While it is a common belief that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on February 7, 1941, was a massive success for the Axis forces, Imperial Japan failed to achieve all its objectives. As historians mention, Japan wanted to secure victory in the war with one decisive battle and two airstrikes (Roblin, 2020). The Japanese forces successfully achieved their initial goals; however, the two operations were not sufficient to destroy the fuel tanks and repair the facilities of Pearl Harbor (Roblin, 2020). Experts argued that Japan had originally planned only two airstrikes to utilize the element of surprise (Brody, 2018). However, there are several additional reasons why the Japanese decided to retreat. Namely, Japan would have lost more aircraft, the Japanese carriers would have run out of fuel, and the American carriers were not currently at Pearl Harbor (Roblin, 2020). From these considerations, the Japanese general – Chuichi Nagumo – decided that the third attack was not an applicable strategy.
However, as history shows, Nagumo’s decision to retreat from Pearl Harbor without initiating the third airstrike was most likely a strategic mistake. Specifically, the remaining repair facilities in Pearl Harbor were used to restore a large number of American warships, which would later play a vital part in the Battle of Midway. As experts mention, Japan still had a significant advantage in fleet numbers during the battle (D’Angelo, 2018). However, their failure to destroy American carriers and repair facilities at Pearl Harbor minimized the differences in strength, as the US was able to restore the carrier Yorktown (D’Angelo, 2018). Combined with the efforts of cryptanalysts who deciphered the Japanese codes, the United States was able to turn the tide of the battle and secure the victory at Midway Islands.
References
Brody, J. K. (2018). Crucible of a generation: How the attack on Pearl Harbor transformed America. Routledge/Taylor & Francis.
D’Angelo, J. M. (2018). Victory at Midway: The battle that changed the course of World War II. McFarland & Company.
Roblin, S. (2020). What if Imperial Japan had launched a third-wave attack against Pearl Harbor? National Interest. Web.