Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor a surprise Japanese attack on the U.S. Navy's base at Pearl Harbor and on Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands on December 7, 1941. It destroyed much of the American Pacific Fleet and brought the United States into World War II. The attack followed the decision of the Japanese government that Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration would not abandon China and Southeast Asia to the Japanese military nor continue to supply Tokyo with vital materials. Early Sunday morning, December 7, Japanese aircraft launched an assault that destroyed or disabled nineteen ships and 292 planes. American deaths totaled 2,335 and 1,178 were wounded. Ultimately, though the attack was a tactical success, the Japanese failure to destroy American repair yards, fuel reserves, and submarine base prevented them from achieving their goal of destroying the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.