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The surprise strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the American naval base of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Intended to be a decisive blow that would cripple the American Pacific Fleet in anticipation of war with the United States, the strike left over 2,400 Americans dead and several capital ships, notably four American battleships, sunk. However, the absence of American aircraft carriers from port on the day of the attack left the fleet in better overall shape afterwards than Japanese planners had hoped.
