Attack on Pearl Harbor

1941-12-07

On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise military attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii, while the United States was a neutral country in World War II. The air raid, launched from aircraft carriers and planned by Combined Fleet commander Isoroku Yamamoto, prompted the United States to declare war on Japan the next day. The attack followed months of negotiations in which Japan demanded the U.S. end its sanctions, cease aiding China in the Second Sino-Japanese War, and allow Japanese access to Dutch East Indies resources.