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WWII On This Day: December 2

What happened on December 2 during World War II? This date brings together 1 event from 1941, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1941
Battleship Row at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack on 7 December 1941, photographed from a Japanese aircraft.
Unknown Japanese Navy photographer · U.S. Navy NH 50472 · Public domain (PD-Japan-oldphoto) · Source
Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack order is confirmed

The carrier force received the coded order commonly rendered as 'Climb Mount Niitaka 1208', confirming that hostilities were to begin on 8 December Tokyo time, 7 December in Hawaii. The fleet continued east through the North Pacific without being detected. By this point the operation depended on tactical surprise, not on a declaration of war arriving before the aircraft.

Continue in Attack on Pearl Harbor →