Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor was a major American naval base, located near Honolulu, Hawaii, and the site of an important attack on that base by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941, which prompted the US entry into World War II.

Recognizing the potential threat of war with Japan, the United States began assembling a large naval presence in the Pacific Ocean, and the deep-water harbor at Pearl Harbor served as a key naval base. Seeing that the United States was likely to enter the war against the Axis powers, a surprise strike by Japanese submarines and planes attacked the fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, sinking nine ships and seriously damaging twenty-one others. This act shocked the American public and propelled the US into war with Japan and Germany, though it took some time to rebuild the Pacific fleet to begin to retake Japanese-held islands in the Pacific.