On September 1, 1939, Germany abruptly declared war on Poland, and just three weeks later, Poland fell completely. Subsequently, Germany won a great victory in the European theater, capturing the Netherlands, Belgium and France, forcing the British and French forces to retreat from Dunkirk.
Against this background, the Japanese were uneasy and kept pushing for negotiations with Germany and Italy in the hope of signing the Triple Alliance Treaty. However, the Admiralty led by Yamamoto was pro-British and American, because they knew that 80% of Japan's military supplies were in Britain and the United States, and if an alliance treaty was concluded with Germany and Italy, then the Navy would not be able to operate normally.
Despite Japan's general inclination to wage war and the strength of its army, Germany, Italy, and Japan eventually signed the Triple Alliance Treaty in Berlin.
With the support of Germany, Japan decided to attack southern Indochina, the traditional territory of Britain and the United States, which provoked a strong reaction from the United States. The United States froze all Japanese assets in the United States and banned oil exports to Japan, which allowed the Japanese navy to maintain oil reserves for only a year, and the fleet was in danger of shutting down.
In order to break this dilemma, the Japanese Navy had to make a choice: a decisive battle with the United States, to force peace by war. However, this choice was a gamble for both Yamamoto and the Japanese Navy, so they had to make sure that the hit was a sure hit.
Yamamoto chose Pearl Harbor, a strategic location in the Hawaiian Islands that serves as the main base of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
The hypothetical target of the Japanese Navy, Yamamoto began a simulated attack on Pearl Harbor when he was still at the Naval University. In reality, however, this was almost impossible, as the distance and the U.S. base camp at Pearl Harbor made a sneak attack difficult.
Despite this, Yamamoto submitted a preliminary plan to the Minister of the Sea, which was to commemorate Heihachiro Togo, the commander of the total annihilation fleet in the Battle of Tsushima. However, the senior generals of the Combined Fleet were mostly skeptical of this plan.
Eventually, Yamamoto succeeded in getting the command to approve the plan, but because Tomioka refused to sign the plan, Yamamoto insisted that there was no hope of victory in the war against the United States.
As a result, despite a significant change in the cabinet, it was planned to be adopted on December 5. Under the strong impetus of Hideki Tojo, on November 5, 1941, the Imperial Council decided to launch an armed attack on the United States if negotiations with the United States could not be successful before midnight on December 1.
On November 20, a huge attack formation consisting of 31 ** ships was secretly assembled in Single-crown Bay. Yamamoto ordered the fleet to sail towards Hawaii, and although he did not directly answer the two questions from the Military Command Department, Yamamoto had already made careful arrangements.
The first question: How can a huge sneak attack formation ensure that it will not be discovered by the US military if it wants to cross half of the Pacific Ocean to sneak attack the US military? Yamamoto's answer: choose the right route.
The second question: how to ensure that the main forces of the Pacific Fleet were anchored in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack? Yamamoto's answer: Through espionage, learn about the laws of the activities of the US Pacific Fleet.
Eventually, the Nagumo fleet set off as planned, and on December 6, 1941, after an 11-day voyage, the Nagumo fleet finally arrived at the predetermined sea area north of Pearl Harbor.
The Nagumo fleet arrived at the designated position as planned, but the United States had not yet discovered the Japanese fleet due to various American reasons, including the arrival of the Japanese envoy and the misunderstanding of the Americans about the Japanese attack.
On December 7, Nagumo's fleet attacked, dealing a huge blow to the United States.
After two rounds of fierce attacks, the Pacific Fleet was almost completely annihilated and suffered heavy losses. A total of 12 battleships and other ships were sunk or damaged, 188 aircraft were destroyed, 155 aircraft were damaged, and 2,403 Americans lost their precious lives.
At the moment when the battleship Arizona ** sank, thousands of people lost their lives. At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, the Japanese planes participating in the second ** attack returned to the aircraft carrier one after another. Fuchita, commander of the flight formation, proposed to Nagumo to organize a third strike, believing that since the first two strikes did not find a US aircraft carrier, the search area should be expanded to look for the US aircraft carrier.
However, due to the distance and the fact that he had already achieved good results, Nagumo chose to reject Fuchida's suggestion and ordered to return. So, what about the three aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet again?
They are the USS Lexington, the USS Saratoga, and the USS Enterprise. The Lexington, which was conducting exercises in Hawaii, rushed back immediately after learning of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and did not return to the harbor until the 13th.
The Saratoga is in the Port of San Diego.
On the way back, the Enterprise encountered a sudden change in weather at sea, which slowed down and failed to return to port on the 7th. If Nagumo had expanded his search at that time, he might have been able to find the enterprise number.
Despite the heavy losses suffered by the Pacific Fleet, the three aircraft carriers in the core were unscathed, retaining strong combat power for the decisive battle at Midway. Now that the American GIs will avenge their brothers who died at the Battle of Midway, let's look forward to this turning point in the Pacific War - the Battle of Midway!