equipment of the Pacific Fleet were pulled into Pearl Harbor, hundreds of aircraft were located at neighboring airfields. Japan sought to destroy the entire American Pacific Fleet in one blow in order to gain a significant advantage in military operations.

Researchers call this the beginning of the war in the ocean is incredibly refined. Complete radio silence, sudden first strikes and terrible losses - Japan perfectly understood how to unbalance the strongest world power.

The first wave of attacks that hit Pearl Harbor came at 8 a.m., when Japanese aircraft filled the sky over the American base. It happened minutes before the flag-raising, a traditional daily American ceremony in blessed Hawaii. Bombs fell from the air onto the ships, the first of which hit the battleship Arizona, killing more than a thousand people. Not a single sailor from his crew managed to survive. Also, significant damage to the fleet was inflicted by small submarines of the Japanese fleet.

One of the Japanese pilots involved in the attack later said that it was a beautiful sight, the American ships were shining, ready for the Sunday parade, so the targets were clearly visible and it was easy to attack. During the attack, the ships did not have time to move, they were all motionless and presented ideal targets for the Japanese. The American Navy had never experienced such a disgrace before. Most of the US fleet in the Pacific turned into a heap in an hour, and the losses in this battle were minimal.

Paradoxical as it may sound, but Pearl Harbor, whose history of defeat was so bloody and ruthless, benefited the American fleet. During 1942, all the remains of the ships that were not completely destroyed were raised, restored and significantly modernized and improved. Fortunately for the Americans, in 1941 the shipbuilding potential of the base was not damaged.

Revenge for Pearl Harbor » was taken by the Americans on the night of October 24-25, 1944 in the Philippines. The US squadron collided with the Japanese battleships, destroying their targets in pitch darkness on radar.

Today the United States celebrates Memorial Day for the events at Pearl Harbor, which marked a turning point in US history. This day was no longer considered the "shame" of the American fleet, it became the beginning of the glory of the armed forces of the country that participated in the defeat of Nazi Germany.