1. America Enters WWII

2. Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor Dec 7, 1941
1941: General Hideki Tojo becomes PM of Japan
Initial attempts at negotiation w/ US fall apart
December 7, 1941
Surprise attack on US Navy’s main Pacific fleet
Clip from America, Story of Us: WWII
Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor Dec 7, 1941
America: Story of Us – WWII
(Episode 10)
Start at 1:48
Play until 10:00 (topics shift to industry// you see a car before cutting it off)

3. Results of Attack Heavy losses 2500 people
Several battleships & destroyers disabled
160 aircraft destroyed
US fleet took ~6 mo to recover
BUT: most impt – aircraft carriers – at sea
Results of Attack
7 heavy cruisers were out at sea and avoided detection by Japanese
Only 3 battleships irreparable- USS Arizona, US Oklahoma, USS Utah
US submarine bases also survived & fuel supplies/ maintenance facilities
Nagumo (Japanese vice admiral commanding the attack) was too conservative  cancelled 3rd wave of bombers, would not seek out aircraft carriers, turned back home b/c feared an American counterstrike

4. FDR- day that will live in infamy {speech}
Dec 8, 1941:
US declares war—
FDR- day that will live in infamy {speech}
5 mins clip

5. US Mobilizes for War 16 mil serve in military during war
300k Mexican-Am
25k Native Am
1 mil African- Am (mostly segr. units)
Women’s Army Corps (WAC) – clerical work, truck drivers, lab techs, instructors, etc.
US Mobilizes for War
5 mins clip

6. Jan 1942: War Production Board (WPB)  peacetime -->> wartime
Office of War Mobilization (OWM) supervises.
“Production miracle”
Massive defense spending ended Great Dep.
1944: US production = 2x all Axis nations
Mobilizing Industry

7. Early Fighting in the Pacific
Gen. Douglas MacArthur (command of US Army forces in Asia)
Japan takes Wake, Guam, eventually US trapped on Philippines in long siege
MacArthur ordered to leave
May 1942: 75k Allied surrender
Japanese troops force Bataan Death March of POWs
Early Fighting in the Pacific
Marched 55 miles up Bataan peninsula to railway that took them inland where they had to march 8 more miles
Grueling journey…. More than 7k troops (American + Filipino) died on way
After all of this there was a bit of a panic…. Japan primed to take over all of Pacific

9. May 1942: Japanese threatening New Guinea (launch pad for Austral.)
2-day inconclusive battle btwn J & US aircraft carriers… strategic victory for US
J. called off attack
Shift in momentum
Hope in the Pacific