"Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy" -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. Five Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing more than 2,400 Americans, destroyed or heavily damaged eight battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers, almost 200 airplanes, an attack that brought the U.S. into war the following day; a surprise attack that put the U.S. right in the middle of war. If the U.S. knew of the attack before it happened, there may not have been as many casualties and the forces at Pearl Harbor would have been able to better defend itself against low gliding torpedoes and kamikaze attacks from Japanese air fighters. Many signs of the attack (that proved to be costly) were ignored by those in leadership. .
With the Japanese takeover of Northern French Indonesia (September, 1940), the U.S. placed an embargo on the Japanese, halting all shipments of oil, steel, scrap iron, and aviation fuel to Japan. Japan's takeover of northern French Indochina would hinder the Japanese army, and effectively make it's Air Force and Navy completely useless. There were many warnings weeks, days, and hours leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, many of which remained unnoticed or altogether ignored. .
Neither the commanding officers stationed at Pearl Harbor or the military commanders in Washington, D.C., anticipated an attack. The Japanese ambassador KichisaburÅ Nomura, in Washington, D.C., was ordered to destroy all official documents pertaining to the Pearl Harbor attack and to deliver a fourteen part message to Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, at a specific time on December 7th. The Japanese ambassador's office took too long to decode the 5,000 word document, and by the time it reached Capitol Hill the bombings had already taken place.
Sometime before the attack, President Eisenhower had ordered the U.
