Pacific Campaign

Reason why Japan attacked in Pearl Harbor

When World War II began, the policy of isolationism was been applied by the United States, reason why this powerful country didn’t enter the war when it first started. Due to this policy, the different ideologies were able to spread all over Europe, bringing a growing tension inside the continent. However, the position of the United States will change by entering the war in 1941 due to the bomb that Japan, an island in south Asia, sent to Pearl Harbor, one of the most important Hawaiian ports.

Pearl Harbor’s attack was an excellent strategy used by the Japanese in order to make USA join the war. Likewise, there were a number of reasons behind the attack that lead Japan to bombed the Hawaiian port.

In 1940, the American President, Roosevelt, decided to move the naval fleet from the city of San Diego, to Hawaii. This gave Japan the perfect opportunity to attack the port in order to destroy the majority of the American naval forces, which were obviously a big threat to the Japanese army. As well, Japan was planning to attack USA since the war first started, but the advanced system of detectors and radars were an impediment to the Japanese fleet, as they could get detected easily by being close to the shore. Instead, in Hawaii, the systems of radars were less, which gave the Asian troops a great opportunity to attack with the chance to escape easily and quickly.

In parallel, the United States was one of the most powerful and important nations of the time, which gave Japan another reason to attack it, due to the advantage that this country had by the fact that the USA didn’t know what would happen; which gave the small Asian nation a big probability to bomb the port without being noticed. This would make Japan’s influence grow, as well as its power and imperialism. Likewise, the achievement of an attack to USA would weaken the American fleet, which benefited the communist nations and also would help Japan’s imperialist territory to grow.

In short, the Japanese attack to Pearl Harbor was a matter of interest in order to gain more power and grow in imperialism. As well, the Eastern Island was looking forward to debilitate the strong power that the United States had over Europe and the world, by destroying their naval forces located in Hawaii, islands which did not have a great system of radars and detectors, a point that beneficed Japan and helped the nation to decide and prepare the attack. As a result of Pearl Harbor, Japan will grow its influence but this attack will cause the United States to join the war against the Axis powers, something that obviously did not benefit Japan at all. At the end of the war, the United States will take revenge for what happened in Pearl Harbor, which will be the last event that will end finally with World War II.

Short video about the attack:

Japanesse attack

Pearl Harbor monument in Oahu

Pearl Harbor

Why the United States used atomic bombs if the war was already over?

Atomic bomb in Hiroshima

World War II came to an end on August of 1945 with the nuclear bombs sent by the United States to the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; even though war was already over in Europe by the death of Adolf Hitler and the German and Nazi surrender at the end of the Battle of Berlin on May of the same year. As a result, the bombing of Japan was not necessarily due to the victory that the Allies had already by controlling the whole European world.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place the 6th and 9th of August, respectively, and it was an attack from the United States to the Asian Island in order to have revenge of what their naval fleet had caused four years before in Pearl Harbor. This bombing was called the “Manhattan Project”, and was even supported by the United Kingdom and Canada.

After the German surrender, the whole attention of the Allies turned over to Japan; even though they had control of Europe and the main cause of the World War II was under capitalist control, there was a strong feeling of resentment and revenge from the United States towards to Japan because of the damage caused in Hawaii. Therefore, the Allies couldn’t accept another bombing to any capitalist port, reason why the American President decided to take over Japan.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The main reason of the bombing was not to stop Japan from expanding and becoming a bigger threat; that could be done by signing an agreement, because of the influence that the capitalist countries had due to their control of almost all the world by that time. However, it was the resentment that the United States had towards the island that lead the “Manhattan Project” developed with the creation of the atomic bombs. As well, the need that the American nation had to show its superiority and power is also one of the main reasons why the bombing took place.

Bomb in Nagasaki

It is because of this need to defeat and show Japan the American power that nuclear bombs were thrown in two of the main cities of the Asian Island by using a great strategy of low profile in order to not cause any alarm in Japan. As a result, the consequences that this brought were destructive; millions of people died because of radiation and burns, also the city was destroyed at all.

In short, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki mark the official end of World War II because with this bombing, the Allies recovered the total control over the world. However, it was not as necessarily to send nuclear bombs to the Asiatic Island due to the power that the victorious nations had at that time. It was more a matter of revenge for what happened in Pearl Harbor from the United States in order to show its superiority and power to the world and to consolidate as the world’s strongest nation. With the bombing, Japan’s surrender will become official and the war will finally end.

Short video explaining the bombing:

By: Janice Brandes