The roots of the Pacific War span more than four decades before it began on December 7, 1941. All stories have a starting point. For the United States, December 10, 1898 will forever be remembered as the beginning of tensions between the Americans and the Japanese Empire. As representatives of the United States and Spain signed, what would be become known as the Treaty of Paris, the start of a cold war would begin between the Americans and Japanese. Only ending with the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the next forty-three years were spent on naval spending and naval doctrine competition, the development of the doctrine of carrier-based airpower, treaties and backroom negotiations.
On December 7, 1941, Canada declared war on Japan. The United States, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand followed on December 8th with their own declarations of war. The world was at war, in the largest armed conflict history has ever seen.
History has stories to tell. Stories of what happened. How they happened and why they happened. These aren’t my stories. These stories belong to history. These are the stories of the Pacific Naval War Podcast.
The Pacific Naval War Podcast Library
June 15, 2023
The Events of the Forty-Three Years Leading Up to the Pacific War
Why Pearl Harbor?
Join Jeff Hammond for the Pacific Naval War