In 1941 Japan Launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbour
The Imperial Japanese Naval Fleet had been patrolling the Pacific Ocean, conquering various islands including French Indochina in 1940. Their goal had been to stop relief being sent to China who was being supported by The United Kingdom, US and France. They also wanted to secure their own supplies of Oil from the resource rich islands - ready for a full on invasion of China.
To ensure naval supremacy in the pacific, Japan launched a surprise attack on the United States Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour on the 7th of December 1941. On that morning 353 Japanese planes were launched aircraft carriers which annihilated most of the Pacific fleet docked there. The attack caught the United States completely off Guard and resulted in damage to all eight US Battleships, four of which were sunk. Along with the Battleships, 3 cruisers and 3 destroyers were damaged with 188 aircraft destroyed, another 159 aircraft damaged. In total 2,400 people died and another 1,178 were wounded, all from this sneak attack by aircraft from six Japanese carriers (the Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga, Shokaku, Soryu and Zuikaku). The Japanese aircraft carriers were also supported by 2 Battleships, 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers and 28 submarines.
This attack led the United states to declare war on Japan the following day on the 8th of December. On the 11th of December, after war was declared on the US by Germany and Italy, the United States also declared war on Germany and Italy joining the Allied nations.
Within six months the United States would recover all but one of their Battleships lost and strike back at the Japanese fleet that inflicted the massacre at Pearl Harbour.
Between the 4th and 8th of May 1942 the United States and Australian Naval vessels encountered the Japanese fleet in the Battle of the Coral Sea with equal damage on both sides they both retreated. During the Battle two of the Japanese Aircraft carriers, the Shokaku and the Zuikaku, were unable to continue fighting.
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese Naval fleet had planned to end the US Pacific Fleet once and for all. Yamamoto planned to attack the coast of Alaska which would draw the US Fleet north. Then he would attack the Island of Midway with a much larger force causing confusion to the US Fleet who would have to divide and move south into an ambush. But US intelligence had intercepted the plans and was ready to strike their own surprise attack on the Japanese.
On the 4th of June 1942 37 US Bombers, launched from the USS Enterprise, Yorktown and Hornet, attacked and destroyed two of the Japanese aircraft carriers. Within six hours the remaining Japanese Aircraft carriers were also destroyed. In this complete victory by the US Navy not only had they destroyed the seemingly invincible Japanese fleet that had dominated the Pacific Ocean, but they also destroyed 3 (the Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu) and damaged 1 (the Akagi) of the six aircraft carriers that had mercilessly struck at Pearl Harbour.
