Chapter 27 Chapter 26 We finally won

The hinterland of the Pacific Ocean. In the early morning, the first light of Oahu surrounded by blue waters. In Pearl Harbor on the island, ninety-four warships of various types of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet are moored. Last night, the first weekend of the last month of the year, after the warships returned to port one after another, the naval officers and sailors went ashore happily.Throughout the night, the officers' club, sailor's bar, movie theaters and cafes on Oahu were brightly lit, and the noise of joy did not subside until the early hours of the morning. fell asleep.

It was an ordinary Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor. Those sailors who were not drunk last night got up, lazily washing and shaving, and thinking about where to spend the bright but boring time this day. Suddenly, there was the harsh sound of a motor in the morning light. In the eastern sky, dazzling sunlight poured out from the cracks in the clouds. However, what is close at hand is a black cloud of smoke. Then, bombs fell from the sky. At this moment, it was December 8, Showa 16, Tokyo time, and December 7, 1941, Hawaii time, at 7:55 in the morning. At this time, mainland China on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean is still in the dark before dawn.The second Changsha battle had just ended, and there was silence on the frontal battlefield of China. The Japanese army and the Chinese army were confronting each other in a vast area; ;In the Japanese-occupied areas, the first thing Chinese people wake up to is to solve the food problem. There are more and more sundries such as chaff in the rationed flour, and the rationed share is getting smaller and smaller; while in China’s Anti-Japanese War In the center of Chongqing, although the entire city has been devastated by bombing, the slogan "Support Generalissimo Chiang to carry the war of resistance to the end" on the city gate is still very eye-catching.No one in China knows that the events that take place thousands of kilometers away in the Pacific Ocean will be closely related to their fate.

The Japanese Navy severely damaged the US Navy's Pacific Fleet with a sneak attack. Japan went to war with the United States. This was the moment when the Second World War broke out in Europe into an unprecedented melee. The German army is rushing all the way across Europe. In April, Germany and Italy assembled more than 80 divisions, more than 2,000 tanks and more than 2,000 combat aircraft, and launched the Balkan War against Yugoslavia and Greece.On the night of April 5th, German and Italian warplanes carried out heavy bombing of all airports in Yugoslavia and the capital Belgrade. The German Twelfth Army crossed the border between Bulgaria and Yugoslavia from three sections, and with the support of tank groups, it carried out a rapid centripetal attack in depth. assault.The Yugoslav army with only 28 infantry divisions, 3 cavalry divisions, 32 independent regiments, 110 tanks and 416 outdated fighter planes could not resist at all.Within three days, the German tank troops advanced more than 200 kilometers, captured Belgrade on the 13th, and the Yugoslav army surrendered unconditionally on the 15th.

In May, the German army dispatched the 7th Airborne Division, the 5th Infantry Division of Shanshan and several independent units, supported by the aviation of the two armies and more than 70 naval ships, to attack the eastern Mediterranean defended by the British and Greek troops. Side portal to Crete.There are only six tanks on the island, no combat aircraft, 30,000 British troops and 14,000 Greek troops.The German paratroopers were airborne after the intensive bombing by the aviation force, but they were stubbornly resisted by the defenders on the island.German planes and gliders dropped Shan's 5th Infantry Division, completely turning the tide of the battle, and the British retreated to Egypt after their defenses collapsed.In this battle, the German army lost more than 4,000 people and more than 200 fighter planes; the British army lost nearly 15,000 people, and the navy lost an aircraft carrier, three battleships, six cruisers and seven lightning strike ships; And more than 10,000 people were captured.Germany controlled the eastern Mediterranean route, and Britain lost an important strategic stronghold in the Mediterranean.

The massive German army that invaded the Soviet Union marched from west to east, aiming at Moscow.In June, the German First Tank Group and the Soviet Southwest Front Army's mechanized army launched the largest tank battle in human history. Compared with combat, it seems that we are not on a planet.Thousands of tanks from the two warring parties slammed into each other violently, and the vast plain of the Soviet Union suddenly became a terrifying "steel-making site": flames rushed, steel melted, and people became ants.On the 26th, the Soviet Mechanized Ninth, Nineteenth, Eighth, and Fifteenth Armies arrived on the battlefield and launched an assault on the two wings of the German First Tank Group. The two armies retreated and the other advanced, and the tug-of-war continued. for several days.Although the Soviet army failed to completely repel the German army, it seriously delayed the advancing speed of the German army.After creating endless steel ruins, the two sides were deadlocked in the Rivno and Dubno areas between the Stir River and the Goren River.In July, the German tank group broke through the Soviet defense line, advancing 110 kilometers in two days and nights, and approached 20 kilometers west of Kiev. The Battle of Kyiv began for more than a month.The five Soviet armies surrounded Kiev and fought fiercely with the Germans until September. The Germans forcibly crossed the Dnieper River south of Kyiv. The Southwest Front Army was encircled.The Soviet army was forced to abandon Kyiv, and 660,000 people in the encirclement were wiped out.After the Soviet army retreated to the Dnieper River area, Odessa along the Black Sea became a rear fortress.The Soviet Army's Black Sea Fleet and independent infantry units held on tenaciously, while the German Army had to cut off the Soviet Army's Black Sea transportation channel. The Soviet Supreme Command decided to abandon Odessa only when the Donbass assault occurred.During the frantic attack and indiscriminate bombing by the German army, the Black Sea Fleet not only withdrew all its troops, but also withdrew 15,000 residents, 500 artillery pieces, more than 1,000 vehicles, 163 tractors and Nearly 30,000 tons of various materials.On the edge of the city, it was the Soviet partisans who finally stopped the German army. They would rather die than retreat until Odessa behind them became an empty city.

German troops approached Moscow. Hitler believed that the occupation of Moscow had overall military and historical significance.For this reason, the German High Command planned a large-scale offensive plan code-named "Typhoon": a powerful assault by the tank army group to surround Moscow from the north and the south.The German army plans to use 1.8 million infantry, 1,700 tanks, 14,000 artillery pieces, and 1,390 fighter planes.In order to defend Moscow, the Soviet Supreme Command planned to rely on favorable terrain to establish a deep trapezoidal configuration position, to eliminate the vital forces of the German army as much as possible, and to buy time for organizing a large-scale counterattack.In this direction, the Soviet army deployed 1.25 million infantry, 990 tanks, 7,600 artillery pieces and 677 fighter planes.On September 30, the German army launched a large-scale offensive across the board, breaking through the first line of defense of the Soviet army within a week.At this time, along the Moskva River all the way to Kaluga in the south, on the outer defense line of Moscow more than 230 kilometers away, there were only less than 100,000 people left in the four Soviet armies.The Soviet Supreme Command combined the Western Front and the Reserve Front, and appointed Zhukov as the commander of the new Western Front.Under Zhukov's command, the Soviet army mobilized all available forces and launched a series of defensive and offensive operations.On November 7, when the German army was advancing heavily on Moscow, the Soviet army held a grand military parade in Red Square. Stalin called on the Soviet people to defend Moscow at all costs.The Soviet officers and soldiers who were reviewed went directly from Red Square to the front to fight.The forward of the German army was only 30 kilometers away from Moscow, and various German newspapers had reserved pages to publish the news of the German occupation of Moscow.However, a slogan resounded over the forward positions around Moscow: Although the Soviet Union is large, there is nowhere to retreat, and Moscow is behind it!

Also struggling with the Germans were the British. In May, Germany's largest battleship "Bismarck" led a team into the North Atlantic, and Britain sent the largest battleship "Hood" and the new battleship "Prince of Wales" to lead a team to fight.On May 22, the two fleets exchanged fire, the "Prince of Wales" was shot, and the "Hood" was sunk.The British Navy immediately dispatched the HMS "King George V", the battleship "King Enemy" and the aircraft carrier "Victory" to join the battle, but the German naval fleet was still not defeated.The tenacious British Navy sent a fleet consisting of the battleship "Prestige", the aircraft carrier "Ark Royal" and the cruiser "Sheffield".Finally, the British Navy successfully intercepted the "Bismarck".On the 27th, the battleship "Bismarck", with the thickest armor, the newest style and the greatest power in the world at that time, was hit by countless torpedoes and sank.Fighting between the British Air Force and the Luftwaffe over the Channel was also going on at the same time.Although the British mainland suffered continuous and extremely crazy bombing, the British showed unprecedented unity and strength.Standing in the ruins of London after the German bombing, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill only repeated one sentence to the British people: As long as the British Isles do not sink, Britain will not surrender!However, the United Kingdom is an island country, and it does not have a huge territory for strategic maneuvers.Once the British air force and navy are exhausted in the bloody battle with the German army, when the German infantry and tanks rush to the British mainland, it will be the day when the whole of Britain falls.At such a historical moment, no one in the world looks forward to the participation of the United States, its reliable ally, more than Britain, despite the fact that the United States has tried its best to support Britain materially.

The British felt both annoyed and helpless towards the Americans. Churchill even had no choice but to imagine that if there was another way to get the United States involved in the war, it would be that Germany or Japan directly attacked the United States.However, German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop said: "Germany does not want to fight the United States, nor does it want to provoke the United States." In August, the famous "Atlantic Charter" was signed between Britain and the United States. The signing of the "Atlantic Charter" was carefully planned after Churchill's anxiety.

The German army invaded the Soviet Union on a large scale. Churchill's judgment was: After Hitler defeated the Soviet Union, the European continent would be in his pocket, and the German army would turn to attack the British Isles.In other words, if the Soviet Union collapsed, so did Britain.And as long as Stalin insists on fighting, it is tantamount to buying time for Britain to prepare for the war.Therefore, on the night of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Churchill announced in a radio speech that Britain would provide all economic and technical assistance to the Soviet Union.At the same time, the Americans also realized that after Hitler conquered Europe, fascist Germany would never stop there, and the next dangerous place could hardly be guaranteed to be the Americas.It is also in the interests of the United States to promote Hitler's demise.Therefore, Roosevelt also announced assistance to the Soviet Union after the outbreak of the Soviet-German War.

Hitler made the originally rival Soviet Union and Britain and the United States an alliance. At this moment, from a geographical point of view, apart from America, Oceania and Antarctica, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean have all been involved in the war.Then, an international organization must emerge to unite all anti-fascist countries.Prompted by this desire, from August 9th to 12th, 1941, US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were on board the British battleship "Prince of Wales" moored in Argentia Bay near Newfoundland in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Talks were held with the American cruiser USS Augusta.The talks involved three core issues: how to prevent Japan from launching a new offensive in the Pacific, how to aid the Soviet Union, which was still struggling with the Germans, and whether it was necessary to issue a joint declaration.On aid to the Soviet Union, there were no differences between Britain and the United States. In order to "keep Russia an active front", both countries expressed their full support for Stalin.But in terms of attitude towards Japan, Churchill hoped to resolutely contain Japan, and Roosevelt only agreed to issue a warning to Japan.Finally, the United Kingdom and the United States signed the "Joint Declaration of the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom."This joint declaration, commonly known as the "Atlantic Charter", actually deals with the issue of world order, even the issue of world order "after the destruction of the Nazi tyranny in Germany"-the war has just begun, and the post-war order is stipulated, and its forward-looking Stunning, perhaps only the UK and the US feel best about being "world leaders". The "Atlantic Charter" stipulates: the two countries do not seek territorial expansion; oppose territorial changes without the consent of the peoples concerned; respect the right of the people of all countries to freely choose the form of government; Trade and access to raw materials; promotion of economic co-operation among all nations; security of international peace and security after the worldwide destruction of Nazi tyranny; renunciation of the use of force and disarmament; "until a wider and more permanent system of universal security is established" , disarm the aggressor country, etc.

The "Atlantic Charter" was immediately supported and joined by the Soviet Union, and Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union signed an agreement secretly for this purpose, which marked the initial formation of an international anti-fascist alliance. The Atlantic Charter has also been highly appraised by the Chinese Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China.Hu Shih, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, met with U.S. Secretary of State Hull and expressed the Chinese government's position in favor of the Charter; Chinese Communists also believe that the Charter shows the determination to overthrow fascism, which is beneficial to both China and the world.However, both the Chinese Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party believed that the Charter was seriously flawed because it did not explicitly address the issue of Japanese aggression against China. ——China has been fighting the Japanese aggressors for four years, and the world still has not realized that the Chinese battlefield is closely related to the world anti-fascist war.The United Kingdom and the United States only warned Japan that if they continued to expand southward, there was a danger of an all-out war. After the "Atlantic Charter" was signed, Churchill was still worried: no one knew whether Stalin would be able to hold Moscow, and the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom were already at stake. How could the United States, the world's largest industrial power that was out of the flames of war, join the war? For a week from December 1st to December 7th there was an unbearable silence on the Pacific.We all know that Japan has decided on his actions, but where he will attack, we do not yet know.We plan for Japan: it is best to attack only British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies without alarming the United States.At that time, Britain and the Netherlands had to declare war on Japan, but the United States did not have to declare war on Japan.Britain has added a war against Japan. In the Far East, it thinks that it cannot parry Japan, but still cannot get the United States to participate in the war. Isn't this Japan's best strategy?If the United States is not directly attacked by Japan, it is very questionable whether the United States Congress will be willing to participate in the war.A few months ago, the United States extended the mandatory military service law, and the lower house of Congress passed it with a majority of only one vote.This unbearable juncture is astonishing!If this bill is not passed by a majority of votes, wouldn't the United States have to disband its army when the Second World War was raging?This is what Britain fears most during the week of December 1st to December 7th. History is at a critical moment described by Churchill as "there is no room for time". Churchill even had to worry about the congressional vote on the other side of the ocean. But on December 7, the last day of Churchill's "most feared" week, the Japanese neither attacked British Malaya nor pushed south into the Dutch East Indies, but instead attacked Oahu in the Pacific. Island of Pearl Harbor. Isn't Oahu in the middle of the Pacific Ocean a US territory? Isn't Pearl Harbor on the island the base of the US Navy's Pacific Fleet? Could it be that the US territory of Hawaii is also in the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" designated by the Japanese? The United States does not want to be involved in a war. Americans don't think they have a reason to be involved in the war. Perhaps as Churchill said, the judgment of the Americans is: If Japan goes south to the Pacific Ocean, it will only lay hands on other people's colonies, and the Japanese have not yet had the guts to provoke the United States.It's just that it would be unfair to think that the United States is not vigilant against Japan's expansionary ambitions. Negotiations between Japan and the United States have been protracted. The motivation of the Japanese to negotiate with the United States is still out of complex ambivalence: to seize interests in the Pacific Ocean, but also to avoid war with the United States in the Pacific Ocean. ——"As far as the current practical issues are concerned, our country has no choice but to choose the road of self-sufficiency within the Greater East Asian Circle. For the United States, which dominates the Western Hemisphere and then expands to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the above-mentioned Japanese ideals and desires can be said Is it unreasonable? Isn’t it okay to allow Japan to do things of this level?” On April 16, representatives of Japan-U.S. low-level talks jointly drafted the "Japan-U.S. Understanding Plan."The plan holds that neither country is willing to see a situation where relations deteriorate, and both believe that long-term negotiations without results will be harmful rather than beneficial.The two countries recognize each other as Pacific powers with equal relations, and should maintain their traditional national concepts and moral principles that are the basis of national life.With regard to the ongoing European war, the Japanese government believes that the purpose of the war launched by the Axis powers headed by Germany is defensive, and the alliance between Japan and Germany will only be fulfilled when Germany is attacked; while the US government declares that for the European war , will not be swayed by aggressive alliances, and the basis for decisions can only be to defend the interests and security of the United States.Regarding the China issue, the Japanese side proposed that the United States must recognize the merger of the Chiang and Wang regimes and recognize the "Manchukuo" and other basic conditions. Japan is willing to reach an agreement with the United States, and then reach an agreement with China, and then withdraw its troops from Chinese territory.The United States reaffirmed four principles: respect for China's territorial and sovereign integrity, uphold the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, uphold the principle of equal business opportunities, and not disturb the status quo in the Pacific region.There is no doubt that the Pacific issue is what Japan and the United States are most concerned about at the moment, and it is also what each other needs to beware of.However, such clauses were drafted in the "Japan-U.S. Understanding Program": "For the sake of maintaining peace in the Pacific, Japan and the United States shall not deploy naval and aviation forces that threaten each other"; "The Japanese and U.S. governments will not allow European States will accept territorial cessions or merge existing states in East Asia and the Southwest Pacific in the future." Although the "Japan-US Understanding Plan" is not a formal diplomatic document, it still makes Japanese politicians "very happy".The Japanese believe that as long as the United States recognizes Japan's basic conditions, conflicts between Japan and the United States can be temporarily avoided. "Today, our national strength is being consumed a lot, and we urgently need to resolve the incident quickly in order to restore and cultivate our national strength. Although some people advocate going south, the High Command is neither prepared nor confident. Therefore, in terms of cultivating national strength, there is indeed Temporarily cooperate with the United States to replenish supplies for future needs.” ——The idea of ​​the Japanese is: because the national power and military power consumed by the Chinese battlefield are too large, they must temporarily cooperate with the United States and try to use the influence of the United States on Chiang Kai-shek’s regime , quickly solve the Chinese problem.As long as we can get out of the quagmire of China's war, recharge our batteries, expand our armaments, and cultivate our combat capabilities, it will not be too late to turn against the United States and compete for interests in the Pacific. However, the Japan-U.S. talks have not been able to raise the level, so no official diplomatic results can be obtained. The Japanese gradually felt that the Americans seemed to be using the negotiations to buy time and prepare for war.Especially for the Chinese issue, the Americans are obviously inclined to China's anti-Japanese forces-the U.S. Congress officially approved the aid plan to China, passed the "Lend-Lease Act" not only provided loans, cars, planes, etc. to Chongqing, but also sent volunteers to China Air Force and Officer Advisory Group.What's more, at the same time that Japan and the United States were drafting the "Program of Understanding", military personnel from China, the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands held a staff meeting in Singapore and decided that once the Japanese army entered the South Pacific, they would jointly adopt "confrontational means" against Japan. ", and suggested deploying the U.S. Air Force in China to directly threaten the Japanese mainland. ——Although the proposal of the four-nation staff meeting has not yet been approved by the US government, it really scared the Japanese into a cold sweat. On June 24, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of the Navy jointly drafted the "Outline of Imperial National Policy Adapting to Situation Evolution".Its policy is: 1. No matter how the world situation evolves, the empire will adhere to the policy of building a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and contributing to the establishment of world peace. 2. The empire still insists on working hard to solve the incident in China; and continues to expand to the south in order to establish the basis of self-preservation and self-defense; in addition, solve the northern issue according to the evolution of the situation. 3. The Empire is determined to remove all obstacles to the above-mentioned ends. The essentials that the Japanese have drawn up for this national policy include: "In order to prompt the Chiang regime to surrender as soon as possible, further strengthen the pressure from all over the south"; In order to ensure the "self-preservation and self-defense" of the empire, "strengthen the expansion trend to the south", and "do not hesitate to fight against Britain and the United States" to achieve this goal; "If the progress of the Soviet-German war is extremely beneficial to the empire, use force to resolve the northern issue"; "Do our best to prevent the United States from participating in the war according to the established policy." In the event of the United States participating in the war, the empire "should decide independently the actual and method of using force"; "A rapid transition to a radical strengthening of the domestic wartime institutions, with particular effort to strengthen the defense of the homeland". In July, after Roosevelt's Far East Affairs Assistant Curry visited China, he made a series of proposals to the President to support China, including providing China with 500 fighter planes and technical personnel to restore China's air force.Currie's reason was: "The Chinese are fighting bravely against the Japanese army. The only problem is that there are not enough weapons to throw the Japanese army into the sea." It is of course in the interests of the United States to have more time to arm ourselves." Roosevelt quickly approved the aid to China plan.In order to simplify the procedures and channels, and better "comprehensively manage the work of the China Lend-Lease Act", the president even asked his old uncle Delano and Chiang Kai-shek's brother-in-law Song Ziwen to be the joint chairman of the board to register a "National Defense Fund" funded by the US Treasury Department. supply company" - a company that never operated in "a normal competitive market and its only customer is the Chinese government". What shocked Japan even more was that after the Southern Anhui Incident, the United States continued to exert pressure on Chongqing, especially after He Yingqin held a military meeting in Xi'an on July 5 and decided to launch an armed attack on the Shanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region where the Communist Party's center is located. People reminded Chiang Kai-shek that the purpose of US aid to China was to fight Japan, so it would not ignore that the weapons shipped to China were used to fuel the civil war.If the Kuomintang and the Communist Party fail to achieve specific military cooperation, it will seriously affect the US aid policy to China.On July 19, Chiang Kai-shek held an emergency meeting and decided to adjust the relationship with the Communist Party and suspend the attack on the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.In short, the national government's largest foreign aid must not be interrupted because of the Americans' uneasiness. The United States is the core country of anti-communism in the world.At this moment, there is only one reason why he stopped Chiang Kai-shek's attack on the Chinese Communist Party: the Chinese must fight against Japan in unison, and with the assistance of the United States, drag the main force of the Japanese army to the Chinese battlefield.As for domestic political or military disputes in China, as long as it will lead to the weakening of the anti-Japanese forces, it is not in the interests of the United States.This can also explain why the Americans and the Chinese Communists were extremely friendly during the entire Anti-Japanese War.Americans have always believed that the Communist Party of China is much firmer and stronger than Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang in terms of its will to resist Japanese aggression—whether it is Wang Jingwei’s puppet regime or the puppet army that aided the evil, they all split from the Kuomintang camp Yes, but the Chinese Communists united the people under the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, fought tenaciously, with discipline like iron, and will like steel. Americans have always admired pragmatism extremely. The Japanese feel they have been fooled by the United States. According to the intelligence obtained by the Japanese, US Secretary of State Hull’s position is: “Given that the policies of Japan and the US run counter to each other, there is not even one percent hope of reaching a successful agreement in the Japan-US negotiations from the day they started.” "The reason for agreeing to hold negotiations is only to do our utmost to peacefully resolve the situation in the Pacific region, and at the same time to win the sufficient time for the US military authorities to prepare for defense."During the negotiations, the United States always insisted that Japan must withdraw its troops from China, but the real wish of the United States was that the Japanese army be firmly nailed to the Chinese battlefield.The Americans know that the Japanese will definitely not agree to this one.The Japanese could not agree to withdraw their troops and were eager to reach an agreement with the United States, so they had to keep talking and talking. The Americans used this as a clever strategy to keep dealing with Japan.Sure enough, when the politicians in the Japanese cabinet suggested that it was really necessary, in order to allow the United States to influence Chiang Kai-shek’s regime to compromise, and to ensure that the Japanese army concentrated its forces and went southward smoothly, they might agree to the terms of withdrawing troops.Minister of the Army Tojo Hideki was furious when he heard this, and spoke the truth of the Japanese militarists: Withdrawal is a key point.Regarding the issue of troop withdrawal, the Army attaches great importance to it.If the U.S. claim is complied with, the results of the China Incident will be completely wiped out, which will endanger the existence of Manchukuo and shake the rule of Korea.The purpose of the imperial jihad is not annexation, without reparations.Since the China Incident, hundreds of thousands of people have died in me (on October 8, 1941, when the Great East Asia War began, about 184,000 people died in the Army due to the China Incident), and the number of survivors is several times that. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people were injured, millions of troops and 100 million people suffered hardships on the battlefield and in the rear, and tens of billions of national currency were spent.Of course, instead of this, it is better to imitate the precedents of other countries and demand the cession of territory.However, with a tolerant attitude, the empire naturally maintained the achievements of the incident by garrisoning troops, without having any worries about the world, and without submitting to the ingenious oppression of the United States.If there is a little politeness in consolidating the situation in North China and Mongolia, it will endanger the foundation of Manchuria construction, bring endless disasters in the future, and even cause wars again.Absolutely cannot promise to return to the little Japan before the Manchurian Incident. Then, the Americans got the news that the Japanese army had broken into the southern part of French Indochina. The Americans immediately announced a series of measures to sanction Japan, including freezing Japanese assets in the United States and imposing an oil embargo on Japan.On the same day, the United States announced the establishment of the Far East Military Region in the Philippines and appointed Lieutenant General MacArthur as its commander. For Japan, whose resources are completely dependent on imports, a total embargo is a fatal blow. President Roosevelt knew very well that once Japan's oil imports were cut off, war between the United States and Japan would not be far away.In his speech in Washington he said: Now there is a country called Japan.Not to mention whether this country and this empire have an aggressive purpose of expanding to the south at this time, anyway, they don't have a little bit of oil they need in the north.So, if we had cut off the oil, Japan might have gone to the Dutch East Indies a year ago.And we may have gone to war. The main purpose of the Japanese army's intrusion into the southern part of French Indochina was to obtain resources that were scarce in the country.As soon as the United States announced an embargo on Japan, the French Indochina countries responded immediately.Before, Japan imported more than 9 million shi of rice from there every year to maintain the minimum domestic demand.When the French Indochina countries announced that they would reduce their rice exports to Japan by half, and then announced that they would cut them by half again, the Japanese believed that this non-cooperative attitude was instigated by the United States, Britain, France, and local overseas Chinese.At the same time, the contract for the Japanese to purchase 15,000 tons of rubber, tin, manganese and other strategic materials with U.S. dollars is also in danger of being annulled by the French Indochina country.Freezing Japan's overseas assets is equivalent to completely cutting off Japan's economic exchanges with the world, and all trade between Japan and the Yen Group will come to an abrupt end.The most serious thing is oil, which is absolutely indispensable to Japan, which is in the midst of a war. The U.S. oil embargo caused great panic among the Japanese ruling and opposition parties.Since 1918, Japan has spent more than 20 years of hard work, mainly through overseas plunder, and finally stored about 6 million tons of oil. However, this reserve does not support a long-term war. The Japanese army is only on standby for one day. It will consume 12,000 tons of oil, and Japan's domestic oil production is less than one-tenth of this number.Then, if a large-scale battle is carried out, under the premise of cutting off oil imports, Japan's current oil reserves will be wiped out in less than two years.At that time, all the ships of the Navy, all the fighter planes of the Air Force, and all the tanks and tanks of the Army will be a pile of scrap metal. ——"The so-called situation of being poor day by day is inevitable. For Japan, cutting off economic ties is indeed more painful than using force." The miserable Japanese turned to start economic cooperation with the Dutch East Indies. Negotiations, "repeatedly negotiated on the issue of the export share of strategic materials to Japan".However, the Dutch East Indies also echoed the position of the Americans and insisted on limiting the export of oil, rubber, tin and other materials to Japan "below Japan's actual needs", and even referred to the quantity that Japan had obtained from French Indochina "To reduce your own export volume as appropriate."The Japanese were very resentful, believing that the Dutch East Indies also "acted as an accomplice in the economic strategy of the United States and Britain towards Japan." There is only one road ahead for the Japanese: not only to maintain their occupation of China, but also to push recklessly into Southeast Asia, seizing oil, rubber, tin and rice there, until they occupy the Dutch East Indies and make the Japanese conceived The "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" has become a "self-sufficient economic bloc". The Japanese believe that there is only one opponent in front of them: the United States. Therefore, at the beginning of the war, a surprise attack must be used to deal a devastating blow to the US Pacific Fleet, so that it cannot make any moves in the Pacific within two years.At that time, Japan's "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" had already been established, and the Japanese no longer needed to look at the face of the Americans when it came to resource issues. Only one person objected to this, the current Japanese Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka. Prior to this, Japan was constantly seeking not to conflict with the United States, and the United States put forward their very strong counter-proposals in response to Japan's negotiation proposal: Manchuria should be returned to China, and troops should be withdrawn from China unconditionally. China must enjoy non-discriminatory treatment, and Japan-US trade must be Fixed on the amount before the accident.The Americans clearly know that Japan cannot accept it, but they just follow the pain of the Japanese.In this regard, Matsuoka Yosuke's description is: unreasonable, appalling, since Japan has diplomacy, "has not encountered such a thing." ——Americans' "unreasonable" made Song Tong Yangyou deeply understand.He believes that if Japan is not prepared to go to war with Britain and the United States at the same time, it cannot enter French Indochina; if it insists on entering French Indochina southward, it will definitely lead to unmanageable conflicts with Britain and the United States. However, on the night of July 16, Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro resigned the cabinet chief, and Matsuoka Hiroyuki resigned.A day later, Admiral Toyoda Sadajiro served as foreign minister in Konoe's reconstituted government. In September, after repeated consultations in the political and military circles, Japan made the following decision: "In order to ensure self-survival and self-defense, the empire will not hesitate to fight the United States (Britain, Netherlands) with the determination to roughly aim at the end of October. Complete preparations for war." Based on this, Japan put forward more stringent negotiation conditions to the United States: "The United States and Britain must not interfere or hinder the empire's handling of the China incident"; "The United States and Britain shall not take actions that threaten the national defense of the Empire in the Far East"; "Resume trade with the Empire and supply supplies necessary for the survival of the Empire from the territories of the two countries in the Southwest Pacific"; economic cooperation should be given friendly assistance", etc. The Japanese know that the Americans will never agree to these conditions. It seems that the only way left between Japan and the United States is war. The reason for the Japanese military's proposal to go to war is: "The empire is currently in a state where oil and other important military supplies are being depleted, and the national defense force is gradually weakening. If this status quo continues, after a certain period of time, it is inevitable that the country's activity will be reduced. At the same time, the defense of the military installations and key locations of Britain, the United States and other countries in the Far East, as well as the armaments of these countries, especially the United States, are increasing extremely rapidly. Therefore, it is very dangerous for the current empire to do nothing and procrastinate. Therefore, in diplomatic negotiations, if the other party does not recognize the minimum要求，以致战争终于不可避免，那么帝国就必须采取死里求生的办法，先妥善地做好准备，不失时机地下定决心，以毅然决然的态度走向积极作战。” 九月五日，日本天皇召见了陆军参谋总长杉山元和海军军令部总长永野修身，君臣开始了这样的对话： 天皇：日美开战，陆军能在多少时期内结束战争？ 杉山：仅南洋方面，预定三个月内结束。 天皇：当中国事变发生之时，你以陆军大臣身份，曾说过在一个月内结束事变，可是现在已过了四年，仍然未获解决。 杉山：中国内的广大，以致未能按预定获得结束，实不胜惶恐之至。 天皇：中国内的广大，早该知道。因为广大而四年未获解决，那么太平洋岂不比中国更为广大？不知有何根据，相信在三个月内可以结束？ 永野修身是这样解释的：“现在日本现状，如同需要开刀手术的病人，如不开刀，即将衰弱下去，终至死亡；如实施手术，虽有危险，也许有救。统帅部希望外交成功，但不能成功，则必须断然实施手术。” 十月，中国战场上的第二次长沙会战已接近尾声，日美谈判也临近了日本军方限定的最后期限。首相近卫文麿不想让谈判失败，向军方再次提出，可否应允美国人的条件从中国撤兵？以陆军大臣东条英机为代表的军方立场强硬，决不让步，最终导致近卫文麿辞职。出于必须能够控制势力强大的陆军部的考虑，天皇下达敕令由东条英机出任首相并负责组阁。东条英机随即提出了三个方案供阁僚和军方思考：一是向美国妥协，极力避免战争；二是决心开战，且在政略和战略上立即实施；三是外交和战争准备同时进行。日本人思考之后的结论是：外交可以继续进行，开战已经不可避免，时间预定在十二月初。 一旦日美开战，中国战场将会怎样？ 东条英机对历史走向的判断是： 一、日本对美、英、荷开战后，将使蒋介石愈益坚决地依靠美、英、中、荷联合阵线，以进行长期抗战的决心。一开始即将激扬其抗战意志，促使其与美英等国的合作越发巩固，将抗日战争进行到底，至少要延迟到整个战争完结之时，才能实现日华全面和平。 二、上海、香港等援蒋据点将丧失，随着帝国向南发展，滇缅援蒋路线将被切断；由于我方保持南方作战的成果，南洋华侨对蒋的援助将中断。这些将促使其财政经济紧迫，实际抗战力量逐渐降低。随着战力的递减，一般民众固不待言，即使重庆政权的主流，其继续抗战的意志也将受到重大影响。骑墙的将领将投降到南京方面，其数量将逐渐增多，最终将造成重庆方面统一战线的分裂，蒋政权更加衰弱。 十一月五日，在御前会议上，日本人制订出与美国摊牌的最后条件：一、必须坚持在中国驻军；二、维持日本在东南亚的权益。为了给美国施压，日本众议院发表了一个充满日式狂妄的声明，可以视为对美国的最后通牒： 日本与中国大规模作战已四年。而中国之能继续抗战，实由以美国为中心之敌性国家群的支持。美英等国，不仅利用中国妨害日本圣战；且干涉泰国内政，压迫缅甸及荷属东印度拒绝供应必要物资。更不当强化新加坡、关岛、菲律宾及夏威夷等地的防备，而做无益的威胁，以致#造成一触即发的危机。 日本欲藉民族自给自足，大东亚共荣圈的确立，以谋贡献于世界和平的正当主张，并无侵略意图，而美国竟敢加以妨害。吾人并非好战，尤其不愿与美、英作战。倘有谈判余地，必将尽其最大努力。至若蹂躏我正义；威胁我独立；拦阻我进路；且更向我侮辱，迫我屈服，则吾人的正义感，吾人的爱国心，绝对不能容许！吾等国民均认为若不继续战争，则惟有自取灭亡！吾人将忍受任何艰难困苦，以求战胜……须知我所畏惧者，亦即对方所畏惧。一旦发生战争，人民的伤亡、物资的消耗，不仅我方而已。 日本人的声明被刊登在美国的报刊上。 美国舆论大哗。 面对日本的强硬，美国于十一月二十六日提出了著名的“赫尔照会”。美国国务卿赫尔召见日本驻美大使野村吉三郎，提出了基于之前日美双方所提建议的新的调节方案，即“赫尔照会”。方案共列十项条款，其中最为重要的四条是： 一、日本政府自中华民国及法属安南，撤退一切陆、海、空军兵力及警察。 二、美国政府与日本政府，除对以重庆为临时首都的中华民国国民政府外，不得对中国其他任何政府或政权，作军事、政治及经济的支持。 三、美日两国政府，关于在中国的外国租界与居留地及其他有关的各种权益，包括一九〇一年义和团事件议定书所载各种权利，如在中国的治外法权等，均须放弃。 四、美日两国政府，关于任何一方国与第三国缔结的任何协议，均同意该国不得作与本协议的根本目的，即太平洋地区全般和平的确定及保持，有矛盾的解释。 美国提出的每一条，都让日本人感到彻骨的疼痛。 无论哪一条付诸实施，都意味着日本要放弃所有的“扩张成果”。 日美谈判不可避免地彻底破裂了。 日军大本营和内阁联席会议一致认为：“没有讨论的余地，唯有开战而已”。 此时，日军已为南进太平洋编成南方军，总司令官为寺内寿一大将。南方军下辖： 第十四军，司令官本间雅晴中将，下辖第十六、第四十八师团以及第六十五旅团，在菲律宾方面作战； 第十五军，司令官饭田祥二郎中将，下辖第三十三师团和第五十五师团（缺一部），在泰国和缅甸方面作战； 第十六军，司令官今村均中将，下辖第二师团和第五十六混成步兵旅团，在荷属东印度方面作战； 第二十五军，司令官山下奉文中将，下辖近卫师团以及第五、第十八师团，在马来方面作战； 直属部队：第二十一师团，第二十一独立混成旅团，第四独立混成联队，以及第三、第五飞行集团和第二十一独立飞行队。 南海支队，以第五十五步兵团为骨干，支队长堀井富太郎少将，在关岛、俾斯麦群岛等地区作战。 接替西尾寿造出任中国派遣军总司令的畑俊六上将，接到日本即将对美国开战的消息时犹如“晴天霹雳一般”。他认为：“光是一个中国，日本的力量已经跟不上，不止现地军要依靠中国大陆以图生存，日本的总动员资源也要取自中国”，这是日本人不得不承认的严酷现实。为此，畑俊六向大本营建议：如果从中国抽调兵力去太平洋打仗，派遣军就要从华中、华南，至少从武汉地区撤退。在确保华北和华中三角洲的局面下，重庆政府压力减小，或许会愿意进行对话。尽管畑俊六强调他的建议关系到“日本民族的生存问题”，但是东京似乎认为他的意见“不足挂齿”。 十二月一日下午二时，御前会议在日本皇宫东面的一个房间里召开。 东条英机首先阐述了日本不能接受美国开列的条件以及必须开战的理由：“如果帝国屈服于美国压力，将不仅丧失帝国的威信，不能完成结束中国事变的使命，而且结果势将使帝国的生存和独立也陷入危险境地。因此，十分明显，依靠外交手段已经完全不能贯彻帝国的主张。另一方面，美英荷中等国愈发加强其对我国的经济、军事压迫，无论从我国国力的角度讲，还是从作战的重点来看，都绝不能允许这种状态继续发展下去。尤其作战方面的要求，更不允许再拖延时间。事已至此，为了打开目前危局，以求生存和独立，帝国已到了不得不对美英荷开战的地步了。” 接着，枢密院议长阐述了议员们的立场，表示日美谈判已进行七个月，其间日本对美国再三让步。然而，美国从始至终高谈“理想主义的陈词滥调”，对日本的态度可谓“唯我独尊，冥顽无礼”，已到了“绝对不能容忍的”程度： 如果忍辱屈从，则不仅会葬送日清、日俄两战役的成果，而且也不得不放弃满洲事变的成果。It is tolerable, what is unbearable!让整整克服了四年多的中国事变的苦难的国民再去忍受更大的苦难，实在于心不忍。然而很明显，目前帝国的生存已经受到威胁，明治天皇的勋业也将完全丧失，在这种情况下，即使再想办法也无济于事。因此我认为，遵照先前御前会议的决定而开战也是迫不得已的…… “就这样，天皇终于作出了对美、英、荷开战的决定。大本营陆海军立即请求皇上批准发布开始进攻的命令，开战的第一天是十二月八日。” 日本敢于向美国开战，是衡量过力量对比的。 开战前夕，日美两国军力，综合地看，大致相当。 陆军：日本拥有训练良好的兵员约二百四十万，完成预备训练的后备兵员约三百万；美国拥有兵员约一百五十万，但其中的一百万尚未完成训练。 空军：日本陆军和海军航空兵共有各类作战飞机七千五百架，储备作战飞行员六千人，每年还可以新训二千七百五十人；美国陆军和海军用于海上作战的飞机约五千五百架，其中的二千六百架可用于对日正面作战。但是，一旦开战，美国的飞机制造能力和速度至少是日本的十倍以上，随着战争的进程，美军空军力量将会迅速压倒日本占据绝对优势。 海军：日本海军拥有军舰二百三十五艘，总吨位约九十七万五千七百九十三吨，其中航空母舰十艘；美国拥有军舰三百四十五艘，总吨位一百三十八万二千零二十六吨，其中航空母舰八艘。虽然美国的航母比日本少两艘，但其每一艘的吨位都比日本大。同时，美国的军舰制造能力比日本大三备至五倍，仅一九四一年底美国正在建造和计划建造的军舰总吨位就达一百九十万吨。另外，美国是世界上最发达的工业国家，一旦进入战争状态，各类民用商船都可征召参战，这一数字会大得惊人。因此，如果日本不能在短时间内用非常手段击垮美国海军，只要美国能够稳住阵脚，其海军力量也势必在随后的战争进程中占据压倒性优势。 至少在工业能力和综合国力上日本没法与美国相比。 战争武器是要用钢铁支撑的，美国每年的钢铁产能是日本的十二倍以上，汽车产能是日本的一百零五倍。 至于支持战争的其它物资，日本人如同强盗动手前一样，仔细开列了他们将从东南亚抢夺的物资清单： 大米：战争初期可能从东南亚掠夺的大米会减少，国内考虑用大豆、杂粮和甘薯为替代品；一旦战争告一段落，就可以从东南亚将大量的大米输入日本。 石油：战争第一年，特别是占领荷属东印度后，每月可以掠夺三十万千升；战争进行到第三年，每月得到的石油可达四百五十千升以上。 战略贵金属镍，每月可得六千吨； 用于耐磨合金的锡，每月可得一千二百吨； 铝原料铁矾土，每月可得一万七千吨； 橡胶，每月可得一万七千吨； 酒精生产的原料糖浆，每月可得五千吨； 机械润滑油生产原料棕榈油和椰子油，每月可得一万三千吨； 工业用盐，每月可得七千吨。 美国不是对日本实行运吗？ 日本可以用武力得到。 在太平洋上，美国海军主力是太平洋舰队，共有战列舰九艘、航空母舰三艘、重巡洋舰两艘、轻巡洋舰十八艘、驱逐舰五十四艘以及各类潜艇二十二艘。护卫珍珠港海军基地的陆军兵力约五万九千人。再加上夏威夷以西同盟国的地面部队，总兵力约三十八万余人。只是，日本人根本看不起同盟国的部队，认为那就是一群由义勇兵、雇佣兵和当地人组成的大杂烩。 日本人认为他们不会失败。 首先他们占据着地理上的优势。日本在太平洋上有不少“托管”岛屿，是发动战争的良好前沿基地。从这些岛屿出发，向北和向东可以攻击夏威夷、关岛和威克岛；向西可以攻击菲律宾；向南可以攻击新几内亚、所罗门群岛乃至澳大利亚。日本千岛群岛的港口和机场，向北可以直接威胁阿留申群岛；日本从中国夺取的海南岛以及南部沿海地区的空军基地，可以掩护日本海军向南的攻势。特别是日军占领安南后，其前进基地接近了马来西亚，能够非常便捷的支援针对马来半岛以及英国最重要的海军基地新加坡的作战。 日本人认为，在战略上他们已经把太平洋南部包围了。 而在兵力上，日本人认为他们将在太平洋局部战场上占据绝对优势。因为美国本土距离战场很远，兵力调动要横跨太平洋，费尽周折不说，关键是要花费时间。所以，只要采取突然袭击的手段，首先打垮美国的太平洋舰队，然后速战速决，最多用五个月的时间横扫南太平洋各国。——“速战速决”也是日本入侵中国时的设想，但战争至今已持续四年尚未终结。现在，他们的对手不是贫弱的中国而是强盛的美国。“速战”日本人也许可以做到，但是“速决”如果指的是把美国彻底打垮，日本人自己能确信吗？ 日本人敢于冒天下之大不韪，还有一个不容忽视的原因，甚至可以说是一个重要的赌注，那就是德国绝对不会战败，欧洲的战事将会越演越烈。 东条英机内阁对欧洲战局作出过如下判断： 德军已逼近莫斯科，苏联在欧洲的野战军已遭受了沉重打击。这次苏德之战将以德军的作战成功告一段落。不过，对于斯大林政权来说，向德国屈服就有导致自己政权崩溃的危险。因此，他现在必将依靠其较为巩固的政治基础和不很充裕的伏尔加河以东的资源，与美英的援助，做消极的抵抗。另一方面，鉴于德苏之战事，事实上正呈现出民族战争的局面，苏联民族的抗战意志一时还不会很快衰减下去。在德国方面，据德国首脑人物以前透露，德国想要彻底打垮共产主义，若不把苏联打到再也不能起来反击的地步，那就失去了这次对苏开战的意义。因此不妨说，德国以宽大的条件进行媾和的可能性是很小的。 ... 德国已经占有乌克兰宝库，今后必将掌握高加索油田，进而攻占近东和苏伊士运河，从而称霸欧洲大陆，树立不败的态势，确立欧洲新秩序第一阶段。因而没有必要一举击溃英国，更没有必要进一步扩大地盘。德国如果着手进攻英国本土，或登陆成功，或对英反封锁奏效，势将动摇英国的决心，再加苏联势力日趋困窘，难保欧洲不出现媾和局面。另外有人说，如果德国对英国本土登陆成功，英国舰队可能逃往太平洋方面。但是鉴于德国所表示的态度：对英国国民不负责提供给养。那种置四千七百万祖国同胞于不顾的作法，从道义上来讲也不会发生。 以上判断表明，从确信德国不败的观点出发，大本营和政府对欧洲战局最关心的，主要是德、英、苏能否单独媾和的问题。因为日本担心对美、英、荷开战后，一旦欧洲出现和平，将造成只剩下日本一国以美英等国为对手在太平洋上作战的最坏局面。 只有德军在欧洲战场极大的牵制苏军以及英美的军事力量，日本才有可能在太平洋战场上向强大的美国开战。 一九四一年十二月一日，日军大本营陆军部和海军部联合发布作战命令：下达给南方军的“大陆命第五六九号”，下达给南海支队的“大陆命第五七〇号”，下达给中国派遣军的“大陆命第五七二号”以及下达给联合舰队的“大海令第九号”。所有命令的核心内容是：“帝国决定对美国、英国和荷兰开战”，南方军进入泰国，南海支队攻占关岛和俾斯麦群岛，中国派遣军攻占香港，联合舰队“攻占美国、英国、荷兰在东南亚的主要根据地”。 二日下午二时，日军参谋总长杉山元致电南方军总司令官寺内寿一： 一、大陆命第五六九号命令（鹫）业已发布。 二、“日出”定为“山形”。 三、在皇威之下预祝成功。 四、受到本电后望仅就第二项回复。 “鹫”是“大陆命第五六九号”的代号，“日出”是开始作战日的代号，“山形”是作战开始日期的代号，即“八日”。 三日晚八时十五分，寺内寿一复电杉山元： 谨拜受“鹫”的敕命——“日出”为“山形”。 全军将士士气愈益旺盛，在皇威之下誓死完成任务，以慰圣怀。 “将发动武力的时机预定为十二月八日，其理由主要是根据月龄和星期的关系。为使陆海军的第一次空袭都能顺利进行并取得效果，利用午夜至日出前有月亮的阴历二十日左右的月夜是合适的。另外，海军机动部队对夏威夷的空袭，应以停泊在珍珠港的美军舰艇较多，且为美军休息日的星期日较为有利，所以选定了夏威夷方面的星期日，即阴历十九日的十二月八日。” 美国人卷入战争的历史命运已经不可逆转。 按照一般国际惯例，两国进入战争状态，应事先宣布中止谈判。但是，当外相东乡茂德提出，既然已经决定开战，为了日本的国家信义，开始军事行动之前须向美国提出最后备忘录，并通告停止外交交涉。但是，日本军方却坚决反对。理由是：对珍珠港的进攻属于偷袭性质，偷袭是否成功关乎日本国家命运，命运和信誉相比前者更为重要，绝对不能让美国对日本的行动有丝毫察觉。最后，内阁与军方商定的结果是：向美国提交最后备忘录的时间定在华盛顿时间七日下午一点。 这一时间，离日本偷袭珍珠港不足一小时。 负责向美国递交备忘录的，是日本驻美国大使野村吉三郎。他事后表示因为翻译和誊写电文，七日下午一时五十分才从大使馆出发，走进美国国务卿赫尔办公室已是下午二时二十分。而在此之前一个小时，日本海军已向珍珠港发动大规模攻击——日本人的“事先通告”成功地变成了“事后通告”。赫尔国务卿把日本大使送来的备忘录摔在桌子上：“这种充满无耻谎言与歪曲事实的文书，是地球上任何国家所难想象的。” 十二月七日凌晨四时三十分，日本海军舰队在瓦胡岛以北约二百十海里的海域展开。六时，第一波一百八十三架舰载机起飞，从瓦胡岛西部进入，七时五十五分开始攻击；七时十五分，第二波一百七十一架舰载机起飞，从瓦胡岛东部进入，八时五十五分开始攻击。在持续两个小时的偷袭中，日军以损失二十八架战机的轻微代价，击毁击伤美国太平洋舰队停泊在珍珠港内的二十四艘各类舰船以及三百架战机，美军伤亡三千五百余人。所幸的是，美军的航空母舰未在珍珠港内，油库和其他主要军事设施也未被击中。但是，美国海军太平洋舰队依旧受到了有史以来最大的重创。 一九四一年十二月八日，上午十一时四十分，日本天皇发布宣战诏书： ... 今兹不幸，与美英两国开启衅端，洵非得已者，岂朕之志哉？曩者，中华民国政府不解帝国之真意，妄自滋事，扰乱东亚之和平，卒使帝国操戈而起，于兹已四年有余矣。幸而国民政府有所更新，帝国与之结善邻之谊，互相提携。然重庆残存政权，恃美英之庇荫，兄弟阋墙，罔知悔改。美英两国支援残存政权，助长东亚之祸乱，假和平之美名，逞称霸东洋之野心，并进而勾结与国，于帝国周围增强武备，向我挑战，更对帝国之和平通商横加阻挠，终于断绝经济关系，对帝国生存予以重大威胁。朕饬政府通过和平谈判恢复事态，隐忍弥久，而彼方毫无退让之精神，徒迁延时局之解决，近则反愈益增大经济上军事上之威胁，以图使我屈从。长此以往，帝国多年来争取东亚安定之努力，悉将化为泡影，帝国之存立亦将濒于危殆。事既至此，帝国今为生存与自卫计，唯有毅然奋起，粉碎一切障碍。皇祖皇宗神灵在上，朕深信尔等众庶之忠勇，必将恢弘祖宗之遗业，迅速铲除祸根，确立东亚永久之和平，以期保全帝国之光荣。 ... 得到珍珠港被偷袭的消息后，美国陆军部部长史汀生写道： 现在由于日本在珍珠港对我们进攻，所有问题一下子都解决了。我的第一感觉是得救了，优柔寡断就此完结了。危机使我全国人民团结起来的方式到来了。事到如今，国民的团结用不着担心了。过去在不爱国的人民中表现的冷淡