69 years ago, the Empire of Japan attacked the US base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii which was only a US territory at the time, not a state.
Tora Tora Tora is one of the best war movies of all time and it shows how Japan planned the attack and was supposed to attack after a declaration of war but alas given a poor typist, the declaration was delivered after the attack.
December 7 was a Sunday morning, not all of the sailors/soldiers were up and it was totally unexpected. 2350 Americans died that day.
WWII took a very different turn that day and in the end the attack pretty much sealed Japan's fate. Oh they were winning for a bit but their gamble at Midway in June 1942 which resulted in a total disaster (all four carriers sunk) started them on the long road to ruin and their unconditional surrender on September 2, 1945.
Roosevelt was itching to get the US into the war but couldn't due to American isolationism. The attack awoke a sleeping giant, filled it with great resolve and Japan never really had a chance.
Couple that with the Soviet defeat of Germany at the gates of Moscow and the war took a definite turn.
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