Pacific War Timeline. The Fall of the Philippines-Chapter 3. The Reinforcement of the Philippines Another cause for optimism was the recall of General MacArthur to active duty. No one knew as much as he about the Philippines and no one believed more completely that it could be held if the Japanese allowed sufficient time for reinforcement. The possibility of establishing an effective defense against Japan in the Philippines and thereby preventing Japanese domination of the Western Pacific without altering the major lines of strategy already agreed upon "had the effect," Stimson said, "of making the War Department a strong proponent of maximum delay in bringing the Ground Forces The reinforcement of the Philippines now enjoyed the highest priority in the War Department.
The arrival of the two tank battalions with their 108 light tanks, M-3, were a welcome addition to the Philippine garrison. Most disturbing was the shortage of light artillery and machine guns in the Philippine Army divisions. Air Forces. Battle of Bataan.com:::Story. Pearl Harbor. The attack on Pearl Harbor[nb 4] was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II. The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S.
Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. There were simultaneous Japanese attacks on the U.S. The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters.
There were numerous historical precedents for unannounced military action by Japan. Background to conflict Pearl Harbor on October 30, 1941, looking southwest Diplomatic background Early in 1941, President Franklin D. Military planning. FDR's Speech. A first draft of the Infamy Speech, with changes by Roosevelt The Infamy Speech was a speech delivered by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a Joint Session of Congress on 8 December 1941, one day after the Empire of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii.[1][2][3][4][5] The name derives from the first line of the speech: Roosevelt describing the previous day as "a date which will live in infamy".
Within an hour of the speech, Congress passed a formal declaration of war against Japan and officially brought the U.S. into World War II. The address is regarded as one of the most famous American political speeches of the 20th century.[6] [edit] The Infamy Speech was brief, running to just a little over seven minutes. His revised statement was all the stronger for its emphatic insistence that posterity would forever endorse the American view of the attack.
The overall tone of the speech was one of determined realism. Impact and legacy[edit] Media[edit] See also[edit] Pearl Harbor Video — History.com. Attacks on U.S. Naval Ships. USS Greer (DD-145) Six months' duty with the Pacific Fleet terminated 25 March 1920, when Greer sailed to join the Asiatic Fleet. After standing by off Shanghai to protect American lives and property during riots there in May, Greer sailed to Port Arthur and Dairen on intelligence missions and returned to Cavite, Philippines, for fleet exercises. The destroyer returned to San Francisco 29 September 1921 via Guam, Midway, and Pearl Harbor. Greer decommissioned at San Diego 22 June 1922, and was placed in reserve. Greer recommissioned 31 March 1930, Commander J. W. Bunkley in command. As war swept across Europe, Greer recommissioned 4 October 1939, Commander J. The "Greer incident" occurred 4 September. In response, Germany claimed "that the attack had not been initiated by the German submarine; on the contrary, ... the submarine had been attacked with depth bombs, pursued continuously in the German blockade zone, and assailed by depth bombs until midnight The Greer was flying the American flag.
USS Reuben James (DD-245) Coordinates: USS Reuben James (DD-245)—a post-World War I, four-funnel Clemson-class destroyer—was the first United States Navy ship sunk by hostile action in the European theater of World War II and the first named for Boatswain's Mate Reuben James (c.1776–1838), who distinguished himself fighting in the Barbary Wars. Reuben James was laid down on 2 April 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation of Camden, New Jersey, launched on 4 October 1919, and commissioned on 24 September 1920, with Commander Gordon W.
Hines in command. The destroyer was sunk by a torpedo attack from German submarine U-552 on 31 October 1941. Based then at New York City, the ship patrolled the Nicaraguan coast to prevent the delivery of weapons to revolutionaries in early 1926. Upon the outbreak of war in Europe in September 1939, she joined the Neutrality Patrol, guarding the Atlantic and Caribbean approaches to the American coast.