9781422286036

A World Ablaze

9

to the destruction. Fires raged everywhere, and thick plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky. In less than two hours, Japan had dealt the U.S. Pacific Fleet a crip- pling blow. Powerful warships became twisted wrecks. More than 2,400 Americans were dead. America Reacts News of Pearl Harbor shocked the nation. People huddled around radios and snatched up newspapers. The attack on December 7 changed every- thing. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it “a date which will live in infamy.” He asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Two nations on Japan’s side—Germany and Italy—declared war on the United States. America was fully drawn into World War II. Pearl Harbor turned out to be just the beginning. Japanese troops were splashing ashore on American islands across the Pacific. They overwhelmed U.S. Marines and soldiers at Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippines. They

even landed on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. People feared California, Oregon, orWashingtonmight be next. Meanwhile, on America’s East Coast, a new threat emerged. German submarines—known as U-boats— began sinking ships. The U-boats torpedoed oil tankers and cargo ships sailing coastal routes. People on shore would see orange fireballs on the horizon. The next day, dead sailors would wash up on the beach. Clearly, America was unprepared for this war. Its enemies—Germany, Japan, and Italy—called themselves

In early 1942, the Japanese military seemed unstoppable. These Japanese troops are cel- ebrating the capture of the Bataan Peninsula on the Philippine Islands.