WWII
World of 2nd World War
European Campaign
Battle of Alamein: July 1, 1942 - May 13, 1943
Ally (American and British) soldiers and Axis (German and Italian) soldiers alike were quite frustrated with the conditions found in the North African battle. Weather conditions were extremely difficult to work in with the fluxuating temperatures with a range of 60 degrees during the day and night, lack of camouflage abilities, and lack of hope as mirages floated in front of soldiers’ eyes. German soldiers took advantage of the sun in the middle of the sun for aerial gunfire, but there was nowhere to hide; POW’s (prisoners of war) were high due to the lack of food and water within the barren landscape. On May 13th, all enemy resistance (axis) ended; over 250,000 German and Italian troops surrendered.
Normandy/D-Day: June 6, 1944
The Allied Powers planned an invasion in which the beaches of Normandy would be invaded to retrieve German controlled France to Allied control. Five separate bases were used called Juno, Sword, Gold, Omaha, and Utah; most of the bases faced little resistance from the German soldiers, however, the Allied soldiers at Omaha faced the most casualties. The soldiers faced immediate gunfire from machine guns and if one was lucky to survive, he would have to infiltrate barbed wire borders while running those 200 yards with at least 100 pounds of gear. Perseverance and teamwork served the soldiers well as they fought for their cause.
The beaches were divided in which the US divisions covered the western two divisions (Utah and Omaha) while Britain and Canada covered the central eastern beaches (Gold, Juno, and Sword).
Pacific Campaign
Battle of Iwo Jima: February 19, 1945 – March 26, 1945
The United States needed a naval base that would used for easy, quick access to the Japanese coast and bases. The US Marine forces was divided into three divisions and were forced to fight the harsh environmental conditions including volcanic ash and the intricate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels, and underground installations that the 23,000 Japanese soldiers utilized against the 110,000 US soldiers. However, the US Marines prepared excess air and naval bombardment including 6,800 tons of bombs and 22,000 shells.
There were approximately 22,000 Japanese POW’s and casualties combines while the US soldiers only had 5,900 and 17,400 wounded.
Pearl Harbor Invasion: December 7, 1941
Pearl Harbor, an American naval base in Hawaii, was invaded by Japanese military forces. The attack was believed to be “unprovoked”; even though the United States placed trading embargos on Japan, that does designate logical reasoning to use Bomber-17’s against the United States. The attacks first occurred at 7:55 A.M. in which those watching the radar believed were the arriving US aircrafts. However, there were 40 torpedo planes, 103 level bombers, 131 dive-bombers, and 79 fighters used within the attack, which killed 2,403 Americans including 68 civilians. From the Pacific, 2 heavy cruisers, 35 submarines, 2 light cruisers, 9 oilers, 2 battles, and 11 destroyers were used by the Japanese to attack US naval ships including the USS Arizona which contained nearly half of the casualties. Japan then declared war on the US the next war while Congress also created a declaration of war after receiving the message of the invasion.