OPPapers.com

Pearl Harbor

EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE BOMBING OF PEARL HARBOR

Japan had many other problems to deal with, before entering World War II. It had begun to rely more and more for raw materials (especially oil) from outside sources because their land was so lacking in these. Despite these difficulties, Japan began to build a successful empire with a solid industrial foundation and a good army and navy. The military became highly involved in the government, and this began to get them into trouble. In the early 1930's, the Japanese Army had many small battles with the Chinese in Manchuria. The Japanese Army won a series of battles, and Manchuria became a part of the Japanese Empire. In 1937, the conflicts began again with the Chinese in the area near Beijing's Marco Polo Bridge. Whether or not these conflicts began inadvertently or whether they were planned is unknown. These led to a full-scale war known as the second Sino-Japanese War. This was one of the bloodiest wars in world history and continued until the final defeat of Japan in 1945. In 1939, World War II was beginning with a string of victories by German forces. Germany's success included defeats of Poland and France along with bombings of England. Many of the European nations

That Germany now controlled had control over important colonial empires such as the East Indies and Singapore in Southeast Asia. These Southeast Asian countries contained many of the natural resources that Japan so desperately needed. Now that these countries were worried about matters over in Europe, Japan felt that it could seize some of them. At the same time in the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to halt the expansion of Germany and Japan, but many others in the government wanted to leave the situation alone. The United States began to supply materials to the countries at war with Germany and Japan, but it wanted to remain neutral to prevent and overseas war. Meanwhile, Germany, Italy, and Japan formed the Axis...