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Image Source: Public Domain, Kahn AcademyThe Japanese invade North China in search of more power and raw materials. They invade a Chinese province called Manchuria. It was common practice for the Japanese to commit war crimes against the Chinese people there to make the Chinese feel like they had no power over their oppressors.
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Image Source: Los Angeles TimesIn an attempt to stop Japanese military expansion, the U.S. imposes trade sanctions, and then an embargo on oil, which reduces their oil imports by 90 percent. This crippled their ability to move forward in an offensive way.
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Image Source: Cryptologic FoundationThe U.S. cracks the Japanese code and starts decoding all Japanese diplomatic messages. This eventually helped them win the Battle of Midway.
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Image Source: Alamy Stock ImagesJapanese officers start discussing a possible attack on Pearl Harbor.
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Image Source: Library of CongressAfter learning about the potential attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. Ambassador Joseph C. Grew wires the U.S. government. They do not believe his accusations and brush his opinions aside.
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Image Source: Picryl, Public DomainThe Japanese send an ambassador, Kichisaburo Nomura, to discuss potential diplomatic solutions with the U.S. United States Secretary of State Cordell Hull on 8 December 1941, some forty minutes after Japanese carrier-based torpedo bombers had laid waste the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, dismissed Nomura (along with Special Ambassador Kurusu Saburô), as "scoundrels and piss-ants" (Mauch 353).
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Image Source: Naval History and Heritage CommandJapanese submarines start heading toward Pearl Harbor to get ready for the attack.
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Image Source: Pearl Harbor Aviation MuseumA final attempt at diplomacy on the Japanese’s part is rejected by President Roosevelt. Japanese aircraft carriers move toward Pearl Harbor.
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Image Source: Getty ImagesDecoders at Bletchley Park decode a message from the Japanese of an unknown attack. The government assumed it would be an attack on Taiwan, but it ended up being on their own air base in Hawaii.
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Image Source: Alamy Stock Images10 Japanese midget subs surround the base to scout out the area.
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Image Source: Naval History and Heritage CommandThe U.S.S Condor sees a minesweeper periscope above the water. It’s captain radios the base.
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Image Source: Getty ImagesNearly 200 Japanese planes take off from aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Pearl Harbor Strike Force, which is positioned some 275 miles (440 km) north of Oahu.
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Image Source: Navy.milA radio station in Oahu spots unidentified aircraft flying toward Pearl Harbor on their radar. A general on the airbase dismisses the warning thinking the planes are bombers coming from California.
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Image Source: CNN NewsThe U.S.S. Arizona explodes and sinks into the bottom of the harbor. Minutes before, it was hit with a Japanese armor-piercing bomb that destroyed the forward magazine and caused a devastating explosion. The bomb killed 1,177 crewmen on the dreadnought.
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Image Source: Library of CongressThe Japanese aircraft return to the carrier they were on and ultimately back to Japan. The attack was successful from Japan’s point of view and they would keep on with their further plans. Little did they know that they had angered America enough that we would create the weapon to win the war.
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Image Source: Navy.milCargo ship U.S.S Antares spots a Japanese submarine scouting a tower in the defensive sea area.
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Image Source: CNN NewsThe coordinated attack on Pearl Harbor begins. The image shown is the first bomb dropped when the attack began. “They announced over the speaker to man your battle stations. ‘This is no blank’ I'll let you fill that in yourself. Just as they got the last word out, I can remember very distinctly that a torpedo hit just as I was running down the steps to go to my battle station down at the powder deck aboard the battleship.”-Paul Aschbrenner, attack survivor
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Image Source: Getty ImagesThe second wave of planes attacks Pearl Harbor. Among the forces, there were 78 dive-bombers, 35 fighters, and 54 high-altitude bombers. The battleship Pennsylvania, three destroyers, and the U.S.S Nevada are targeted. “Stray bullets were screaming past us and once my buddy asked if I heard that one whistle past us. I replied, ‘I am not deaf!'"-Sgt. Robert E. Baird, Army Air Force.
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Image Source: BBC NewsBy the end of the day, almost the entire country is aware of the attack. Prejudice against the Japanese becomes much worse in America.
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Image Source: Public DomainThe destroyer the U.S.S Ward fires on a Japanese submarine. These are the first shots by America in World War II. At 6:53 AM the captain of the Ward radios the air base saying, “We have attacked, fired upon, and dropped depth charges upon submarine operating in defensive sea area” (Brittanica) near Pearl Harbor.
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Image Source: National ArchivesPresident Franklin D. Roosevelt gives his “Day of Infamy” speech, in which he says the famous quote, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” (FDR Library) Congress declares war on Japan at his request.
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Image Source: Thomas Gilette, 1940Siblings Lydia Grant and Thomas Gillette witnessed firsthand the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thomas recalled when, "Thomas’ mother ran outside to see what was happening. Tomas yelled out, 'Look, torpedo planes!' and was somewhat taken aback when his mother replied, 'Yeah, and they’re not ours now get in the damned house!'" (Balfour)
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Image Source: Change.orgAdm. Kimmel and Gen. Short are found guilty of letting the attack on Pearl Harbor happen. They are found in dereliction of duty.
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Image Source: U.S Army Air ForceThe Doolittle raid sets to attack Tokyo. It does little damage, but it weakens the Japanese government’s prestige and shakes their confidence.
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Image Source: National ArchivesThe Battle of Midway begins, a grueling 4-day battle, where the outmatched U.S pacific fleet manages to take down four Japanese aircraft carriers while only losing one of their own. The battle becomes a major U.S. victory and proves the Japanese navy is not as formidable as it seems.
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Image Source: Department of DefenseThe crew of the Enola Gay prepare to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. None of the crew know what type of bomb they are dropping, but they have been told it could shorten or even end the war.
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Image Source: National ArchivesThe first bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, unleashing an explosion like one never seen before. "I am become death, destroyer of worlds." J. Robert Oppenheimer.
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Image Source: National ArchivesThe second atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki. This action on the part of America wins them the war.
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Image Source: Time Magazine"Everything turned white. We were too stunned to move, for about 10 minutes. When we finally crawled out from under the tatami mat, there was glass everywhere, and tiny bits of dust and debris floating in the air. The once clear blue sky had turned into an inky shade of purple and grey."-Takato Michishita (Time Magazine)
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Image Source: History News NetworkThe Japanese are forced to surrender to America after being hit with 2 atomic bombs and suffering more civilian losses than they could imagine.
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Image Source: pearlharbor.orgThe U.S.S. Arizona memorial gets nearly 1.7 million visitors per year as well. It is remembering the men and their ship who never came back out of the water. The floor of the large hallway in the memorial is made of glass so visitors can see the sunken warship in all of its glory.