Pearl Harbor was the major Japanese attack in the Pacific that December
Within a span of less than eight hours following the Japanese strike at Pearl Harbor, American, British, and Dutch possessions in the Pacific also came under attack. In all cases, they struck enemy airfields and, where relevant, Naval installations. American bases in the Philippines, Guam, and Wake Island were assaulted almost simultaneously. All received severe damage and casualties. British installations in Malaya and Singapore, the latter called by Churchill the bastion of the Empire, came under attack. Even before the American Congress heard FDR’s request for a declaration of war against Japan, the British Empire had declared war. Churchill himself directed a British task group, consisting of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, to support the defense of Malaya. Both were sunk by Japanese air attack on December 10.
By that time there were already calls across the United States for an investigation into what happened at Pearl Harbor, as well as open accusations of Roosevelt having foreknowledge of the attack. One area of focus among those who believe FDR knew of the impending attack was the absence of the American aircraft carriers from Pearl Harbor. The theory suggests FDR had the Navy remove the carriers to protect them from harm, and ignores naval doctrine of the day. In December 1941, aircraft carriers were not considered capital ships by navies which adopted the Mahan Doctrine (including Great Britain, the United States, and Japan). Battleships and heavy cruisers comprised capital ships, carriers were considered part of the fleet’s scouting forces. The Pearl Harbor debacle led the world’s fleets to reconsider the value of aircraft carriers.