As you’ve probably noted through past commentaries here on page four, I’m fascinated with the concept of historical irony. Eighty years ago this week one of the best examples of this in modern history came to pass at an American naval base in Hawaii, which at the time was likely unknown to most outside of military circles. But by day’s end on Dec. 7, 1941, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who hadn’t heard of Pearl Harbor.
The Japanese surprise attack early that Sunday morning was certainly a success in military terms. American personnel and naval losses were staggering – nearly 3,500 U.S. Navy casualties including over 2,300 killed, with about 20 vessels sunk or heavily damaged. The Americans also lost 200 aircraft, most of which were destroyed on the tarmac before they could be scrambled for defensive means as Japanese fighters and bombers swept over the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Japan lost around 55 pilots and less than 10 submarine personnel in the assault.
Logistically it was a complete victory for the Empire of the Sun, which was looking to eliminate its Pacific competition so it could continue to pick off and conquer high-value targets throughout East Asia and Oceania at will with its occupation forces, which for several years prior had been extremely effective in doing so. But, as a Japanese admiral said himself following the attack: “We won a great tactical victory at Pearl Harbor and thereby lost the war.” How right he was.
Japan’s ‘successful’ pre-emptive attack on the United States – which was still neutral at this point of the Second World War – played a prominent role in it ultimately losing the Pacific Theatre. Had it bided its time, further built up its Navy, oil reserves and supply lines, and continued negotiating with the American government to stall any potential military action which many considered imminent based on deteriorating relations between the two since the end of the First World War, Japan would have been in a much better strategic position.
Japanese military strategists also put too high of a priority on destroying battleships when they should have focused on America’s three Pacific-stationed aircraft carriers – Lexington, Saratoga and Enterprise. The U.S. carriers were not present at Pearl Harbor and the Japanese Imperial Navy knew this, yet they decided to proceed anyway. Another huge aspect of irony in this operation is that Japan carried out the majority of its attack with around 400 aircraft – launched from its six aircraft carriers involved in the assault. It should have derived just how valuable they were based on their own success.
Battleships, while still formidable and offering the most offensive firepower from any modern vessel at the time, were strategically out-dated in comparison to the versatility of carriers and their quicker, further-reaching attack capabilities via aircraft. The Japanese naval powers at be would fully realize this later on in the war – particularly during the Battle of Midway the following year – but by then it would be far too late.
With Nazi Germany fighting a war on three fronts in Western Europe, Northern Africa and the emerging Eastern Front against the Russians, Hitler could have benefitted greatly from Japan’s assistance against his Soviet nemesis. Japan was less than 40 years removed from a victory over Russia during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, and would have been extremely valuable in diverting Stalin’s attention in a war fought on multiple fronts. Instead, the Red Army was able to focus its attention to the west and repel Germany’s Operation Barbarossa. That said, had Hitler not decided to break Germany’s non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union in mid-1941 in the first place, the point would likely be moot and we could have been looking at a very different world today.
The attack on Pearl Harbor would also have far-reaching racial implications on Japanese citizens living in North America, particularly the U.S. and Canada. Immigrants of Japanese descent, even those with full American or Canadian citizenship, were immediately treated with suspicion and often hatred for the remainder of the war. Many Japanese-Americans were deported outright, while countless others on both sides of the 49th parallel were placed in internment camps, some even relocated for labour purposes. Certainly not one of Canada’s finest moments.
For the period circumstances surrounding the two combatants involved in terms of available resources, Japan simply picked a fight it could not win over the long haul, and especially at the time it chose to make its move on Pearl Harbor. Patience is considered a virtue, indeed. The Japanese underestimated the U.S. across a number of facets, most notably its ability to mobilize perhaps its most valuable military asset – industry. Heading into the afore-mentioned Battle of Midway, both sides were fairly even in terms of Pacific naval strength, but by the end of the engagement in June 1942 Japan had lost four of its six aircraft carriers and had precious few resources to replace them quickly. American industry was able to churn out warships at a staggering rate, and by the end of the Second World War Japan had lost all its carriers and the majority of its functional navy.
Prior to Pearl Harbor, the American public largely had little appetite for war, as did the U.S. government. The Japanese provocation literally changed that stance overnight, and following President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous ‘Day of Infamy’ speech the day after the surprise attack, it took Congress less than an hour to back his declaration of war against Japan, and subsequently Germany and Italy.
While there is no definitive proof that the man actually spoke the words, it is said that Japan’s own naval commander-in-chief himself, Isoroku Yamamoto, said this following Pearl Harbor and the American military mobilization that followed: “I fear that all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you back here in a fortnight.
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This is a bi-weekly opinion column; for question or comment, contact Dan McNee at dmcnee@midwesternnewspapers.com.
