Why Did The American Attack At Pearl Harbor

Others ways of thinking also worked against the Americans and contributed to the tragedy at Pearl Harbor. It was thought that keeping the United States Pacific fleet in Hawaii instead of California would actually discourage a Japanese attack (At Dawn We Slept 37) Many Americans thought that Hawaii was an invincible fortress and was too well defended for the Japanese to attack. (At Dawn We Slept 96-97) The question was “will the Japanese attack?” instead of “can they attack?”. It was thought that the Japanese would attack only after declaring war, which meant there would be time to mobilize the American fleet. (At Dawn We Slept 43) It was also thought that if a Japanese attack did occur, then the targets would be the shore installations and the Hawaiian Islands instead of the American battleships and aircraft carriers. (At Dawn We Slept 38) Pearl Harbor was more vulnerable from the air, but sabotage was considered more of a threat than an aerial attack (At Dawn We Slept 41-43) In addition, the focus of the United States in the Pacific was on defending their military base in the Philippines, which was closer to Japan. (At Dawn We Slept 293-294)
Chief of Naval Operations Harold R. Stark had warned the American fleet’s commander at Pearl Harbor, Rear Admiral Husband Kimmel on October 16,
When this was heard, the Japanese diplomats were supposed to destroy all of their code papers. (Kahn 143-144). The Americans thought that the Japanese “winds code” was only a way for Tokyo to contacts its diplomats if the normal channels failed. It was even thought that these messages were intended for the Japanese ambassador in London, England. (At Dawn We Slept