Eighty-three years ago, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. It was a surprise attack which occurred before Japan actually delivered a declaration of war to the United States. On that day, Japanese airplanes destroyed nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. However, the Japanese made a few mistakes in their attack which allowed America to fight back after the attack. The obvious mistake is that they awakened the sleeping giant that was America’s manufacturing strength. The other mistakes had to do with their military planning.<\/p>\n
According to the Pearl Harbor website<\/a>, these are the major mistakes the Japanese made at Pearl Harbor:<\/p>\n 1. The Shallow Waters of Pearl Harbor<\/strong><\/p>\n One\u00a0issue with attacking the ships lined up at\u00a0Battleship Row was that the water wasn\u2019t deep enough to hinder relief efforts. That meant the Japanese fleet would have to completely destroy the vessels to ensure they wouldn\u2019t be able to return to service.<\/strong><\/p>\n Of the eight battleships attacked on December 7th, only the USS Utah<\/em> and USS Arizona<\/em> were unsalvageable, meaning that the Japanese fleet failed in its objective of crippling the US Navy. By February of 1942, the first of the damaged battleships returned to service in the fight in the Pacific.<\/strong><\/p>\n 2. Missing Targets<\/strong><\/p>\n That quiet Sunday morning in December of 1941 was carefully chosen by Japan\u2019s Navy. The surprise attack was\u00a0effective in that\u00a0many sailors were on leave. A\u00a0major flaw with the choice of\u00a0that date, however, was that some of the highest-value targets\u2014the American\u00a0aircraft carriers\u2014were absent from the Pearl Harbor.<\/strong><\/p>\n The USS Lexington<\/em>, USS\u00a0Enterprise<\/em>, and USS\u00a0Saratoga<\/em> were on missions that kept them at sea\u00a0on the day of the attack. Though the Enterprise<\/em> was scheduled to return the night before the attack, dangerous weather conditions delayed her return by a day.<\/strong><\/p>\n 3. Fuel Tanks at Pearl Harbor, October 1941<\/strong><\/p>\n The battleships were far from the only vital target at Pearl Harbor. While the Japanese planes also targeted nearby airfields, they failed to pay any attention to other important assets. The dry docks in the harbor and the fuel depots were largely ignored by Japan\u2019s assault force and both proved imperative in the relief, rescue, and repair efforts that followed.<\/strong><\/p>\n As we remember that day, we also need to remember that by the grace of God, our nation was spared a devastating defeat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Eighty-three years ago, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. It was a surprise attack which occurred before Japan actually delivered a declaration of war to the United States. On that day, Japanese airplanes destroyed nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight … Continue reading