William Tyler
Pearl Harbor: 1941 - 1945
Summary
World War II had raged in Europe for over 2 years when the Japanese hit the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. In response to America’s declaration of war against Japan, Germany declared war against America. For the next 4 years, America found itself fighting on two major fronts: North Africa - Europe and the Pacific. The final strike of the war came when America dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
William Tyler
William Tyler has spent his entire professional life in adult education, beginning at Kingsgate College in 1969. He has lectured widely for many public bodies, including the University of Cambridge and the WEA, in addition to speaking to many clubs and societies. In 2009, William was awarded the MBE for services to adult education, and he has previously been a scholar in residence at the London Jewish Cultural Centre.
No, Japan was already involved in a war in the East with its invasion in Manchuria and China. What it was doing in World War II was simply progressing its own war across the Pacific, and it needed to take the American Pacific fleet out at Pearl Harbour. It’s not a stupid question, Monty. It’s simply that Japan was engaged on its own war which is parallel to the Germans, and Germany and Japan are allied. So it wasn’t getting involved in a war in the West, it was that it opened up the opportunity for Japan to strike at America and open a war wider in Asia than it had previously done. It had hoped to, of course. It took Hong Kong, it took Singapore, took Malaya, it took Burma, and it nearly took India.
No, he wasn’t.
Well, it’s a few months actually, because a lot of preparation has to be made.