MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- "If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in," wrote Sun Tzu in The Art Of War. "All warfare is based on deception."
In the spring of 1941, the Empire of Japan and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics signed a mutual non-aggression treaty and agreed to honor the territory of each country. When Germany invaded the USSR on June 22 that same year, Japan changed its policy and considered attacking as well. Although an attack was never carried out, Japan planned to push further north from China if Germany was successful.
The Germans were not successful in their attempt to invade Russia, so Japan adopted a "Strike South" policy and attempted to strengthen its empire by invading countries in Southwest Asia and around the Pacific.
Commander in Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, had served as a naval attachment in Washington, and had studied English at Harvard. His travels and education in America had convinced him that Japan did not have the resources to engage the U.S. in any extended conflict, and in fact told the Prime Minister that he would put up a good fight for the first six months if he was ordered to go to war against America, but that he had no confidence about his navy's ability to fight for an extended period with such a powerful military.
Japan's "Strike South" policy required that the sea lanes and supply routes remain open between the islands of the Pacific and the mainland, and Yamamoto knew that the only way to successfully extend the Japanese Empire south was to strike a disabling blow to the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Hawaii.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was so well planned and executed by the Japanese navy that many historians find it hard to believe that any event could be so well rehearsed while remaining a secret.
Vice Adm. Shigeru Fukodome, who served as Yamamoto's chief of staff until 1940, said he remembers Yamamoto mentioning an attack plan in April of 1940.
It wasn't until January of 1941 when Yamamoto finally drew up detailed attack plans though and October 1941 when he would finally convince the navy general staff that the plan was necessary and feasible.
Once approved by the general staff, the plan only needed to get the emperor's blessing.
In order to attack a target so far from the ports of Japan, the navy needed to overcome three major obstacles. First, the ships' crews had no experience refueling on the high seas. Second, their dive bomber pilots were not very accurate when attacking ships at anchor. Their air-launched torpedoes were not suitable for the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor.
Through experimentation and innovation, the Japanese were able to overcome each of the obstacles, and were ready to conduct full-scale rehearsals.
The Japanese navy conducted dress rehearsals for months, and were able to increase their fighter pilot accuracy to better than 70 percent. They also were able to make the journey to Hawaii with their newfound procedures for refueling on the open seas. Their torpedo accuracy increased to more than 80 percent.
Just before 8 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, all of the rehearsals and preparations came to a head, and the attack got underway. The aircraft carriers Enterprise (returning from Wake Island), Lexington (returning from Midway), and Saratoga (in San Diego) were not in the harbor at the time of the attack. Had they been there, the attack would have accomplished the Japanese mission of completely disabling the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
The final death toll was 2,403, including 68 civilians. Eighteen operational warships were lost, and 84 Navy and 78 Army aircraft were destroyed. Only 34 of the 400 Sailors and Marines trapped in the USS Arizona were rescued.
Later in the day, American military intelligence officials received news that Guam had been raided, Wake Island had been bombed, the U.S. gunboat Wake was captured in Shanghai, and Hong Kong had been attacked. Later in the day, news came that Japanese planes from what is today Taiwan, attacked and destroyed most of 207 aircraft in the Philippines.
With the successful attack on Pearl Harbor, and the simultaneous raids at other key locations around the Pacific, Japan had thrust America into the war in the Pacific.
The U.S., with its crippled fleet and depleted air assets, entered the war with a severe handicap.
More information about the Japanese attack can be found at the Arizona Memorial. In addition, Hawaii Pacific University offers a class called War in the Pacific, which covers all aspects of the attack. Retired Marine Brig. Gen. Jerome T. Hagen teaches the course, and in addition to his vast knowledge of the events surrounding the attack, he presents survivors of the attack who give first hand accounts and answers questions.