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The infamous Japanese attack on the USA Naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was probably one of the most significant events of World War Two. Brilliantly planned and executed though it was, the assault was as much a surprise to Hitler and Mussolini as the Americans and they quite needlessly declared war on the USA; at a stroke the might of the US war machine was focused on the Axis powers. One of the most traumatic events in American military history, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor fueled national determination both to have revenge and to ensure that such a thing could never happen again. But how was such a mighty force surprised by 350 aircraft in broad daylight? Were the Japanese brilliant strategically or just lucky? And how and why does the memory of that bloody attack in 1941 still direct US Naval military thinking today?
