Description

The surprise was complete. The
attacking planes came in two waves; the first hit its target at 7:53
AM, the second at 8:55. By 9:55 it was all over. By 1:00 PM the
carriers that launched the planes from 274 miles off the coast of Oahu
were heading back to Japan.

Poster commemorating the attack, 1942

Behind them they left chaos, 2,403 dead, 188 destroyed
planes and a crippled Pacific Fleet that included 8 damaged or
destroyed battleships. In one stroke the Japanese action silenced the
debate that had divided Americans ever since the German defeat of
France left England alone in the fight against the Nazi terror.

Approximately three hours later, Japanese planes began a
day-long attack on American facilities in the Philippines. (Because the
islands are located across the International Dateline, the local
Philippine time was just after 5 AM on December 8.) Farther to the
west, the Japanese struck at Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand in a
coordinated attempt to use surprise in order inflict as much damage as
quickly as possible to strategic targets.

Although stunned by the attack at Pearl Harbor, the Pacific
Fleet's aircraft carriers, submarines and, most importantly, its fuel
oil storage facilities emerged unscathed. These assets formed the
foundation for the American response that led to victory at the Battle of Midway the following June and ultimately to the total destruction of the Japanese Empire four years later.