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[[Image:H50930.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island. The geyser of water in the center marks a torpedo hit on USS ''West Virginia'']]

[[Image:H50930.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Photograph taken from a Japanese plane during the torpedo attack on ships moored on both sides of Ford Island. The geyser of water in the center marks a torpedo hit on USS ''West Virginia'']]

'''The Attack on Pearl Harbor''' was a military air strike by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] on the morning of December 7, 1941, that was designed to cripple the U.S. Fleet, enabling Japan to have free and unfettered access to much of the western [[Pacific Ocean]] and Southeast [[Asia]]. The attack resulted in the United States declaring war against Japan the next day as the U.S. officially entered [[World War II]].

'''The Attack on Pearl Harbor''' was a major battle that immediately led to U.S. entry into World War II. The battle comprised a series of naval air strikes by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] on the morning of December 7, 1941 against U.S. air and naval forces at its main Pacific base at pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The strike was designed to cripple the U.S. battleships fleet, giving Japan naval dominance in the Pacific and thus giving Japan to have easy access to much of the western [[Pacific Ocean]] and Southeast [[Asia]]. The Japanese or disabled all the battleships but missed the aircraft carriers (which were not present), allowing the U.S. to fight back using naval air power. The United States Congress declared war against Japan the next day. The attack was seen by Americans as a "Day of Infamy" that silenced the isolationists and united the people in a demand for vivctory in the Pacific.

 

==Prelude==

==Prelude==

The road to war between Japan and the United States began in the 1930s when differences over [[China]] drove the two nations apart. In 1931 Japan conquered [[Manchuria]], which until then had been part of China. In 1937 Japan began a long and ultimately unsuccessful campaign to conquer the rest of China. In 1940, the Japanese government allied their country with [[Nazi Germany]] in the [[Axis]] Alliance, and, in the following year, occupied all of Indochina.

The road to war between Japan and the United States began in the 1930s when differences over [[China]] drove the two nations apart. In 1931 Japan conquered [[Manchuria]], which until then had been part of China. In 1937 Japan began a long and ultimately unsuccessful campaign to conquer the rest of China. In 1940, the Japanese government allied their country with [[Nazi Germany]] in the [[Axis]] Alliance, and, in the following year, occupied all of Indochina.