Was Pearl Harbor a suprise attack?

Question

James Bamford claims in his book Puzzle Palace that the Administration of FDR had access to the Japanese communications detailing the attack on Pearl.

THere was also the fact that Japanese subs were sunk as they attempted to sneak into Pearl Harbor prior to the devistating Air Attack. So was Pearl a Military stroke of genius by the Japanese, or a political ploy by FDR to drag the unwilling American people into WWII?

http://www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex/Documents/pearlharbor.htm

Japanese mini sub sunk day of Pearl Harbor attack prior to air assault.
http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/HURL/midget.html

http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/myths/Missing_Carriers.html

Why were the priceless Carriers huslted out of Pearl Harbor just before the attack?

THe White house warning to the fleet at Pearl Harbor arived just a little too late...

http://library.thinkquest.org/J0113306/pearl_harbor.htm

Answer 1

well surprisingly the Japanese trigger the US alarms 3 times and every time it was written off to be something else at first sight of the sub. someone misread the signal and searched in a different direction the second sight of it they responded to and everyone base just thought it was a drill, then the planes triggered their alarms and the last warning they had before the attack they said it was their fighter planes they where expecting.

Answer 2

Pearl Harbor was NOT a surprise attack in the true meaning. The United States didn't want war at that particular time and had its head in the sand like an Ostrich.
It was a Military Stroke of genius though that was carried out extremely well. There was no plot by the US Government to cover up and deny that Pearl Harbor was about to be attacked. The Attack on Pearl Harbor was too costly and extended the course of the war in the Pacific.
Pearl Harbor did show that Carrier warfare was the wave of the future for Naval Warfare.

Answer 3

One question comes to mind. I didn't see Pearl harbor specifically named, nor did I see a specific time, or date. It's like if the NY Times was to declare another Terrorist attack is to occur. Where, NYC, or somewhere in the USA, or in the world, or when. This is a very vague statement, especially at a time when war warnings were sent just about every weekend to Pacific commanders. The other headline, "Kurusu Bluntly Warned Nation Ready for Battle" doesn't say anything about an attack on Pearl Harbor, only that if war happens the USA is ready. Remember diplomatic relations were deteriorating at this time. The Japanese also thought the USA wouldn't want to fight in a war, especially if it lasted too long, like over a couple of months and the US were taking great losses.

Answer 4

It was indeed a suprise attack that was fueled by outstanding Japanese planning/luck and American ignorance.

The Japanese struck on a Sunday, when most ships were being run by skeleton shifts as most sailors were on shore leave/pass. Great for us because of the decrease in human casualties, great for the Japs because they got more ships to the bottom of the harbor. They planned it for a day when most of the ships were in the harbor, and they struck at the right time, crippling most our pacific navy.

American ignorance played into hand as well, as it often does. The subs were sunk, however it was not discovered that they were japanese subs until after the attack. They were presumed to be, but could not be confirmed. An American radar post also picked up the enormous air raid, however there had been some glitches in their machine earlier in the week and it was written off as such. As for Jap comms being intercepted, I'm not sure. But thats what I do know. Also, FDR would not have done that to get us into war. Out of the question.

Answer 5

The mindset of military leaders at the time was that airpower was incapable of such an attack. One of the few US military leaders that thought otherwise was Billy Mitchell and when he tried to prove his theory of airpower capabilities was humiliated by his superiors.

Political leaders here were lulled into a false sense of security by the subterfuge of Japanese diplomacy which was only designed to buy them time for the attack.

Keep in mind that surveillance and communication technology at the time was not what it is today.

The attack was a stroke of genius by the Japanese. Had they followed up the attack by destroying the oil storage facilities and ship repair facilities the US war effort would have been hindered far more than it was.

Answer 6

I think was a surprise attack. An air raid on Hawaii was almost unfeasable. I'm sure no one was expecting it. If they were looking for an attack, they would have been looking for a sea attack. The subs would have confirmed this, causing the base to turn their focus away from the sky, giving the Japanese the advantage.

I'm not the biggest FDR fan, ever, but I can't conceive on any president, esp. in an atmosphere of war around the globe, to allow an enemy force to have any part of a chance to destroy the most important naval base in the western U.S. Seriously. An known attacked that was defended against would have had the same affect on the American people. I can't imagine that a slaughter like we experienced would have been part of a conspiracy by FDR.

Conspiracy theories are usually ploys to get books pubished. :)

Answer 7

The air strike on Pearl Harbor WAS a surprise attack because at that time, those plane were not geared to carry enough fuel to get them to Hawaii and back safely.

American intelligence were counting on a naval attack from the Japanese.

Answer 8

Let me clear up some misconceptions about WW2:

1) The Russians were going to invade Poland first, Germany seized Poland to protect it from the Russians.
2) The German Luftwaffe never intended to knock out England in 1940, it was a tactic to put the British on the defensive.
3) The US Coast Guard, in violation of US neutrality in 1941, attacked Germany U-boats near US waters; the U-boats sunk US convoy ships in defense.
4) The British invaded North Africa to consolidate their control in the mideast. The Germans frustrated their Zionist plans.
5) The French didn't surrender Paris to the Germans, it was an Allied ruse.
6) Benito Mussolini was Jewish, which is why Hitler didn't trust him and the Roman Catholic Church disliked him.
7) The Japanese didn't rape Nanking, it was paid for.
8) Alan Turing didn't really help much to break the German Enigma code, because he's gay.
9) Hitler ordered Adolf Eichman to provide suitable housing for war production workers, he never said to burn them.
10) Franklin D Roosevelt told his aides, "Let the Japs kill thousands of Americans in Pearl Harbor! That'll get this damn war going!"

Answer 9

The only fly in the ointment here is Wake Island. Guam, Pearl Harbor, and MacArthur in the Philippines all had their aircraft lined up on the runways wing tip to wing tip so the Zeros wouldn't had to waste any fuel or ammo in destroying them. But on Wake Island the US put up one hell of a fight and even beat back the first wave. They had far less warning than MacArthur, who chose to stay in his penthouse while his far east air force was destroyed on the ground. Could be the guy in charge of Wake just wasn't a team player and didn't want to sacrifice his men and equipment.

Answer 10

It is taught as a surprise attack. I don't think FDR would allow the Japanese to sink its best battleships in Hawaii. Remember, the allies did not know the true potential of air power then and many were gunning on naval supiority with the Battleships.