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Events Leading to the Attack on Pearl Harbor Franklin D. Roosevelt On January 7th, 1941 Yamamoto, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy, writes a letter which states that "A conflict with the United States ... is inevitable." Cordell Hull He also states that the Japanese navy should "destroy the US main fleet at the outset of the war." He continues later stating that they should attack the US air force vigorously. Onishi, creator of the Special Attack groups of suicide bombers known as "kamikazes", creates a draft plan for attack and gives it to Yamamoto in on March 10th, 1941. On November 5th, 1941, Yamamoto issues a Top Secret order explaining the plan they would use to attack Pearl Harbor. Meanwhile, Britain states that if Japan goes to war with the United States they will declare war on Japan within the hour. On December 1st, Franklin Roosevelt returns to Washington from a vacation in Georgia, with heightened fear that the Japanese would attack. On December 6th, Japan sends the first 13 parts of a 14 part encrypted message. The message states that it should not be presented to Cordell Hull until exactly 1:00 PM on December 7th, 1941, Washington time. In the early morning of December 7th, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The Americans were caught off guard, and the attack inevitably hurled the United States into World War II.

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