在第一次世界大战后，列强为了争夺全球霸权而进行着明争暗斗。1921-1922年的华盛顿海军会议规定日本舰队的规模必须小于英美两国，三国战列舰吨位比例为5:5:3。然而，日本的政策是排挤英美势力并在亚洲和太平洋地区争取主导地位。为了解决劣势作战的问题，日本海军将“先发制人”和突然袭击作为不可分割的一部分，并大力发展航空母舰。
1941年11月至12月间，日本军方策划了一次重大远程行动——偷袭美国太平洋上的珍珠港基地。这是一次极易被发现的大型舰队行动，因此日本当局实施了严格的电波管制，并通过佯动与欺骗策略来掩盖这一行动。
自11月8日起，参战的日本各舰队从内海出发。此时，当局不仅对远征舰队实行最严格的通信管制，而且使用假冒船只、教练机模拟真实情况，以此造成假象，让人们相信主力舰队仍然停泊在南部内海。美国情报机关熟悉这些通信军官的发报指法，因此长期被巧妙炮制的假电报所欺骗。在出航那一天，即夏威夷时间11月25日，对于Japan’s mobile force aircraft carriers and battleships’ location, American naval intelligence made the following report: “Aircraft carrier Akagi, Kaga in southern Kyushu; Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku, Zuikaku in Yokosuka area; battleship Mutsu in Sasebo area; Mogami in Yokosuka area.” However, these warships had already secretly sailed to Pearl Harbor.
On December 1 (Hawaii Time November 30), when Japan's fleet crossed the International Date Line and entered the western hemisphere from the eastern hemisphere, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Husband E. Kimmel learned that U.S. communications officer Lt. Cmdr. Walter S. DeLany at Pearl Harbor Naval Communication Intelligence Division reported that Japanese aircraft carriers were still within "home waters." But soon after, DeLany discovered these ships had vanished.
Admiral Kimmel summoned his intelligence officer Lt. Edward Lyster to ask about Japanese aircraft carrier positions. Lyster replied confidently but unknowingly revealed their true intentions by stating he knew nothing about their whereabouts and believed they were still in home waters for training purposes or on a practice cruise around Okinawa or Formosa with some possibility of being deployed against Siberia if necessary but there was no specific information available regarding their position now as before when he hoped to discover where they might be located.
Meanwhile an enormous fleet was swiftly heading south across the Pacific Ocean towards its destination - Pearl Harbor - which is 230 miles north of it since December 7th (Hawaii Time). Soon after dawn on December 7th (Hawaii Time), planes took off from Japanese aircraft carriers one by one flying towards Hawaii's Oahu Island with a deafening roar signaling an imminent attack upon unsuspecting American ships anchored peacefully inside Pearl Harbor harbor at sunrise moments later.
The surprise attack began at precisely 07:55 hours local time with waves of low-flying fighter planes swooping down upon targets below while others dropped bombs onto stationary enemy ships lined up alongside piers along both sides of Ford Island like sitting ducks without warning signals given nor any signs indicating danger ahead just minutes earlier than this moment when suddenly everything turned into chaos all over again amidst another wave of aerial assaults coming from above them now seeking out even more victims among those who could not escape fast enough either due to being stuck close together near docksides so tightly packed together everywhere else too...
