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Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor, looking towards the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.

...The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost...

Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.

Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.

Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.

And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.

...No matter how long it will take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to an absolute victory.

--Franklin D. Roosevelt's War Message to Congress, Dec. 8, 1941

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The Senate would later vote unanimously in favor of war; in the House, the members voted 388-1 in favor ... Jeanette Rankin, first woman elected to the House, was the lone dissenter.

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Three days later, on Dec. 11th, Italy and Germany, responding to the US declaration of war against Japan, both declared war against the US, bringing the US into the European War.

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No "official" or "accurate" casualty count of World War II exists. It is known that more than 38 million people died.

Battle loss estimates include ...

Russians: 7.5 million
Germans: 3.5 million
Japanese: 1.2 million
Chinese: 2.2 million

Great Britain and France both lost hundreds of thousands.

Civilian casualties were even higher, with the Russians estimated as losing as many as twenty-two million.

Six million Jews died. Also killed by the German "final solution" were gypsies, Slavs, and homosexuals.

The U.S. lost 300,000 dead and almost 700,000 wounded.

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While it would be very easy to blame the average foot soldier for atrocities committed,

"...Peoples do not make war. The decision to start a war is most often made by one man. They used to be kings, or princes, or barbarian chiefs, but throughout history it's usually one man who decides, and never is the decision to start a war of aggression the result of a democratic process.

"Throughout history, Kings and princes have made war at their whim, sending people off to die. To the kings, they were just peasants, and the wars were just grabs for power and riches, a kind of entertainment, and if people died, nobody much cared, and when it was all over, for the most part the kings were still kings, whether they won or lost, because they were above it all. All the way into this century, it was assumed that a chief of state had a right to make war. At Nuremberg, after the Second World War, we changed that rule by trying and executing some of those responsible. But getting to that point, arresting the criminals as it were, cost the lives of twenty million Russians, six million Jews, so many lives that historians don't even know..."

-Jack Ryan, "Executive Orders"

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Rest In Peace

The Rape of Nanking, - The Chinese Holocaust. Read up on it.

...didn't mean to hit a nerve...

I didn't mean to skip over Chinese civilian casualties, but the book I referenced the lists from gave the 2.2 million as "battle" casualties.

Nanking -- Dec 1937

Japanese troops advanced on Nanking, which was where the government at the time had retreated from Beijing. An attack began on the 9th of Dec., and the Chinese retreated across the Yangzi Jian. Three complete divisions of Japanese troops, and two Japanese Naval Fleets arrived. Over the next six weeks, the occupying forces "engaged in an orgy of looting and mass executions which came to be known as the Nanking Massacre. Most experts agree that at least 300,000 Chinese died and 20,000 women were raped. Some estimate the numbers to be much higher -- 340,000 and 80,000, respectively."
http://www.princeton.edu/~nanking/html/main.html

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Of course, it should be noted that World War II did not begin until September of 1938 (the following year), when Germany invaded Poland.

It depends on when you view the war as beginning. Since the Japanese were such major players, and their actions in Asia led up to the conflict with the U.S., its very easy to say the invasion of Asia began WWII, and figures should be counted from there on.

Of course, you could then argue that the causes of WWII is WWI's "Treaty of Versailles" (which it was), but then you'd have to count the fatalaties from 1918 on, so ...

It's a big mess, anyway you look at it.

[This message has been edited by JeffKardde (edited December 06, 2000).]