25.2

Analyze how the Allies were able to fight a war on two fronts

Although Roosevelt wanted his troops to enter into battle in Europe, Prime Minister Churchill wanted to be more cautious and attack the periphery, or edges, of Germany. In July 1942, Roosevelt ordered the invasion of Morocco and Algeria-French territories indirectly under Germany control. The leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, urged Roosevelt to open a second front in Europe.

The Battle of the Atlantic

As American and British troops fought the German army in North Africa, the war against German submarines in the Atlantic Ocean continued to intensify. After Germany declared war on the United States, German sub- marines entered American coastal waters. They found American cargo ships to be easy targets, especially at night when the glow from the cities in the night sky silhouetted the vessels. To protect the ships, cities on the East Coast dimmed their lights every evening. People also put up special "blackout curtains" and drove with their headlights off. By August 1942, German submarines had sunk about 360 American ships along the American coast. So many oil tankers were sunk that gasoline and fuel oil had to be rationed. To keep oil flowing, the gov- ernment built the first long-distance oil pipeline, stretching some 1,250 miles (2,010 km) from the Texas oil fields to Pennsylvania. The loss of so many ships convinced the U.S. Navy to set up a convoy system. Under this system, cargo ships traveled in groups and were escorted by navy warships. The convoy system improved the situation dramatically. It made it much harder for a submarine to torpedo a cargo ship and escape with- out being attacked. The spring of 1942 marked the high point of the German submarine campaign. In May and June alone, over 1.2 million tons of shipping were sunk. Yet in those same two months, American and British shipyards built over 1.1 million tons of new shipping. From July 1942 onward, American shipyards produced more ships than German submarines managed to sink. At the same time, American air- planes and warships began to use new technology, including radar, sonar, and depth charges, to locate and attack submarines. As the new technology began to take its toll on German submarines, the Battle of the Atlantic slowly turned in favor of the Allies.

Midway

Before the raid, the Japanese Navy had been argu- ing about what to do next. The officers in charge of the navy's planning wanted to cut American supply lines to Australia by capturing the south coast of New Guinea. The commander of the fleet, Admiral Yamamoto, wanted to attack Midway Island—the last American base in the North Pacific west of Hawaii. Yamamoto believed that attacking Midway would lure the American fleet into battle and enable his fleet to destroy it. After Doolittle's raid, the planners dropped their opposition to Yamamoto's plan. The American fleet had to be destroyed in order to protect Tokyo from bombing. The attack on New Guinea would still go ahead, but only three aircraft carriers were assigned to the mission. All of the other carriers were ordered to prepare for an assault on Midway. Back at Pearl Harbor, the code-breaking team that had alerted Nimitz to the attack on New Guinea now learned of the plan to attack Midway. With so many ships at sea, Admiral Yamamoto transmitted the plans for the Midway attack by radio, using the same code the Americans had already cracked. Admiral Nimitz had been waiting for the opportu- nity to ambush the Japanese fleet. He immediately ordered carriers to take up positions near Midway. Unaware they were heading into an ambush, the Japanese launched their aircraft against Midway on June 4, 1942. The island was ready. The Japanese planes ran into a blizzard of antiaircraft fire, and 38 of them were shot down. As the Japanese prepared a second wave to attack Midway, aircraft from the American carriers Hornet, Yorktown, and Enterprise launched a counterattack. The American planes caught the Japanese carriers with fuel, bombs, and aircraft exposed on their flight decks. Within minutes three Japanese carriers were reduced to burning wrecks. A fourth was sunk a few hours later. By nightfall it was apparent that the Americans had dealt the Japanese navy a deadly blow. Admiral Yamamoto ordered his remaining ships to retreat. The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war. The Japanese Navy lost four of its largest carriers—the heart of its fleet. Just six months after Pearl Harbor, the United States had stopped the Japanese advance in the Pacific. As Admiral Ernest King, the commander in chief of the U.S. Navy, later observed, Midway "put an end to the long period of Japanese offensive action." The victory was not without cost, however. The battle killed 362 Americans and 3,057 Japanese.

Erwin Rommel

German field marshal noted for brilliant generalship in North Africa during World War II (1891-1944) , The Desert Fox. Commander of the Axis forces in North Africa.

Afika Korps

German troops in Africa.Egypt was very important to Britain because of the Suez Canal. Most of Britain's empire, including India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaya, and Australia, used the canal to send supplies to Britain. The German forces in the area, known as the "Afrika Korps," were commanded by General Erwin Rommel—a brilliant leader whose success earned him the nickname "Desert Fox."

Stalingrad

In the spring of 1942, before the Battle of the Atlantic turned against Germany, Adolf Hitler was very confident he would win the war. Rommel's troops were pushing the British back in Egypt. German submarines were sinking American ships rapidly, and the German army was ready to launch a new offensive to knock the Soviets out of the war. Hitler was convinced that the only way to defeat the Soviet Union was to destroy its economy. In May 1942, he ordered his army to capture strategic oil fields, industries, and farmlands in southern Russia and Ukraine. The key to the attack was the city of Stalingrad. The city controlled the Volga River and was a major railroad junction. If the German army captured Stalingrad, the Soviets would be cut off from the resources they needed to stay in the war. When German troops entered Stalingrad in mid- September, Stalin ordered his troops to hold the city History at all cost. Retreat was forbidden. The Germans were forced to fight from house to house, losing thousands of soldiers in the process. On November 23, Soviet reinforcements arrived and surrounded Stalingrad, trapping almost 250,000 German troops. When the battle ended in February 1943, 91,000 Germans had surrendered, although only 5,000 of them survived the Soviet prison camps and returned home after the war. The Battle of Stalingrad was a major turning point in the war. Just as the Battle of Midway put the Japanese on the defensive for the rest of the war, the Battle of Stalingrad put the Germans on the defensive as well.

Summarize the major events in turning back the German army

Midway June 1942 - Just six months after Pearl Harbor, even before the war potential of the US was translated to vast new fleets, the Japanese Navy lost its aircraft carriers force in the battle of Midway, and with it its superiority in the Pacific Ocean and Japan's initiative. Stalingrad and Kursk In the two following summers of 1942 and 1943, Hitler attacked in Russia again with all the force his army still had, but in both cases his advancing forces were first stopped by fierce defensive fighting of Russian lines of defense, and later heavily beaten in massive counter attacks that caused the Germans huge losses which at that stage were no longer replaceable. After these two great bloody battles, the Russian army gained the initiative and moved from defense to attack, an attack which pushed the German army all the way back to Berlin.

Bataan Death March

On April 9, 1942, the weary defenders of Bataan finally surrendered. Nearly 78,000 prisoners of war were forced to march—sick, exhausted, and starv- ing—65 miles (105 km) to a Japanese prison camp. Thousands died on this march, which came to be known as the Bataan Death March. Here one cap- tured American, Leon Beck, recalls the nightmare: Although the troops in the Bataan Peninsula sur- rendered, a small force held out on the island of Corregidor in Manila Bay. Finally, in May 1942, Corregidor surrendered. The Philippines had fallen.

George Patton Yamamoto

On November 8, 1942, the American inva- sion of North Africa began under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The American forces in Morocco, led by General George Patton, quickly captured the city of Casablanca, while those in Algeria seized the cities of Oran and Algiers. The Americans then headed east into Tunisia, while British forces headed west into Libya. The plan was to trap Rommel between the two Allied forces.

James Doolittle

President Roosevelt put Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle in command of the mission. At the end of March, a crane loaded sixteen B-25s onto the aircraft carrier Hornet. The next day the Hornet headed west across the Pacific. On April 18, American bombs fell on Japan for the first time.

Periphery

Roosevelt wanted to get American troops into battle in Europe, but Prime Minister Churchill urged caution. He did not believe the United States and Great Britain were ready to launch a full-scale invasion of Europe. Instead Churchill wanted to attack the periphery, or edges, of the German empire. Roosevelt agreed, and in July 1942 he ordered the invasion of Morocco and Algeria—two French territories indirectly under German control.

El Alamein

The British forced Rommel to retreat at the battle of El Alamein, but his forces remained a serious threat. On November 8, 1942, the American inva- sion of North Africa began under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The American forces in Morocco, led by General George Patton, quickly captured the city of Casablanca, while those in Algeria seized the cities of Oran and Algiers. The Americans then headed east into Tunisia, while British forces headed west into Libya. The plan was to trap Rommel between the two Allied forces.

Coral Sea

The Japanese believed that they could proceed with two different attacks. They thought the United States was unaware of Japan's activity and would not be able to respond in time. Japan did not know that an American team of code breakers, based in Hawaii, had already broken the Japanese Navy's secret code for conducting operations. In March 1942, decoded Japanese messages alerted the United States to the Japanese attack on New Guinea. In response, Admiral Nimitz sent two carriers, the Yorktown and the Lexington, to intercept the Japanese in the Coral Sea. There, in early May, carriers from both sides launched all-out airstrikes against each other. Although the Japanese sank the Lexington and badly damaged the Yorktown, the American attacks forced the Japanese to call off their landing on the south coast of New Guinea. The American supply lines to Australia stayed open.

Convoy System

The loss of so many ships convinced the U.S. Navy to set up a convoy system. Under this system, cargo ships traveled in groups and were escorted by navy warships. The convoy system improved the situation dramatically. It made it much harder for a submarine to torpedo a cargo ship and escape without being attacked.

Douglas MacArthur

Their commander, General Douglas MacArthur, decided to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. Using the peninsula's rugged terrain, MacArthur's troops held out for more than three months. Gradually, the lack of supplies along with diseases such as malaria, scurvy, and dysentery took their toll. Realizing MacArthur's capture would demoralize the American people, President Roosevelt ordered the general to evacuate to Australia. In Australia MacArthur made a promise: "I came through, and I shall return."

Kasserine Pass

When the American troops advanced into the mountains of western Tunisia, they had to fight the German army for the first time. They did not do well. At the Battle of Kasserine Pass, the Americans were outmaneuvered and outfought. They suffered roughly 7,000 casualties and lost nearly 200 tanks. Eisenhower fired the general who led the attack and put Patton in command. Together, the American and British forces finally pushed the Germans back. On May 13, 1943, the last German forces in North Africa surrendered.

Chester Nimitz

While officers like James Thach developed new tactics to fight the Japanese, the commander of the United States Navy in the Pacific, Admiral Chester Nimitz, began planning operations against the Japanese navy. Although the Japanese had badly damaged the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, they had missed the American aircraft carriers which were at sea on a mission. The United States had several carriers in the Pacific, and Nimitz was determined to use them. In the days just after Pearl Harbor, however, he could do little to stop Japan's advance into Southeast Asia.