This post is the second in a mini-series on the attack on Pearl Harbor. You can find the first part here: We Only Ever Talk About the Third Attack on

Planning the Attack on Pearl Harbor

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2021-07-27 12:30:07

This post is the second in a mini-series on the attack on Pearl Harbor. You can find the first part here: We Only Ever Talk About the Third Attack on Pearl Harbor.

I found the inspiration for this story in Secrets & Spies: Behind-the-Scenes Stories of World War II; I found the book in an old bookstore and believe it is out of print, but Amazon has a few used copies (in the link above).

The successful Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the war, but prevailing wisdom in Japan at the time said that the entrance was an inevitable eventuality. Many feared that a full-on attack by the United States had the potential to hobble Japanese war efforts elsewhere and even bring about a Japanese defeat. Thus, the attack was more of a desperate gamble to buy Japan time to secure a larger geography from which to extract natural resources and defend itself.

Japan’s strategy in the lead up to the December 7th attack was as impressive as the attack itself, providing a reminder that underestimating what you are up against, as the United States did with Japan at the time, can give the other side an advantage over you.

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