allies advance
usa entersThe U.S. ended up entering the war on December 8, 1941, a day after being bombed in Pearl Harbor by Japan. They joined sides with other European nations (Allies) and Nationalist China in a combined effort to stop Japan. Yet on the other hand, this did not go unnoticed by the Axis powers. In fact, Hitler believed that American involvement in the Pacific would make the United States ineffective in the European theatre of war, resulting in him declaring war on the United States four days after Pearl Harbor.
Once again, like World War I, a European conflict has escalated into becoming a global war. |
European theatreThe European Theatre was basically an area of heavy fighting in Europe from Germany's invasion in Poland until the end of World War II with Germany's surrender on May 8, 1945.
As the U.S. got involved, defeat was far from Hitler's mind in 1942. As Japanese forces began to expand Southeast Asia and the Pacific, the Axis powers continued to fight the war in Europe. For a while, it seemed as though as the Axis powers would win. It was not until the fall of 1942 before the war was turned against them. |
tides turnThe tides turned truly in 1942 for the Axis power. For example in North Africa, British forces managed to stop General Edwin Rommel's troops at El Alamein. German troops were forced to retreat back through the forest and on November, British and American forces invaded French North Africa. They forced German and Italian troops there to surrender in May 1943.Then on the Eastern Front, after the capture of Crimea, Hitler launched an attack at Stalingrad. Between November 1942 and December 1943, the Soviets launched a counter attack. German troops were stopped, encircled, and supply lines were cut off in cold winter conditions. The entire German Sixth Army was eliminated. By February 1943, German forces were forced back into their positions in June 1942. It was clear to Hitler in the spring that there was no way that they could beat the Soviet Union. So much for Hitler's assumption of the Soviet Union having a 'pitiful' army.
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ASIAN THEATREIn the Battle of the Coral Sea on May 7-8, 1942 American naval forces managed to stop the Japanese advance and prevented Australia from becoming invaded. The turning point in the Asian Theatre was when the Battle of Midway Islands occurred on June 4. During this battle, US planes managed to destroy four attacking Japanese aircraft carriers. Afterwords, the US managed to defeat the Japanese navy and established naval superiority in the Pacific.
By the fall of 1942, Allied forces in Asia got together for two operations. One would consist of moving itno the Philippines through New Guinea and the South Pacific Islandds while the other would move across the Pacific with a combination of U.S. Army, Marine, and Navy attacks on Japanese-held islands and bypass others in order to reach Japan. This is known as 'island hopping' (capturing Japanese-held islands and bypassing others in order to reach Japan). |