World War II … something not clear

[Ela James]

Look at it this way:

Churchill trying everything to get the USA openly and directly involved to help defeat evil … .

But the US, understandably, has its own reasons for doing what serves her interests best … particularly during war time. … so the US kept everything in low profile assisting WC and UK …. hush hush …

……………. so far so goooooooooood!?

Not really!

Japan came in and gave WC and UK a life saving gift by attacking Pearl H.

 

…

My single modest question: were the Japanese that stupid?

[Halibut]

Japan's motivation for the attack is a matter of record - why don't you just read up about it?

If you think they were stupid, say so.

[LeMaquis]

My single modest question: were the Japanese that stupid?

 

Are you asking whether Pearl Habour took place? if so you'd be better off getting a book out of the library.

[Ela James]

In simple language:

It was public knowledge that WC was trying everything to get the USA involved defending the free world.

Why did Japan give the US the reason to get involved?

 

---------- Post added 14-07-2015 at 08:20 ----------

 

Dans un langage simple :

Il était de notoriété publique que les WC essayait tout pour obtenir des Etats-Unis participe défendre le monde libre .

Pourquoi le Japon at-il donné aux États-Unis la raison vous impliquer?

[Timeh]

Look at it this way:

Churchill trying everything to get the USA openly and directly involved to help defeat evil … .

But the US, understandably, has its own reasons for doing what serves her interests best … particularly during war time. … so the US kept everything in low profile assisting WC and UK …. hush hush …

……………. so far so goooooooooood!?

Not really!

Japan came in and gave WC and UK a life saving gift by attacking Pearl H.

 

…

My single modest question: were the Japanese that stupid?

Japans attack was in retaliation for American sanctions, some feel these sanctions were a deliberate ploy by america to get into the war by forcing japans hand.

[JFKvsNixon]

In simple language:

It was public knowledge that WC was trying everything to get the USA involved defending the free world.

Why did Japan give the US the reason to get involved?

 

Due to Japan's ongoing war with China, there'd been a trade war between Japan and the US leading up to Japan's attack, with Japan worried that they were going to be starved of resources by the US.

 

Japan judged that if they destroyed the American Navy which was at anchor in Pearl, and then grabbed the resources around them, they'd been able to negotiate a peace with the US and hold on the resources that they'd grabbed.

 

If Japan had destroyed the Aircraft Carriers as well as the rest of America's capital ships in the Pacific it would have be interesting to see how their strategy would have panned out.

[cgksheff]

In simple language:.......

 

Simple is as simple does.

 

Japan's actions during that period were going to bring the USA into the war, regardless.

Pearl Harbour was to reduce the effect of any immediate response to their expansion in SE Asia.

 

Job done. Close thread.

[L00b]

Dans un langage simple :

Il était de notoriété publique que les WC essayait tout pour obtenir des Etats-Unis participe défendre le monde libre .

Pourquoi le Japon at-il donné aux États-Unis la raison vous impliquer?

Why ask the question in French on here, and why use Google Translate (which strongly suggests that you are not a fluent French speaker)?

[Phanerothyme]

In simple language:

It was public knowledge that WC was trying everything to get the USA involved defending the free world.

Why did Japan give the US the reason to get involved?

Didn't the US give the UK something like 50 battleships (in return for territorial entitlements) well over a year before Pearl Harbor? That, and the Atlantic Charter, means that although he faced domestic resistance from a Jeffersonian congress, Roosevelt was quite determined to assist the UK against the Axis in Europe.

 

There is an argument that the attack on Pearl Harbor was less of a surprise than popularly believed, but this has yet to be convincingly put with the help of primary sources.

[tzijlstra]

Didn't the US give the UK something like 50 battleships (in return for territorial entitlements) well over a year before Pearl Harbor? That, and the Atlantic Charter, means that although he faced domestic resistance from a Jeffersonian congress, Roosevelt was quite determined to assist the UK against the Axis in Europe.

 

There is an argument that the attack on Pearl Harbor was less of a surprise than popularly believed, but this has yet to be convincingly put with the help of primary sources.

 

"Destroyers for bases programme" they weren't battleships, they were WW1 destroyers that were being used for protection of the merchant-fleet, in exchange Britain gave the US rights to use specific bases in NA.

 

Roosevelt at this point was playing a game of cat and mouse, his country did not want war, but he did not want fascism to take over. He decided to close the fuel-tanks to Japanese/German exports, at the time the US was the biggest producer of fuel by far so that hurt, Japan was put in a position were it could clearly see the end for running its navy so they decided to attack PH. It was a daft decision, if their intelligence had been better they would have known it was only a tiny part of the US fleet that was in port there, but they thought it would knock the US completely out of the Pacific, opening the route to SE Asia, the Phillipines and Indonesia, where oil was found in reasonable quantities.

 

Attacking PH was exactly what Roosevelt needed. Some say Japan should have attacked the West Coast but the Japanese imperial army was already overstretched due to the decision to invade and control large parts of Nationalist China. One thing is clear though, it might have taken longer, but the US was on its way to war as early as 1940, if Japan had not attacked PH than the US would likely have answered calls by Churchill to defend India from the Japanese.