Battle at Dawn introduction
The Battle at Dawn: The first battle between the United States and Japan
Prologue
Nearly all Americans and Japanese know of the series of battles around Hawaii in the opening week of the war between Japan and the United States. The “Date which will live in Infamy” was how President Franklin Roosevelt put it in his speech while the battle was still raging, and indeed the shock of the sudden Japanese attack united America behind the war effort like nothing else could of.
But the fateful battle that would change naval air warfare forever did not just last one day, but three exhausting desperate days, and only the foresighted leadership of Admiral Richardson and General Harmon, the dogged aggression of Admiral Halsey and the tireless determination of Admiral Yamamoto brought about the result that followed. The fighting which began on December 7 and did not end until the December 10, 1941 saw the first carrier versus carrier fight, the first surface actions between the Japanese and United States Navies, and great air battles between Japanese and American aviators that would prove that both were brave and skilled combatants.
This is the story of those days of fierce courage and determination.
Prologue
Nearly all Americans and Japanese know of the series of battles around Hawaii in the opening week of the war between Japan and the United States. The “Date which will live in Infamy” was how President Franklin Roosevelt put it in his speech while the battle was still raging, and indeed the shock of the sudden Japanese attack united America behind the war effort like nothing else could of.
But the fateful battle that would change naval air warfare forever did not just last one day, but three exhausting desperate days, and only the foresighted leadership of Admiral Richardson and General Harmon, the dogged aggression of Admiral Halsey and the tireless determination of Admiral Yamamoto brought about the result that followed. The fighting which began on December 7 and did not end until the December 10, 1941 saw the first carrier versus carrier fight, the first surface actions between the Japanese and United States Navies, and great air battles between Japanese and American aviators that would prove that both were brave and skilled combatants.
This is the story of those days of fierce courage and determination.