A History Of Foreign Attacks On American Soil: Understanding The Threats Faced By The Nation

America has been attacked numerous times throughout its history, from the American Revolutionary War in the late 18th century to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. One of the most significant attacks was the surprise assault on Pearl Harbor by Japan on December 7, 1941, which brought the US into World War II. During WWII, there were also several small-scale attacks on the US mainland by German and Japanese forces, including bombings, sabotage, and espionage operations. The country has faced attacks from both foreign nations and internal conflicts, such as the American Civil War in the 1860s.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 others, making it the deadliest event ever recorded in Hawaii. Eight U.S. Navy battleships were present, and all were damaged, with four sunk. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. More than 180 U.S. aircraft were destroyed.

The attack lasted just over an hour, with the first Japanese dive-bomber appearing over Pearl Harbor at 7:55 a.m. A second wave of attacks began at 8:50 a.m., and the Japanese withdrew shortly after 9:00 a.m. The attack was preceded by months of negotiations between the U.S. and Japan over the future of the Pacific, with Japan demanding that the U.S. end its sanctions and cease aiding China in the Second Sino-Japanese War.

The strike climaxed a decade of worsening relations between the U.S. and Japan, with the U.S. increasingly concerned about Japan's belligerent attitude towards China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into Chinese territory and take over its import market. In response, the U.S. imposed economic sanctions and trade embargoes, reasoning that without access to essential supplies, Japan would have to rein in its expansionism. However, the sanctions only made Japan more determined, and neither side would back down during negotiations.

September 11 Attacks

On September 11, 2001, terrorists linked to the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial planes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. The attacks, also known as 9/11, were the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil, killing nearly 3,000 people.

The hijackers crashed the first two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, two of the world's tallest buildings at the time. The Twin Towers collapsed within an hour and forty-one minutes, bringing about the destruction of the remaining five structures in the WTC complex and damaging or destroying nearby buildings.

The third plane hit the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense in Arlington County, Virginia. The fourth and final plane crashed in a field in Stonycreek Township, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, during a passenger revolt. Investigators determined that the flight's target was either the United States Capitol or the White House.

The attacks were conceived by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who first presented the idea to Osama bin Laden in 1996. Bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, is considered the mastermind of the attacks.

The 9/11 attacks had a profound and lasting impact on the U.S., especially regarding its foreign and domestic policies. President George W. Bush declared a global "war on terrorism," and lengthy wars in Afghanistan and Iraq followed. Security measures within the U.S. were also tightened considerably, especially at airports.

The collapse of the Twin Towers coated Lower Manhattan in toxic dust, and fires at Ground Zero continued to smolder for months. Many first responders reported respiratory issues, and it is estimated that as many as 400,000 people in the surrounding area were exposed to harmful substances.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City remembers and honours the 2,983 people killed in the attacks, as well as those who risked their lives to save others.

The Duquesne Spy Ring

During peacetime, Duquesne was an adviser on big-game hunting to US President Theodore Roosevelt, worked as a publicist in the movie business, and wrote adventure stories for the New York Herald. However, his job in the build-up to World War II was to assemble a network of US spies for Adolf Hitler.

Duquesne was one of Germany's most resourceful and audacious operatives. He had escaped from a prisoner-of-war camp in Bermuda during the Boer War, duped US doctors into believing he was mentally incapable of standing trial for embezzlement, and faked paralysis to avoid extradition to the UK over a 1916 ship bombing. He was a master of disguise, adopting multiple identities and aliases, and frequently reinvented his past.

The ring was established to gather information that could be used in the event that the US entered World War II. Members of the ring were placed in key jobs to obtain information about American military forces and preparedness, as well as to carry out acts of sabotage. One member opened a restaurant to gather information from customers, another worked on an airline to report on Allied ships crossing the Atlantic, and others worked as delivery people to carry secret messages.

The ring was exposed by William Sebold, a German-American who refused to give in to Nazi aggression. Sebold became a double agent for the FBI and helped the agency gather evidence against the Duquesne Spy Ring. For nearly two years, the FBI ran a shortwave radio station in New York for the ring, controlling what information was sent to Germany and learning what information Germany was sending to its spies in the US.

On June 27, 1941, the FBI arrested 33 members of the ring. On December 13, 1941, all members were found guilty, and on January 2, 1942, they were sentenced to a total of over 300 years in prison.

The Bombing of Ellwood Oil Field

On February 23, 1942, a little over two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese submarine, the I-17, surfaced at sundown off the coast of California, near Santa Barbara. It fired its deck cannon at the Ellwood Oil Field, a tideland oil-production facility. The shelling lasted about 20 minutes, with an estimated 12 to 25 rounds fired, resulting in minimal damage and no casualties. However, the attack caused widespread panic and hysteria, with many fearing an imminent full-scale invasion of the West Coast. This event marked the first shelling of the North American mainland during World War II and the first attack on the continental U.S. by a foreign power since the War of 1812.

The Japanese government ordered the attack on the same day as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's scheduled radio speech, which was set to take place on February 23, 1942. The I-17, captained by Commander Kozo Nishino, targeted the Ellwood Oil Field as it was a site he had visited before the war. Nishino had previously commanded a merchant ship that stopped at the Ellwood Oil Field to take on a cargo of oil. Around 7:00 pm, the submarine stopped opposite the oil field and aimed at a Richfield aviation fuel tank. The first rounds landed near a storage facility, with most of the workers having already left for the day. The Japanese shells destroyed a derrick and a pump house, while the Ellwood Pier and a catwalk suffered minor damage.

The attack caused a wave of fear along the American West Coast, with hundreds fleeing inland. The reports of "signal lights" in the area further fuelled the panic, and a blackout was ordered for the rest of the night. The shelling also influenced the decision to intern Japanese-Americans, with Roosevelt signing an executive order just a week later, leading to the internment of around 100,000 Japanese-Americans in camps. The event also sparked what became known as the ""Battle of Los Angeles," where, the following night, defensive anti-aircraft fire was unleashed by the U.S. military due to mistaken sightings of enemy aircraft.

Today, two markers commemorate the rare attack: a stone at the Sandpiper Golf Course and a small wooden sign at Haskell's Beach. The Bombardment of Ellwood stands as a significant event in American history, highlighting the vulnerability of the continental U.S. to foreign attacks and the impact of wartime fear and hysteria on civil liberties.

The Japanese Fire Balloons

During World War II, the Japanese military launched a series of balloon bombs, also known as "Fu-Go" or "fugos", towards the mainland United States. Between November 1944 and April 1945, the Imperial Japanese Army launched approximately 9,300 high-altitude balloons, each carrying incendiary and anti-personnel explosives. These balloons were designed to traverse the Pacific Ocean and reach the continental United States, where they would ignite fires and spread panic.

The Fu-Go balloon bombs were an innovative weapon system, consisting of hydrogen-filled paper balloons with a diameter of about 33 feet. Each balloon carried a payload of four 11-pound incendiary devices and a 33-pound high-explosive anti-personnel bomb. The balloons were launched from sites on the Japanese island of Honshu and rode the jet stream, an east-blowing air current, towards North America. The sandbag ballast system allowed the balloons to maintain their altitude and release their bombs after the three-day journey.

The Japanese balloon offensive resulted in limited damage, with no forest fires successfully started due to damp seasonal conditions. However, it sparked fear and invasion panic among the American public, who were unaccustomed to war on their home soil. The only fatalities from the balloon bombs occurred on May 5, 1945, near Bly, Oregon, when a pregnant woman and five children were killed by an explosion after discovering one of the downed balloons.

The Fu-Go balloon bombs were the first intercontinental weapon system in history, preceding the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles. They demonstrated the vulnerability of the mainland United States to attack and marked a new era in global warfare.

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