Several efforts by Doorman to stem the Japanese tide had proved fruitless, and nothing now stood in the way of an invasion of Java, the only important island in the area still in Allied hands. consisting of six carriers with 423 planes, is about to attack. main message to the Americans at 1 p.m. In accordance with the decisions of November, Japan’s war against the Western Powers opened on December 7, 1941, with the surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by about 360 aircraft from the carriers of Vice Adm. Nagumo Chuichi’s strike force. On a quiet Sunday morning, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu. Return to The History Place - World War II Timeline: 1941. Your email address will not be published. 68 civilians killed, with 1,178 wounded. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Other raids, two days later, knocked out more U.S. fighters and destroyed Cavite Naval Yard, south of Manila. 0702 Hours – Incoming Japanese fighters are first observed by the Army’s Opana Mobile Radar Station on Oahu. After an intensive aerial and artillery bombardment of Corregidor, the Japanese landed on that island in the night of May 5–6, and Wainwright surrendered on May 6. To secure the flank of their drive southward they occupied Bangkok, Thailand, on December 9; Victoria Point, in southern Burma, on December 16; and Davao, in the southern Philippines, on December 20. There is no reply. A look at a timeline of the attack paints a bigger picture of those involved and the sequence of events that culminated in the United States entering World War II. A Japanese air strike destroyed British air power at Hong Kong on December 8, 1941, and a ground attack pushed back the 12,600 British and 1,900 Canadian defenders. Having bombed Wake Island on the first day of the Pacific War, they were beaten off in an attempted invasion on December 11. and contact a junior officer who disregards their reports, thinking they 0819 Hours – The Arizona begins to sink to the bottom of the harbor. Delays March 31: Decommissioned for the second and final time. to the American public via radio bulletins, with many popular Sunday afternoon In Washington, various delays prevent the Japanese The remaining U.S. bombers, their position equally untenable, flew to Australia in mid-December. Landing at three points on Java in the night of February 28, the Japanese rapidly expanded their beachheads in the next few days, while their naval forces hunted down most of the remaining Allied ships. December 7, 1941, ________________________________________________________. in Southeast Asia. An armor-piercing bomb proves to be fatal. With little air protection left, the remaining surface vessels in the Philippines were in grave danger, and Hart sent the rest of his larger ships to Java or to Australia in December. As the Japanese converged on Manila, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commander of all U.S. and Filipino army forces in the Philippines, began executing plans to make a final stand on the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island so as to deny the use of Manila Bay to the Japanese. A much larger Japanese force of some 2,000 naval troops made a successful landing on December 23. 0810 Hours – The USS Arizona is the first battleship to be hit. Tora! 0715 Hours – Admiral Husband E. Kimmel is advised of the Japanese mini-sub but is hesitant to act, believing it to be another of many false reports of submarines in the area. Kimmel decides to wait for verification, one of several fatal mistakes made that morning. Japanese airplanes made a surprise attack on the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. A few days later, other Japanese troops seized Kavieng, New Ireland. 0342 Hours – A Japanese submarine is spotted off the harbor. They had occupied Sarawak on December 17, Brunei on January 6, and Tarakan, Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu), and points on Celebes (Sulawesi) on January 11. - Germany and Italy declare war on the United States. We know the basic story of December 7th, 1941. This marks the first casualty of Pearl Harbor. The bulk of one division landed at Lingayen Gulf on December 22, with a second large landing south of Manila two days later. On the eve of Singapore’s fall, Japanese paratroopers dropped on Palembang, Sumatra, on February 13, and an amphibious assault followed on February 16. the first attack wave of 183 Japanese planes takes off from the carriers targets other ships and shipyard facilities. The news sends a shockwave across The casualty list includes 2,335 servicemen and This rebuff marked the first significant tactical reversal for the Japanese navy, and the Battle of Wake Island would provide a morale boost for the American public. 0645 Hours – With the information from the Condor, the Ward seeks out what was believed to be a miniature sub. It instructs the Japanese embassy to deliver the On December 31, 1941, meanwhile, Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, conferring in Washington, had decided to establish a unified command in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific. We apologize for any inconvenience. 0733 Hours – The first sign of Japan’s intent to engage the United States wasn’t the first bomb that was dropped. We hope to see you soon. Saturday, December 6 - Washington D.C. Both sides probably lost more men from sickness and disease than from battle, and thousands of Filipino and American soldiers died in Japanese captivity due to abuse and neglect. The Americans believe a Japanese attack is imminent, most likely somewhere