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A Small Strike With Huge Consequences: The Doolittle Raid That Changed WWII in the Pacific

Khalid Elhassan March 12, 2025 14 min

Doolittle - A B-25 takes off from the USS Hornet, en route to Tokyo — A B-25 takes off from the USS Hornet, en route to Tokyo. US Army

13. A Demoralizing Sense of Helplessness Against an Enemy’s Onslaught

The British surrender of Singapore, at the conclusion of the Malay Campaign, was one of many setbacks suffered by the Allies in first few months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. History Net

In short order, Japanese forces conquered Hong Kong, forced the surrender of Wake Island’s US Marine garrison, seized the Malay Peninsula and Singapore, took the Dutch East Indies, overran the Philippines, and chased the British out of Burma. At sea, they shocked Britain’s Royal Navy by effortlessly sinking the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse, and dealt an allied fleet a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Java Sea. That drumbeat of defeats was infuriating, as well as unnerving. Most of all, it was demoralizing to seem so helpless against Japan’s depredations. Until Pearl Harbor, the Japanese were seen as second-rate mediocrities who would never dare take on America, which would swiftly thrash them if they were ever dumb enough to pick a fight. Yet, here were the Japanese, dishing blow after unanswered blow and making the US look like a giant with feet of clay.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.