Pearl Harbor

Japan's Attack and America's Entry Into World War II
English Auflage
ISBN: 978-1-5095-3720-4
Verlag: Polity Press

Buch, Englisch, 200 Seiten, Format (B × H): 141 mm x 221 mm, Gewicht: 410 g

Hawaii, 7th December 1941, shortly before 8 in the morning: Japanese torpedo bombers launch a surprise attack on the US Pacific fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The devastating attack claims the lives of over 2,400 American soldiers, sinks or damages 18 ships and destroys nearly 350 aircraft. The US Congress declares war on Japan the following day. 

In this vivid and lively book, Takuma Melber breathes new life into the dramatic events that unfolded before, during and after Pearl Harbor by putting the perspective of the Japanese attackers at the centre of his account. This is the dimension commonly missing in most other histories of Pearl Harbor, and it gives Melber the opportunity to provide a fuller, more definitive and authoritative account of the battle, its background and its consequences. Melber sheds new light on the long negotiations that went on between the Japanese and Americans in 1941, and the confusion and argument among the Japanese political and military elite. He shows how US intelligence and military leaders in Washington failed to interpret correctly the information they had and to draw the necessary conclusions about the Japanese war intentions in advance of the attack. His account of the battle itself is informed by the latest research and benefits from including the planning and post-raid assessment by the Japanese commanders. His account also covers the second raid in March 1942 by two long-range seaplanes which was intended to destroy the shipyards so that ships damaged in the initial attack could not be repaired. 

This balanced and thoroughly researched book deepens our understanding of the battle that precipitated America’s entry into the war and it will appeal to anyone interested in World War II and military history.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Melber, Takuma

Weitere Mitwirkende

Somers, Nick

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Afrikanische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Besondere Schlachten
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Besondere Kriege und Kampagnen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Prologue  

I.    The background 

1.    The road to Pearl Harbor  

2.    The crisis intensifies    

3.    Japan’s proposals for resolving the conflict     

4.    The Hull Note
    
II.  The Japanese war plan
 
1.    Admiral Yamamoto and Operation Hawaii

2.    The plan of attack   

3.    The Kid  Butai sets sail
    
4. Japanese spies in Hawaii

5.    The first encounter  

III. The attack

1.    The first wave 

2.    ‘Tora Tora Tora’

3.    Battleship Row in crossfire
 
4.    The second attack wave    

5.    Egusa’s dive bombers 

IV.  Consequences   

1.    The aftermath  

2.    The USA enters the war

3.    The first prisoner-of-war 

4.    The Japanese-born victims of Pearl Harbor

5.    Could Pearl Harbor have been prevented?     

6.    Conspiracy theories  

7.    Operation K

Epilogue  

Select Bibliography

Notes

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Takuma Melber teaches history and transcultural studies at Heidelberg University.