The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise bomb strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on the morning of December 7, 1941. This caused the Americans to officially announce themselves as participants in World War II by declaring war on Japan the very next day.
The Japanese Army intended to prevent America from influencing the war that the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia, against Britain and the Netherlands, as well as the U.S. in the Philippines.
Launching from six aircraft carriers, the 353 Japanese aircraft attacked the Hawaiian base in two waves sinking four battleships and damaging four more. Three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship and one minelayer were also damaged or sunk. 188 American aircraft faced destruction, 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 were wounded, compared with the Japanese with only 29 aircraft and five midget submarines destroyed, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded, and just a single prisoner.
Before the attack, the America public was firmly in favour of being impartial to the conflicts of the World, but Japan's shocking sneak attack on Pearl Harbour quashed any American isolationist sentiment. This event was the linchpin that led America to takes sides against the WWII Axis Powers., including the involvement in Europe.
There are numerous memorial events going on in and around Pearl Harbour on the 7th December, but you can experience a tour of America's involvement in the Second World War by taking a D-Day Tour across France. This four day tour includes the famous D-Day landings on Normandy Beach, and visits to Dieppe & Bayeux.
