Japan was originally reluctant to go to war with the United States. The United States supplied Japan with over fifty percent of its steel, oil, and iron, but Imperial Japan wanted to gain their own resources so they no longer had to depend on the United States’s. On September 27, 1940, Japan entered the Triple alliance with Germany and Italy. When they gained the support needed by joining the Triple alliance, the Imperial Japanese military invaded Northern Indochina. In response, the United States, placed an embargo on aviation gasoline, scrap metal, steel, and iron. After Japan's invasion of the rest of Indochina, the United States also placed an embargo on oil as well. The Japanese knew that they could now sustain themselfs, they decided to hit the Americans where it would cripple their Pacific Naval fleet so that japan could obtain some natural resources for itself. Negotiations went on in Washington, but both sides seemed to have decided that evading war was impossible. On November 25, 1941, with the negotiations still going on, the Japanese sent aircraft carriers eastward toward Hawaii and began setting up troops on the Malayan border. American military leaders, gave only general warnings to U.S. forces in Pearl Harbor. The Officers at Pearl harbor took few precautions to defend the attacks by the Japanese.
US Troops Land At Anzio
American forces landed at Anzio, just south of Naples, in an attempt to out flank the Germans. German resistance was fierce, and there were fears that the beachead would not hold. Determined fighting by American forces let them secure the beachead.
Allied forces landed in the Italian peninsula in September of 1942 and fought their way up Italy as winter approached. The United States placed forces at Anzio just south of Rome in January of 1944 with 36,000 troops. German Commander Albert Kesselring annilated the Allied forces who were exposed on the beaches. They remained trapped until May 23, 1944 when air support allowed them to break out of the Anzio pocket. The next goal was to place the Italian capital of Rome in Allied hands.
The German resistance was minimal when Allied troops landed on the beachead of Anzio. Resistance was so low the first day, that the Allied troops had already reached their objectives for that day by noon. By night fall, they we already three to four miles inward. After this, Allied troops chose to be caseous and not go up highways six or seven, which would have led them right to Rome. Instead they played the waiting game at the beachhead, and because of this, they were stuck there for several months. When they landed, allied troops faced little resistance. Casualties for the first day included 13 killed, 97 wounded, and 44 missing. But this was not so. Supply problems at Anzio, originally one of the main concerns of Allied planners, never reached a really bad condition. Beginning on January 26, six Large Supply Transporters left Naples daily for Anzio, each carrying 1,500 tons of supplies in 50 trucks. After driving off the ships at Anzio, the trucks moved directly to the front line with ammunition, fuel, and rations. These trucks were replaced on the LSTs by the fifty empty trucks that had made the voyage the previous day. In addition to LSTs, fifteen smaller ships arrived each week, and every ten days four massive "Liberty" ships delivered heavier equipment. Between 22 January and 1 June over 531,511 tons of supplies were unloaded at Anzio, averaging 3,920 tons a day.
In conclusion, Anzio was a very bloody battle fought by the Allies against mostly German forces. Because of this, the Allies were able to eventually able to liberate Rome. This gave the Allies a foothold in Italy. This caused Italy to eventually change sides and the Allies to win the war.
