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Hawaii, the Pacific Ocean.

A picture postcard setting.

But it was in these paradise islands
that there took place one of the most

decisive operations of the Second World
War.

On the 7th of December, 1941,

Japan launched a surprise attack against
the US fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor.

It was a blow to the very heart of the
United States Defense Forces.

Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date
which will live...

This attack marked a major turning point
in the war, the point where the conflict

became truly global.

But a lot remains unknown about Pearl
Harbor.

Why did the Japanese decide to launch an
apparently pointless attack on the

world's leading superpower?

Did the Americans really have no idea
they were going to strike?

Pearl Harbor changed the course of the
Second World War.

It's 1940, and the Second War has
already been going on for a year.

Nazi Germany is at the height of its
power and ruling over much of Europe.

Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland are
all under the Fuhrer's boot.

France has fallen in just a few weeks,
followed by Greece, and Yugoslavia.

But Britain is still standing its crown,
led by its Prime Minister, Winston

Churchill.

Despite the blitz that's ravaging its
cities, the old British lion holds firm,

but he's on his own.

Back in the U.S., the war seems a long
way away.

The Americans won't go anywhere near the
hornet's nest that is Europe.

Back in 1917, the Yanks came to the
rescue of the old continent.

More than 116,000 of them lost their
lives.

That's just a drop in the ocean of death
that was the Great War.

But for the mothers of America, it was
far too many.

During his 1939 presidential campaign,
U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt

promised never again to send his boys to
the slaughterhouse.

This nation will remain a neutral
nation.

I have said not once but many times that
I have seen war.

And that I hate war as long as it
remains within my power to

prevent there will be no blackout of
peace in the United

States.

The man in the street is dead set
against the war.

Another war, not for me. This time
America should keep out and I know I

will. I think that this country should
heed the advice of its voice president.

and avoid all foreign entanglement.

And all our efforts should be made to
keep out of the fight.

American public opinion remains, for the
most part, isolationist.

If the old continent has chosen war,
well, let them get on with it.

On the other side of the world, Another
power has no intention

of taking a back seat.

Japan.

Since the start of the 1930s, the empire
of the rising sun has gone down the same

road as Nazi Germany.

Nationalism and the desire for conquest
and power.

Japan has been churning out soldiers.

From early childhood on, the Japanese
are indoctrinated.

They're taught a code of honor, bushido.

At school, young people are trained to
live, fight, and sacrifice themselves

for their supreme leader, Hirohito.

As one Japanese man says, all our games
were war games. We were taught to die

for the emperor.

It was like it was fed into our blood.

Emperor Hirohito is worshipped like a
god.

But in reality, he has little power.

He reigns, but he doesn't govern.

It's military that lays down the law.

They'll do anything to make their
country great.

For ever since the 19th century, Japan
has been striving to build an empire.

Back in 1895 it annexed Taiwan.

In 1904 it dared to stand up to Russia.

Then in 1910 it colonized Korea.

And Japan didn't stop at that.

To rebuild its economy, shaken by the
Great Depression of 1929, it embarked on

a new conquest.

which it attacked without a second
thought.

In the 30s, it invaded Manchuria, a
Chinese province rich in raw materials,

going on to seize both Beijing and
Shanghai.

The Imperial Army was incredibly
violent.

At Nanking in 1937, it massacred more
than 100,000 men, women, and children.

Thousands of its victims were
systematically raped.

Most horrible of all, the massacre of
Chinese turned into a competition.

Japanese officers organized a contest
for the best beheader.

The press celebrated the winner, Officer
Suishikai Mukai, with 106 heads.

Japan is insatiable and all the more
dangerous for it.

Just like the Nazis, the Japanese see
themselves as a superior race destined

to rule over Asia and subjugate all its
peoples.

Its new objective is to push the Western
powers out of the Asian continent and

seize their colonies.

Dutch Indonesia, British Malaysia, and
French Indochina.

Thanks to all their raw materials, Japan
will be able to build a gigantic empire.

The conditions could not be more
favorable.

The Nazis are occupying the old
continent, so the European powers are

unable to retaliate.

Moreover, in September 1940, Japan sees
its French Indochina with no reaction

from the Vichy regime.

And for good reason.

Japan has some powerful allies.

On the 27th of September, 1940, in
Berlin, Adolf Hitler plays host to both

Benito Mussolini's representative and
the ambassador from Japan, Kurusu.

Together, they sign the Tripartite Pact,
a military alliance that welds the three

dictatorships together and promises
reciprocal assistance in the event of an

attack on one of the signatories.

With this devilish pact, Nazi Germany,
fascist Italy, and Japan intend to

dominate the world.

A Nazi Germany that rules Europe and a
Japan that is about to dominate all of

Asia are deeply worrying to the United
States.

To prevent the plague of fascism from
spreading all over the world, the

American president wants to intervene,
but the isolationism of public opinion

prevents him from doing so.

But Roosevelt is not a man to give up
easily.

Paralyzed in both legs for ten years,
his weakened body hides an iron

determination.

To demonstrate his resolve while
avoiding a war, Roosevelt relies on

sanction.

Japan's expansionist zeal must be
calmed.

So Washington imposes an embargo.

All petrol exports to Japan are blocked.

Without petrol, no army can advance, no
factory can run.

Japan is heading for paralysis.

The very existence of the country is at
stake.

A Japanese leader confides, Japan is
like a fish swimming in a pond that's

slowly drying up.

Tension between the two countries rises
by another notch.

Meanwhile, though, in the shadows, the
Japanese generals are busy with their

plan to rule the world.

For lack of raw materials, Japan can't
fight a long war.

And if it strikes at Asia, America will
react.

They're going to have to trigger a
lightning attack to crush the American

fleet so they'll have a free hand in
Asia.

That's Admiral Yamamoto's idea.

A fine strategist.

He suggests to the Navy minister that
the main American fleet must be

destroyed at the beginning of the war so
that the morale of the Navy and the

American people collapses and can never
recover.

The target is chosen, Hawaii.

Located almost 2,500 miles from the west
coast of the United States and nearly 4

,000 miles from Japan, the archipelago
is home to the largest American base in

the Pacific, Pearl Harbor.

Since 1899, this base has been slowly
growing and now hosts tens of thousands

of men, more than 150 ships, and three
aircraft carriers.

It's an arsenal that directly threatens
Japanese operations in Southeast Asia.

Pearl Harbor is a dagger pointed at the
heart of Japan, says Yamamoto.

It has to be neutralized.

Yet it's a dangerous gamble.

Yamamoto knows America's industrial
potential.

He studied at Harvard.

But he's an inveterate poker player.

He's willing to take the risk.

Lucid, however, he writes to the
government, During the first six months

of a war against the United States, I
promise you an uninterrupted stream of

victories.

But I warn you, if facilities continue
for two or three years, I have no

confidence in your final victory.

The Japanese leaders are dubious.

So the Minister of the Army, General
Tojo, nicknamed the Razor, brings his

weight to bear.

He declares, If we give in to America's
demands, it will destroy the fruits of

our war in China.

Manchuria will be endangered.

and our control of Korea will be
undermined.

Sometimes, you simply have to dare.

A few weeks later, Tojo becomes prime
minister.

His government supports Yamamoto's
strategy.

The plan is to negotiate with Washington
a lifting of the embargo, while secretly

preparing, in case that fails, a
lightning attack.

Despite the tension between the two
countries, life in Hawaii is still

pretty laid back.

The GIs are having a great time.

The local girls with cocktails and
ukuleles, the baseball, and just a

little keep fit all add spice to a daily
life to die for.

No one could ever imagine a strike on
the base.

The Japanese?

Don't worry about them, goes the
refrain.

They're useless.

They'll do anything you tell them to.
There has been.

What have they got to show for
themselves?

No Shakespeare, no Mozart, no
Michelangelo?

In addition, Pearl Harbor is the base
that's supposed to defend potential

targets like Midway or the Philippines.

Who'd dare to attack a fortress like
that?

Journalist Clark Beach writes in the
Honolulu Star Bulletin,

A Japanese attack on Hawaii is
considered the most unlikely thing in

the world, with a one in a million
chance of success.

But the United States still fear the
worst.

Pearl Harbor, the world's greatest naval
base.

Pearl Harbor is 3,400 miles from
Yokohama, and Pacific Fleet Commander

Admiral Kimmel...

keeps all hands on the alert.

During my military tour, I was received
by Lieutenant General Walter C. Short,

who knows these islands inside out.

All troops here have mobile equipment.

Guns of all types and sizes form a
defense ring for the 20 islands.

Every tourist knows Diamond Head and
Waikiki, but now beaches are studded

with pillboxes, anti-invasion defenses.

and big harbor guns.

While the Americans are busy reassuring
themselves, the Japanese are busy

training.

A naval air raid on Pearl Harbor seems
like mission impossible.

They'll have to, for the first time in
history, deploy an armada nearly 4,000

miles from home without it being
spotted.

And there's another thing.

Pearl Harbor is shallow.

And torpedoes need a depth of 100 feet.

How can it be done?

No torpedoes, no mission.

It's the British who provide the answer.

On the 12th of November, 1940, the Royal
Navy destroys half the Italian fleet at

anchor in Taranto.

It's a port with the same
characteristics as Pearl Harbor.

The Royal Navy manages to adapt its
torpedoes accordingly.

It's an inspiration for Japanese
engineers.

They add fins to the torpedoes so they
can operate in shallow waters.

There's nothing to stop them now.

Aircraft carriers, battleships, and
planes all start preparing for a raid of

unprecedented audacity.

Leaving nothing to chance, the Japanese
rely on their intelligence service.

Their consul in Hawaii has a network of
200 informants, many of them from

Hawaii's Japanese minority.

But they also call on the experts.

Among them, Tadashi Morimura, who was
appointed consular secretary in March

1941.

His arrival has even been reported in
the press.

But his real name is Takeo Yoshikawa,
and he's a professional spy.

Tokyo bombards him with questions.

He must divide the base into several
zones.

then identify the type of vessel that
anchors in each zone.

He must also specify the positions of
the anti-aircraft defenses and indicate

the depth of the waters.

Ishikawa keeps his superiors regularly
informed.

Another agent is sent to Hawaii to
observe the base's routine.

It's all set out like a musical score.

The American fleet returns to home port
every weekend, and that remains a sacred

tradition.

The Japanese plan is taking shape.

The Japanese Air Force will annihilate
the base at Pearl Harbor and destroy the

largest units, the aircraft carriers and
battleships.

The date is set, Sunday, the 7th of
December, 1941.

To respect their code of honor, the
Japanese are planning to declare war 30

minutes before the attack.

While the diplomats negotiate, the
strategists are busy planning.

On November 17, 1941, Ambassador Nomura
and Special Envoy Kurusu, the same one

who shook hands with Hitler a few months
earlier, are in Washington.

They are received by Foreign Secretary
Cordell Hull.

Then, head for the White House to ask
President Roosevelt.

to lift the embargo on their country.

Gentlemen, you all know how difficult my
mission is.

But I'll do all I can to make it a
successful one for the sake of two

countries, Japan and the United States.

At the same time, more than 6,000 miles
away in Japan, the fleet sets sail in

the greatest secrecy.

It's an impressive armada.

Cruisers and destroyers protect six
aircraft carriers.

They're followed by eight tankers for
refueling at sea.

These 32 ships are protected in their
turn by 20 patrol submarines, along with

five mini-subs armed with torpedoes.

The rallying point is to the north of
Japan, in the Kuril Islands.

On the 26th of November in Washington,
Foreign Minister Cordell Hull turns down

Japan's demands.

He promises to lift economic sanctions
if the Imperial Army abandons the

Tripartite Pact and withdraws from China
and Indochina.

For Tokyo, that's an unacceptable
proposition.

It's the point of no return.

The very same day, November 26th, the
armada leaves the Kuril Island.

and set sail for Pearl Harbor.

On board the aircraft carrier Akashi,
Admiral Nagumo is having doubts.

Now that we've left our territorial
waters, he tells his chief of staff, I'm

beginning to wonder if this operation
will succeed.

His fears are well-founded.

The fleet must travel nearly 4,000
miles, 11 long days at sea, without

being discovered.

By the 1st of December 1941, Japanese
leaders have understood that

negotiations with the Americans will not
succeed.

The designer of the attack, Admiral
Yamamoto, sends the fateful message to

the armada.

Climb Mount Nitaka.

That's the green light to attack Pearl
Harbor.

Now nothing can stop the attack.

But on December 4, 1941, a naval
listening station picks up a suspicious

weather message sent out by the
Japanese.

East wind, rain.

The Americans are well aware that it's
an instruction that alerts embassies to

an upcoming war with the United States.

The message, though, is not taken
seriously.

No alerts are sent out to U.S. bases.

Admiral Kimmel, commander-in-chief of
the fleet at Pearl Harbor, isn't

notified.

A stroke of luck for the Japanese
armada, which continues on its way as if

nothing had happened.

On the eve of the attack, the Pearl
Harbor base still hasn't a care in the

world.

Admiral Kimmel even maintains all leave
for the weekend of December the 7th.

This morning, Sunday, December the 7th,
1941, two

separate waves are destroying.

At 5 a.m., the 183 pilots of the first
wave are woken up.

Many of them believe they won't live to
see Japan again.

They all prepare their farewell letters
in little envelopes.

Lieutenant Zenji Abe says, I put a
picture of my wife holding my six-month

-old son in the inner pocket of my
uniform.

That day, we didn't feel like we were
going to war.

I was calm, and all I cared about was
following orders.

The pilots eat a ceremonial meal.

They drink sake together and pray for
the success of their mission.

As one of them recounts, we had mixed
feelings.

There was sadness at the thought of
dying, but also a sense of pride because

we were going to die with honor.

Just before dawn, the aircraft carriers
reached their destination, 230 miles

northeast of Pearl Harbor.

There are heavy seas.

In Washington, it's 10.30 in the
morning.

Ambassador Nomura requests an audience
at 1 p.m. with Foreign Minister Cordell

Hull to announce the declaration of war
30 minutes before the attack, as

required.

At 6 a.m., the fighters tasked with
protecting the squadron take off.

They're followed by the torpedo bombers,
each carrying an 800-kilogram anti-ship

bomb and a crew of bombardiers.

A total of 181 aircraft are deployed.

It's an impressive force.

One pilot recounts, When I saw the crew
all waving their cap to salute my

takeoff, I felt the honor of being born
Japanese and serving my country.

Japanese aircraft at this time are not
equipped with radar.

The pilots are all tuned in to KGMB
radio.

This American radio station in Hawaii
broadcasts 24 hours a day to guide

American B-17 bombers back home.

But today, it's guiding the enemy.

By 6.45, though, things don't look so
good.

At Opana, Hawaii radio station, the
squadron has been spotted.

Joseph Lockhart and George Elliott have
it on their radar.

They contact the Pearl Harbor Control
Center at 7.06 a.m.

A large number of planes coming in from
the north, three degrees east.

The intelligence is precise.

In 40 minutes, unknown aircraft will fly
over the base.

It's not too late to sound the alarm.

But headquarters believe the signals are
coming from B-17 planes on their way

from California.

The message doesn't get through.

Fortune would appear to be smiling on
the Japanese.

At 7.40, squadron leader Fushida, at the
head of the first wave, sees up last in

the distance the north coast of the
island.

The base isn't on alert.

As one pilot, Tatsuya Otawa, puts it,
we're about to turn an island of dreams

into a living hell.

At 7.53 a.m., Fushida gives out the
coded message, Tora, Tora, Tora, to

announce that the prize is still on
their side.

And immediately, the attack begins.

The Japanese hit Wheeler Field first,
the base in the north of the island, to

prevent American planes from protecting
their ships.

Dozens of planes are destroyed right
there on the ground.

The element of surprise is proving
deadly.

The Japanese planes destroy everything.

Five minutes later, they're ten miles
away, over the harbor of Pearl Harbor.

At first, nobody knows what's going on.

Up in the control tower, Colonel William
Farthing sees planes flying at low

altitude. He notes, Very realistic
maneuvers. I wonder what the Marines are

up to so early on a Sunday.

When they're right above the harbor, the
planes go for the big game, the

warships.

Torpedoes and bombs are coming from
every direction.

Pilot Tatsuya Otawa recalled, I was
saying to myself that I was a happy man

to be able to be a part of this historic
moment.

The sailors are all awoken by the same
cry.

The Japanese are attacking.

It's for real.

Admiral Kimmel in charge of the base.

Alert the authorities.

Air raid on Pearl Harbor. This is not a
drill.

The Americans try to react, but it's a
paltry response.

Only four of their 31 anti-aircraft
batteries are in position, and many of

them with no ammunition.

General Short, the head of the armed
forces, feared there might be sabotage

by the Japanese.

So he stored the ammunition in depots
far from the guns, or else locked it

away.

On the ships, theaters get themselves
organized.

Doris Miller stands out.

At a time when African Americans are
only allowed to work in the kitchen.

But right now, his duty is to act.

So he grabs a machine gun.

I just pulled the trigger.

I guess I kept firing for about 15
minutes.

I think I got one of them Japanese
planes.

Japanese aircraft hit the battleship
Arizona with eight bombs.

As it's happening, Captain Eric
Hackinson, a military nurse, films the

scene.

450 tons of ammunition explode in a
matter of seconds, blowing the vessel

out of the water.

A gigantic plume of red smoke fills the
sky, a symbol of the drama of Pearl

Harbor.

Hundreds of men are killed instantly.

One American sailor tells how pieces of
bodies were flying everywhere.

The whole ship was sent flying.

Corpses were piled on top of each other.

I started heading for the dock, and I
suddenly found myself in the water.

I think I was thrown there by one of the
blacks.

Squadron Leader Fushida describes how,
You could feel the shockwave even in my

plane, and I was several kilometers from
the port.

California and the West Virginia are
both hit.

There's fuel oil escaping.

Fires are starting everywhere.

Some sailors jump overboard to escape
the flames.

They're burned alive in the blazing oil
slicks.

The USS Oklahoma sinks within minutes.

461 sailors are trapped aboard her.

This first wave has lasted for a total
of 40 minutes.

Nobody knows how many died.

The bombardment rages on. In Washington,
it's 2 in the afternoon.

The Japanese diplomats are still working
on their great plan to declare the

severance of diplomatic relations at
least 30 minutes before the attack.

But they're an hour late.

Things went off the rails the minute the
raid began.

Nomura and Kurusu weren't at Cordell
Hall's office yet.

Until now, everything possible has done
to delay this announcement.

that could have immediately been
interpreted by the United States as a

declaration of war.

Flashback to the night before, December
the 6th.

In Tokyo, the Japanese authorities sent
a message to their embassy in the United

States with strict orders to hand it
over to the U.S. government at 1 p.m.

sharp, East Coast time.

But on a Sunday, the Japanese embassy in
Washington doesn't have the staff to

rapidly decode the message.

Especially since, curiously, the
document has not been marked urgent.

So, when Ambassador Nomura and Special
Envoy Kurusu go to the State Department

to deliver the official message from
Tokyo, they are received by Cordell Hull

at 14.05.

The attack has already begun.

40 minutes ago.

After about 20 minutes, they're sent
packing by a highly offended Cordell

Hull. Japan has not, as is customary,
declared war before launching an attack.

But the United States is in fact
feigning surprise.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs is only
pretending that the message is news to

him. He's a good actor.

In fact, he knows precisely what the
message contains.

Indeed, when Tokyo sent it to its
Washington embassy, the Americans

intercepted it.

They broke Japanese diplomatic codes
back in 1940 in a decryption operation

called MAGIC.

They've decoded the telegram even before
Ambassador Nomura.

The text, though, does not actually
proclaim a state of war.

The Japanese government regrets to have
to notify the American government that

it cannot but consider that it is
impossible to reach an agreement.

On the evening of the 6th of December,
President Roosevelt and his chief of

staff, General George Marshall, read the
intercepted communique.

They conclude the war is about to break
out.

But they believe that the opening of
hostilities will be preceded by a formal

declaration of war.

Then, suddenly, U.S. crypto analysts
intercept an additional message to the

Japanese embassy.

Will the ambassador please submit to the
United States government, if possible,

the Secretary of State, our reply to the
United States at 1 p.m. on the 7th, your

time.

This time, General Marshall finally
understands that something untoward is

happening. He might have before his very
eyes the exact time of the Japanese

attack.

He immediately sends out an alert.

The Japanese will present this day at 1
p.m., East Coast time, what is akin to

an ultimatum.

We do not know what their choice of this
hour may mean, but be alert accordingly.

But in Hawaii, Weather conditions
prevent his method from getting through.

So Marshall sends a telegram which, as
an ordinary civilian telegram, didn't

have priority.

In the air and over the airwave, on land
and on sea, there flies a constant

exchange of dispatches.

Dispatches that could be crucial to the
outcome of the coming battle.

As the game of poker between Washington
and Tokyo grinds on, people in Hawaii

are protecting themselves as best they
can, for this attack just won't stop.

Whole families are having to evacuate
their homes.

There were bombs exploding all around
us, remembers one witness.

We didn't think we were going to get out
alive.

One woman, Alice Zuber, prays silently.

Dear God, please let my children die and
not be mutilated.

When the first wave has passed, relief
is quickly organized.

But the improvised hospitals and clinics
struggle to cope.

They're overwhelmed by the wounded.

important bulletin from the United
Press.

Flash, Washington.

The White House announces Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor.

Stay tuned to WOR for further
developments, which will be broadcast

immediately as received.

On the continent, they have no idea, but
soon the whole of the U.S. has heard the

unthinkable news.

The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii, by air. President Roosevelt has

just announced. America is stunned.

The Japanese have attacked the Pearl
Harbor.

But the raid is still not over.

While the base is licking its wounds, a
second wave of 167 planes sweeps down,

determined to annihilate the U.S. Navy.

This time, The Japanese no longer
benefit from the element of surprise.

The Americans retaliate.

Their air defense forces enter the fray.

A few US pilots manage to take off.

They bring down six enemy aircraft.

Despite all the damage, the US Navy
still spots six mini submarines right

there inside the base.

Four of them are sunk.

The fifth has disappeared.

It's washed up on a beach.

Its crew tries to scuttle it without
success.

Its commander, midshipman Kazuo
Sakamaki, is captured by the Americans.

He implores them.

My great mistake is to have been caught.

This is the first time I've failed.
Please, don't inform Japan.

Kill me.

Sakamaki becomes the first Japanese
prisoner of war.

In his pocket, the military find a plan
of Pearl Harbor, specifying the

positions of all the ships, proof that
the Japanese spies had done their job

well.

At 11.15 a.m., the first Japanese planes
touch back down on their aircraft

carriers.

The operation has lasted two hours.

Pilots and sailors alike can't believe
it.

They're alive.

One pilot, Izu Fujita, writes, I didn't
expect to come back.

It's a miracle.

And one of the sailors, Ikikura Mote,
says, Right now we're being rewarded for

all our hard work. The gods of the cells
will bear witness to the glory of our

great enterprise.

for squadron leader fushida he is one of
the last to land he assures admiral

nagumo that the main pacific force will
not be seaworthy for six months

the japanese can congratulate themselves
a surprise

attack mobilizing more than 30 warships
340 planes and hundreds of fighting men

in a 12-day crossing of almost 4 000
miles has succeeded

On line.