Shadow Spy

Chapter 372 The Pacific War breaks out

Now Li Junhao also knows that this time is really embarrassing for the United States. On the one hand, Roosevelt, as president, does not actually have the power to directly declare war, and must submit it to the House and Senate for approval; but on the other hand, Today is Sunday again. The "masters" of Congress are not at work and cannot convene a meeting. It is impossible to immediately review the possibility of the United States declaring war!
Um!This is actually certain that choosing this day to attack the U.S. Pacific Fleet was also the result of careful planning by Japan.

This is the shortcoming of the so-called "democratic country", and it is unlikely to be easily changed.
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On the afternoon of December 12, Washington time, the damage to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was roughly calculated. The Japanese sneak attack fleet sent 7 and 183 aircraft in two waves respectively, bombing all US military airports on Oahu and those parked in Pearl Harbor. of ships, including the battleships there.

Almost all U.S. aircraft parked on the ground were destroyed, and only a few aircraft were able to take off and return fire. 188 aircraft were destroyed, 323 aircraft were damaged, and more than 7 ships, including 14 battleships and 40 cruisers, were hit. Sunk or damaged, 2403 Americans were killed, 916 were missing, and 1341 were injured. Thousands of people died when the USS Arizona exploded and sank alone; during the attack, Japan only lost 55 aircraft.

This tragic blow deeply stimulated the American military and civilians and all walks of life! ——
The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt came to Congress and delivered a "national humiliation" speech to members of the House and Senate. He expressed strong indignation at Japan's despicable act of undeclared war, claiming:
"The distance of Hawaii Island from Japan makes it clear that this attack was planned many days or even weeks ago, as will be documented. During this period, the Japanese government deliberately used false statements and expressed its desire to continue to maintain peace. Deceiving the United States...

"Japan's attack on the Hawaiian Islands yesterday caused serious damage to the U.S. Navy and Army. I regret to tell you: many Americans were killed...

"Yesterday, December 1941, 12, will become a day of national humiliation for our country - the United States of America was attacked by a premeditated surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy and Air Force...

"As Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and Army, I have ordered all means to be used for defense...

“We believe that our army and our people have extremely firm determination, so victory must belong to us. May God bless us.

"I ask Congress to declare that the United States and Japan are in a state of war because of Japan's unprovoked and despicable attack on our country on Sunday, December 1941, 12!"

In subsequent votes, the Senate voted 82 to 380 and the House of Representatives voted [-] to [-] to approve Roosevelt's declaration of war.

With the unanimous consent of Congress, President Roosevelt signed a formal declaration of war against Imperial Japan.

On December 12, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Nicaragua declared war on Japan.

On December 12, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.The United States and China declare war on Germany and Italy. On December 11, Bulgaria declared war on the United States and Britain.Romania declares war on the United States.

On December 12, Hungary declared war on the United States.

Seeing this, Li Junhao nodded, yes!Now, the world war has its real appearance! ——
On the afternoon of December 12, President Roosevelt signed an order to hold officials responsible for the Pearl Harbor incident accountable, including:
Lieutenant General Walter Short, commander of Army Pacific, dismissed;
Admiral Husband Kimmel, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet, dismissed;
William Joseph Donovan, CIA deputy director and presiding officer, dismissed;
The Director of the Security Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Director of the Naval Intelligence Bureau, and the Director of the Army Military Intelligence Bureau were downgraded and retained.

Li Junhao, who had been "recuperating" for nearly a month, was immediately recalled to Washington to resume taking charge of intelligence work.
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Li Junhao, who had just returned to the King's Building office, saw the Far East intelligence sent by his secretary Li Xiaoyu, who came to take office one day in advance.

因为中国时间比夏威夷快18个小时，所以当日本特混舰队在当地时间7日上午8点前向珍珠港投下第一颗炸弹时，沪海这边的时间已经是8日的凌晨4点。

Different from the history of the earth, the armed forces in the concession at this time were too strong. The Japanese army did not launch an attack immediately. Instead, after daybreak, the Japanese Consulate General submitted a copy of the declaration of war to the US Consulate General, requesting the US military in the concession. Immediate surrender and handing over management of the concession was of course immediately rejected.

The Japanese army was in a difficult position. More than half of the main force of the Central China Front had been deployed. At this time, they had secretly moved south to prepare for the attack on Southeast Asia. With the remaining garrisons in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they had no confidence in capturing the Shanghai-Haihai Concession; Half of the ships of the First Fleet dispatched to China were sent south, and the air force stationed around the Shanghai Sea only had dozens of old fighter planes. They were obviously no match for the U.S. Shanghai Sea Squadron and the Army Aviation Squadron. This battle was impossible to fight. ah!
While there was a stalemate on the Shanghai side, the Japanese troops in South China launched an attack on Hong Kong Island as planned; at the same time, the Japanese troops going south landed from the Kra Isthmus in Thailand and began to attack the Malay Peninsula...

The other half of the main ships of the Japanese Navy began to attack the British and American fleets in the Far East...
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Li Junhao lamented that in terms of Japan's decision to go south, its attack on Pearl Harbor was a brilliant victory from a short- and medium-term perspective, and the results far exceeded the best assumptions of the Japanese navy that launched the campaign—— Its attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet caused the United States to do nothing on the Pacific battlefield for more than six months, allowing the Japanese army to do whatever they wanted in Southeast Asia. They soon occupied the entire Southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific, and their power continued to expand. to the Indian Ocean.

However, from a long-term perspective, the Japanese army's "accidentally" successful sneak attack on Pearl Harbor completely angered the United States and made it participate in the war. With its world's largest productivity, it laid the foundation for the alliance's victory.

What the Japanese wanted to destroy most were the three American aircraft carriers, but none of them were in the harbor during this battle - is this a "coincidence"?
In addition, with the exception of the USS Arizona, which sank due to an explosion in an ammunition depot, the sunk US warships were quickly salvaged and repaired for use, demonstrating the strong industrial capabilities of the United States!This seems like a huge irony for Japan.

(End of this chapter)