The Doolittle Raiders flew off of the deck of the USS Hornet and attacked Japan on their home turf. It was a wake up call and a tiny sampling of things to come and although it didn't cause significant physical damage the psychological effect was immense for both sides. After months of nothing but losses in the Pacific, Americans finally had something to be encouraged about knowing that we had actually bombed Tokyo. It was a huge morale boost and I can remember the elation among the adults, some hope had finally arrived.
For Japan it was a huge shock as they believed they were invulnerable to any penetration of their borders. In their rage for the bombers having landed or crashed in China they went on a retaliatory rampage against the Chinese for harboring Americans and slaughtered 250,000 civilians and 70,000 soldiers. The raid caused Japan to reassign some of their offensive equipment back towards the homeland and move troops to a more defensive position. In addition, it prompted Yamamoto to hasten a trap that would put an end to the US fleet in the Pacific. It would take place at Midway but instead of a trap it was a disaster with the IJN losing 4 of their best aircraft carriers within hours and stopping all further Japanese military advancement in the Pacific.
Doolittle was proclaimed a hero and promoted 2 ranks to General and won the Medal of Honor. It was a brazen attack, one of the most brazen and unlikely of the entire war and it buoyed the spirits of a nation that had known nothing but defeat until then. The rest is history.
For Japan it was a huge shock as they believed they were invulnerable to any penetration of their borders. In their rage for the bombers having landed or crashed in China they went on a retaliatory rampage against the Chinese for harboring Americans and slaughtered 250,000 civilians and 70,000 soldiers. The raid caused Japan to reassign some of their offensive equipment back towards the homeland and move troops to a more defensive position. In addition, it prompted Yamamoto to hasten a trap that would put an end to the US fleet in the Pacific. It would take place at Midway but instead of a trap it was a disaster with the IJN losing 4 of their best aircraft carriers within hours and stopping all further Japanese military advancement in the Pacific.
Doolittle was proclaimed a hero and promoted 2 ranks to General and won the Medal of Honor. It was a brazen attack, one of the most brazen and unlikely of the entire war and it buoyed the spirits of a nation that had known nothing but defeat until then. The rest is history.
