American Experience during World War II

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Mohit Kharbanda

American Experience During World War II

World War II was a catastrophic event that started in 1939 and ended in 1945, taking away the lives of tens of millions of civilians and militants. Although the war began in 1939, the U.S was reluctant to join and was on a neutral stance because it wasn’t in the interest of the American citizens to join. After Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor (the place where a naval fleet belonging to the U.S Navy was stationed) in late 1941, America was infuriated by this assault and declared war on Japan. However, America was not involved in the European war until Germany and Italy declared war on America a few days later. This caused America to fight two wars simultaneously: one against the perseverant Japanese and the other against Germany with its powerful arsenal.

To the U.S, the Pacific theatre seemed somewhat more brutal than the European theatre. The U.S conducted an ‘island hopping’ campaign where they jumped from island to island, in order to liberalize islands occupied by the Japanese. The jungle-type environment was the main factor that made the pacific war so intense; the army had to conduct close ranged gun battles since the tropical terrain did not allow tanks to function meritoriously. Also, the tropical environment induced diseases which affected both sides. Furthermore, Japanese troops implemented an attitude of fighting to the last man, using bullets or even knives when all else failed, and would never surrender. Japan fought persistently until the Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the pacific war to an immediate halt in 1945.

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The European theatre was more modern in terms of warfare; both sides used and produced the best weaponry. German troops were still a tough opponent because the Germans had a better understanding of modern weapons. Figures for civilian casualties lost in the European theatre were much larger than in The Pacific Theater because most of the combat with tanks and bombings transpired in towns and cities.   D-Day – where Over 160,000 Allied troops and 30,000 vehicles were landed along a 50-mile stretch of fortified French coastline and begin fighting on the beaches of Normandy – was the climax of the war ...

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