Churchill’s Reaction to Pearl Harbor: “The Sleep of the Saved”

The American reaction to Pearl Harbor is not surprising. Fear mixed with shock and anger led to a readiness to enter the Second World War, ending the isolationism that had been US policy up to that point. Across the Atlantic, however, reactions were less predictable. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill responded very differently — not with fear or confusion, but with something closer to relief.

What Was Winston Churchill’s Reaction to the Pearl Harbor Attack?

When news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor reached Churchill, he immediately realized what that meant: The United States would now have no choice but to take part in the war. In his own words, written in a history of World War II, Churchill said that night he “went to bed and slept the sleep of the saved.”

While the United States was still reeling from the attack, Churchill saw an opportunity. The early years of World War II had been incredibly difficult for England, as Germany proved to be a brutal foe. The Nazis seemed unstoppable and the British forces weren't far from defeat.

With a declaration of war on Japan, it was only a matter of time before the Axis powers forced the Americans into fighting in the European Theater as well, where Churchill’s England felt largely alone. Per the terms of the Tripartite Pact, Germany and Italy declared war against the United States on December 11th, 1941. Thanks to the Japanese, the British finally got the powerful ally it had so desperately needed since the war first broke out.

What Did Churchill Do After Pearl Harbor?

Within days of the Pearl Harbor attack, Churchill traveled to the United States, sailing with his military chiefs in order to work with American generals on a united Allied strategy.

In late December, 1941, Churchill stood in front of the US Congress for the first time and urged the Americans to join the two nations into a joint, unstoppable fighting force. “What kind of people do they think we are?” he asked rhetorically, speaking of the Japanese. It may come across as a simple sound bite, but his point was to link the United States and Britain into a single, allied front.

Churchill's reaction to pearl harbor wasn’t about sentiment — it was about survival. in the ashes of the U.S. Pacific fleet, he saw the birth of a global alliance that would eventually crush the axis powers. For Churchill, Pearl Harbor wasn’t just a surprise attack; it was the beginning of the end for Hitler.