United States
Tag
(524)1941
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
- 26
- Key eventThe Kidō Butai sails for HawaiiOn 26 November 1941 Vice-Admiral Chūichi Nagumo’s six carriers left Hitokappu Bay in the Kurils, sailing under radio silence to strike Pearl Harbor.
- The Hull noteOn 26 November 1941 Cordell Hull handed the Japanese a note demanding withdrawal from China and Indochina. It set no deadline, but Tokyo saw it as an ultimatum.
December
- 08
- The “Day of Infamy” speechOn 8 December 1941 Roosevelt called Pearl Harbor a day of infamy and Congress declared war on Japan. Within days a dozen or more other states had done the same.
- The attack on Clark FieldOn 8 December 1941 Japanese bombers from Formosa destroyed half of the US air force in the Philippines at Clark Field and Iba, hours after news of Pearl Harbor.
- 11
- Key eventGermany and Italy declare war on the United StatesOn 11 December 1941 Hitler and Mussolini declared war on the United States, and Congress responded that same day. The war had become truly global.
- The defence of Wake IslandOn 11 December 1941 the defenders of Wake atoll beat off a Japanese landing. Coastal guns sank the destroyer Hayate, and Marine fighters the destroyer Kisaragi.
- 22
- The landing at Lingayen GulfOn 22 December 1941 the main body of General Homma's 14th Army landed at Lingayen Gulf on Luzon. Next day MacArthur decided to fall back to Bataan.
- The Arcadia ConferenceOn 22 December 1941 Churchill arrived in Washington to confer with Roosevelt. They agreed on “Germany first” and set up a joint Allied command.