No less an authority than England's prime minister at that time, Winston Churchill, expressed his belief after the attack on Pearl Harbor. "After the United States entered the war I never slept as soundly as the night following Pearl Harbor. For I knew that The American Race would now be entering the war and it would never be the same.”
Churchill knew that Germany was going to declare war on the United States in support of the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor. He also knew that Germany had no means of defeating either Great Britain or the United States in an all-out war and that Japan joining the Axis alliance was not going to change that imbalance of resources.
Neither Adolf Hitler nor Hideki Tojo had the education or imagination to understand that, once the United States took sides in a conflict, it could not be stopped by any major power that controlled less resources then America could provide. And that the Americans, as they showed in their own civil war, were utterly relentless when they were angry enough to commit all their strength.
Where historians diverge on this question is greatly related to the sacrifice and price that almost every other country that fought in the war had to endure. The Russians paid the highest price in lives, but with the entry of the United States they started receiving the resources that enabled them to hold off the German offensive. It's easy to overlook the fact that Germany can very close to defeating the Russians in the fall of 1941. But after December 7th, 1941, the Germans were going to have to fight three super powers, (The Russians, England, and the United States). Though America was unprepared for war, and was primarily a naval power in 1941, (A naval power that had suffered severe losses after the attack on Pearl Harbor) what Winston Churchill understood was the degree of commitment that America had when it entered the war. From that point on all Allied forces depended greatly on US supplies.
That is not to dismiss the almost immeasurable losses suffered by the nations of Europe and the Soviet Union. Yes, the Russians did most of the fighting, and suffered the greatest losses, but the Russians needed the Americans, just like the Americans needed the Russians. Pull either nation out of the equation and the outcome of WWII is suddenly cast into doubt.
When asked by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe in mid-1941 about the outcome of a possible war with the United States, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto made a well-known and prophetic statement: If ordered to fight, he said, "I shall run wild considerably for the first six months or a year, but I have utterly no confidence for the second and third years." His prediction would be vindicated, as Japan easily conquered territories and islands in Asia and the Pacific for the first six months of the war, before suffering a major defeat at the Battle of Midway in June of 1942, which ultimately tilted the balance of power in the Pacific towards the United States.
Note: Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, would also reportedly write in his diary, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” There is some debate as to whether or not the Admiral actually uttered those words, but what is not up for debate, is the fact that the attack on Pearl Harbor did awaken a sleeping giant. Sixteen million fighting Americans would go on to drive the Japanese and Germans into surrender – fighting in every corner of the globe to deliver a world free from tyranny.
It is difficult, in our modern times, to imagine the war effort and the motivation of an entire population that we experienced in 1941, especially given the wars we have fought since WWII. Unlike our war efforts of the last seventy years, WWII galvanized all of the citizens of the United States. Motivated by the attack on American soil, and faced with the growing threat on freedom in Europe, citizens and soldiers alike worked tirelessly to achieve victory over the Axis powers. Sacrifices were asked for and met with obedience because the call was clear and the stakes were high.Never before or since has America witnessed a period of unparalleled unity and support for a war effort and after the bell was rung, America answered the call with vengeance. No longer content to sit on the sidelines the U.S. was unstoppable in their desire to avenge the sneak attack on American soil. Whether or not the U.S. would have entered the war if not directly attacked is unknown. But it is factual that the implications of the Japanese attack doomed the Axis powers from that date forward.
Since WWII, we have never had a President ask Congress for a declaration of war. We have, however, fought numerous wars, all without putting forth a united effort of civilians and military. Some wonder whether or not America possess the ability to unite against a common foe such as what we experienced during WWII. My personal feelings are that even though we are deeply divided as a nation, just like the short-lived unity that we experienced after the 9/11 attacks, America still has the capacity, if pushed, to come together with a blinding ambition to revenge our fellow citizens.
