The five minutes between the two batches of Japanese planes attacking Pearl Harbor were the most famous "five minutes of calm" in the history of World War II. Some historians also call these five minutes "temporary calm", which is more accurate.
Of course, for those people in Pearl Harbor who were still under fire just now, it was difficult for them to realize that this so-called temporary calm had not yet allowed them to completely recover from death.
I saw several large medical speedboats rushing into Pearl Harbor. In order to be rescued, the injured soldiers on the ships desperately tried to retain these busy medical workers. Some used anchor hooks to hook the hospital ships and prevent them from leaving. Some directly held the medical personnel and refused to let them go. In short, everyone tried their best to keep the ambulance boat next to their warship.
Soon, the oily seawater made the originally white and shiny lifeboats full of oily and filthy. They came and went on the water, constantly shuttled, bumping and swaying with the huge waves, and became dirty and rancid. Bloody, covered with corpses, and broken limbs leaving traces on the water.
While the rescue was being carried out in Pearl Harbor, Zhou Zhihan kept his eyes on the Type 99 high-altitude bomber that had not left and was hovering in the high altitude in the distance.
Mizuo Fuchida led the Japanese fleet to retreat. When he was 30 kilometers away from Pearl Harbor, he used hand signals to order the fleet to return to the aircraft carrier first, leaving his bombers alone to hover at high altitude to monitor Pearl Harbor.
Zhou Zhihan had long discovered that Mitsuo Fuchida was circling outside Pearl Harbor. The reason why he did not shoot down the Japanese commander's bomber was because he had a plan.
The enemy left. Kimmel, who was standing on the lawn in front of his house, looked at the devastation in Pearl Harbor. He tried to calm himself down. At this time, he regained his wisdom as a commander and asked the messenger to immediately order all the resting air defenses. The troops rushed into Pearl Harbor to guard against a second Japanese sneak attack, and ordered relevant departments to quickly enter Pearl Harbor to count the number of ships lost in the attack. He wanted to report the true data to the president.
Kimmel, who had regained his composure, murmured to himself: "I believe it won't be long before President Roosevelt declares war on the Japanese." Then he clenched his fists and vowed to make the Japanese repay their debt with blood.
Just when Kimmel vowed to make the Japanese pay their debts with blood, Japan's second wave of attack echelons was about to arrive over Pearl Harbor.
At this time, Nomura, the Japanese consulate ambassador in the United States, accompanied the special envoy Kurusu who was negotiating with the United States to the U.S. State Department to submit Japan's ultimatum.
Up until this point, the shameless Japanese were still pretending.
In fact, after receiving the news that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by the Japanese, President Roosevelt had already called Secretary of State Hull about the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Secretary of State Hull's first reaction was disbelief. He was extremely angry and cursed the Japanese for their shamelessness and treachery.
In this regard, President Roosevelt comforted Hull. Being shameless, treacherous, and willing to be a villain are the usual tactics of the Japanese. For a nation that pursues its goals through treachery, there is no need to be angry with them, just attack them head-on, and make them surrender.
When Hull calmed down, Roosevelt asked Hull to still agree to the Japanese envoy's request, and told him to stay calm, not to mention Pearl Harbor, and to receive the Japanese envoy politely, to behave like a great power, and to have a good attitude towards the Japanese. Be serious and cold, and send them away politely.
Putting down the phone, Hull suppressed his anger and deeply felt the despicability of the Japanese. At the same time, he also felt guilty for not being able to discern the Japanese conspiracy in time and being played by them.
When the Japanese envoy arrived at the State Department and was waiting to be summoned in the diplomats' lounge, Hull stepped out.
The Japanese ambassador and special envoy stood up quickly and bowed to Hull with Japanese etiquette, making people who didn't know feel very harmonious when they saw this scene.
Special envoy Kurusu stepped forward, smiled, and extended his right hand to Hel.
Hull's expression was cold, with a hint of contempt at the corner of his mouth, and he ignored the hand extended by the Japanese envoy.
Nomura stood aside in embarrassment. In order to break the embarrassment, he lowered his head and bent his hands to hand the note to Hull: "The Japanese government telegraphed us to hand over this document to your government at 1 p.m." Then he paused, He said in an apologetic tone, "Maybe the translation took too long, so I'm late. Please forgive me!"
Hull's face was ashen: "Why do you want to hand it over to our country at one o'clock in the afternoon?" Then he said in a mocking tone, "Do you have any intention?"
The Japanese leader said in an apologetic tone: "I don't know the reason, but this is the instruction given to me!" At this time, his hands were still holding the note form.
Hull took the note form with one hand and did not open it. He just glanced at it coldly and said sternly: "I want to tell you directly that in the past nine months of negotiations with you, we have never said a word. Lies, this is completely documented.
In my 50 years of public service, I have never seen you deliver a document as shameless, full of hypocrisy, full of cunning and deceit.
So far, I have never dreamed that there is a government on this planet that can be so ignorant of the facts and tell such a big lie. I feel ridiculous for this despicable government. "
Seeing what Hull said, the two Japanese diplomats seemed to realize something.
Nomura: "..."
Hull didn't give Nomura a chance to speak at all. He raised his right hand to stop him from speaking, and then pointed to the door, signaling the Japanese to leave.
Nomura walked up to Hel with a shy face: "Goodbye!" Then he bowed in a very standard Japanese style, and walked quickly to the door with Nozomi Kurusu.
When the two Japanese turned around with their heads lowered and walked toward the door, Hull couldn't bear it any longer. Without waiting for them to go far, he began to curse: "Despicable, shameless, scoundrels, damn Japanese..."
As Nomura and Kurusu drove back to the Japanese Embassy, American radio stations began to repeatedly broadcast the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
It was only then that Nomura and Kurusu were sure why they had been humiliated by Hel just now, although they had already had a premonition of something at that time.
The news that Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese and that they suffered heavy losses was repeatedly broadcast by American radio and television stations. Like a bombshell, it hit the hearts of Americans who had long been accustomed to peace and did not know what war was like.
Americans who were immersed in prosperous times and wonderful Sundays were hit by an unprecedented impact. Many people could not believe their ears and thought it was another radio station joking.
But the announcer's nervous and trembling voice made them quickly understand that this was true.
Suddenly, there was deathly silence on the street.
A moment later, impulsive people rushed to the Japanese Embassy in the United States with sticks, stones and Molotov cocktails, shouting anti-Japanese slogans all the way.
From this moment on, Japanese and Japanese-Americans in the United States began to slide towards hell...
