return2ozmaTrump to Japan PM: 'Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?'
red_green_blackPretty sure the Japanese told the rest of the Axis Powers of their plans
IntrovertTurtleAND they technically tried to warn the US about it, but the diplomat responsible for delivering the notice was late because of bureaucracy among other things! It was literally not even supposed to be a surprise attack!
…source?
…source?
Literally any history book, this is high-school level information. JFC
Literally every class I’ve ever taken, and every documentary I’ve ever seen has said it was a surprise attack.
Some documentaries suggest that the allies suspected an attack may be coming at some point, but they didn’t “know”.
So, no. Not literally every history book shows this as a pre-agreed upon attack.
Maybe not in American history books but any other history books, yes.
WesDym@Lost_My_Mind It technically was, in that the intended formal declaration of war was SUPPOSED to have been issued BEFORE the attack, but bureaucratic drag ruined that plan.
@IntrovertTurtle Imperial Japan actually had what sounded like a pretty sophisticated plan, but muffed it up. A big part of me doubts it still would have been considered legal or fair, but I applaud the effort. Even if the plan had worked out, it still would have seemed like a surprise attack to the US.
Pretty sure it was still going to be a surprise, just not zero warning. Iirc their goal was delivering the declaration minutes before the first planes arrived.
It was never a surprise.
The US, that never tolerates economic competition froze Japanese assets and subsequently imposed a total oil embargo in response to Japan’s occupation of French Indochina, cutting off roughly 88–94% of Japan’s oil supply.
That was almost a declaration of war.
They wanted war with Japan.
Moving the fleet to a remote place in the middle of the ocean was seen as insanity since it was a sitting duck.
The US, that never tolerates economic competition froze Japanese assets and subsequently imposed a total oil embargo in response to Japan’s occupation of French Indochina, cutting off roughly 88–94% of Japan’s oil supply.
That was almost a declaration of war.
They wanted war with Japan.
Moving the fleet to a remote place in the middle of the ocean was seen as insanity since it was a sitting duck.
The 14-part uktimatum message was encrypted from Japan, the embassy had to decrypt then translate into English. To preserve secrecy the embassy didn’t employ locals, and few of the embassy staff knew English so progress was slow. The instruction to deliver the message at 1pm also didn’t mention this was absolutely critical. The Ambassador arrived at the State Department over an hour late.