Pearl harbor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pearl harbor - Essay Example This paper briefly explores the Pearl Harbor attack, its background, and Japanese objectives associated with it. Friction between Japan and America had been escalating for several years due to Americas annoyance over Japans brutal war against China. The U.S. provided moral support to China which included: fateful step to cut off sales of oil, scrap metals, and tin to Japanese industry. Japan didnt own her own oil resources, therefore, the leadership sought after lucrative oil fields of the Dutch East Indies in South. In 1940, Nazi Germany occupied Dutch native soil in Europe. They left Dutch colonies in Asia in a relatively segregated and exposed position (Lee). Considering American opposition to war with China, Japanese leader presumed that America would intervene to their attacks on Dutch. U.S military forces stationed in Philippines (located between Japan and Dutch East Indies) and based out of Pearl Harbor posed a huge threat. Therefore, Japan initiated her Pacific War with a "knockout blow" at Pearl Harbor, with subsequent attacks planned for U.S. forces in Philippines and anywhere else. Japan held similar fears from Britain; therefore, they attacked British forces in Hong Kong, Malaya, and Singapore (Lee). Japans major objective was to cripple American Navy base in order to keep them from intervening Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies (Lee). They wanted to neutralize American power in Pacific Basin for at least six months (Burbeck 1).Another objective was to get time for Japan to strengthen its position and enhance its navy before losing their chances of victory. Moreover, Japan wanted to blow American morale. In order to maximize the effect, Japan targeted most prestigious battleships of U.S. Navy. Overall objective was to occupy Southeast Asia with any interference (Willmott 14). In order to achieve their goals, Japanese military crafted a detailed plan in which they took advantage of the information