Americans during World War II. How to steal Victory

USA in World War II participated in the war since December 1941 (on Pacific Ocean). Since November 1942 in the Mediterranean theater of operations. In June 1944, the Western Front in Europe was opened. Acted American troops in France (mainly in Normandy), Italy, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

US losses in World War II were 418,000 people. The bloodiest battle for the American army was the Ardennes operation. After it in terms of the number of losses come the Normandy operation, the Battle of Monte Cassino, the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa.

Military production

During the Second World War, the beginning of the military-economic situation was laid in the United States. Before the start of the war, the United States had not yet fully recovered from the crisis of 1937-1938. From the fall of 1939 to the fall of 1943, industrial production in the United States increased almost 2.5 times. This growth was caused by the war and orders for military equipment, food, etc.

The development of US military production occurred due to the fact that the American continent was far from military operations. But despite this, the development of US military production was significantly inferior to the development of military production of the USSR. There, production developed during hostilities and occurred during the war and yet, it was developed more than production in the United States.

Pacific Theater

On the morning of December 7, 1941, 441 Japanese aircraft, taking off from six aircraft carriers (Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga, Shokaku, Soryu and Zuikaku), attacked the American military base at Pearl Harbor. 4 battleships, 2 cruisers and 1 minelayer were sunk. Among the battleships was the battleship Arizona. The Americans lost 2,403 people.

Six hours after the attack, American warships and submarines were ordered to begin ocean combat against Japan. President Franklin Roosevelt gave a speech to Congress and declared war on Japan. On December 11, Germany and Italy, and on December 13, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria declare war on the United States. On December 10, 1941, the Japanese launched an invasion of the Philippines and captured it by April 1942, with most American and Philippine troops captured.

Beginning in early 1942, Japanese aircraft attacked the port of Darwin on the northern coast of Australia. Major naval battles involving aircraft carriers took place in the Coral Sea on May 8 and at Midway on June 4, where the Americans scored their first victories over the Japanese. The Battle of Midway became turning point in the war in the Pacific.

On the island of New Guinea, the Japanese advanced towards Port Moresby, but American-Australian troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur stopped them. August 7, 1942 American Marines landed on the island of Guadalcanal and captured a Japanese airfield. In October-November 1942, the Japanese launched several counterattacks, but without success. On February 9, 1943, the Americans completely captured Guadalcanal; in July-August 1943, they captured the southern and central part archipelago of the Solomon Islands, in November-December, partly the islands of Bougainville and New Britain. On November 20-23, American Marines captured the Gilbert Islands (Tarawa Atoll), and in January and February 1944 landed on the Marshall Islands (Roy, Kwajelein and Majuro Islands).

During the spring of 1944, the Americans carried out a series of amphibious operations on the northern coast of New Guinea, which accelerated the advance of Allied troops from the southern part of the island. During the summer and fall, the Allies liberated most of New Guinea, and Japanese units were surrounded in the central and southwestern parts of the island and only surrendered at the end of the war. Japanese units in the Caroline Islands were also blocked and cut off from the outside world.

On June 15, 1944, the Americans landed on the heavily fortified island of Saipan (Mariana Islands). The Japanese put up fierce resistance, but by July 9 they were defeated. The American capture of the island of Saipan led to the fall of the government of General Tojo in Japan. During the summer of 1944, the Mariana Islands were completely captured and bombing of Japan itself began from their airfields, since the distance was already sufficient for the operation of American B-29 Superfortress bombers.

In October 1944, the largest naval battle in history took place in Leyte Gulf. The Japanese fleet suffered catastrophic losses, after which the American Navy gained absolute supremacy at sea. Japanese aircraft also suffered catastrophic losses from the superior US Air Force. On October 20, the Americans under the command of General Douglas MacArthur began landing on the island of Leyte (southern Philippines) and cleared it of Japanese troops by December 31. On January 9, 1945, the Americans landed on the main island of the Philippine archipelago - Luzon. During January and February they defeated most of the Japanese forces in Luzon, and liberated Manila on March 3. By May, most of the Philippines had been liberated, with only remnants of Japanese troops in the mountains and jungle continuing to resist until August.

On February 19, 1945, US Marines landed on the island of Iwo Jima, where the Japanese put up very strong resistance. The island was captured by March 26, 1945. On April 1, American troops landed on the island of Okinawa with the support of the US Navy and the British Navy, and captured it by June 22, 1945. On both Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the Japanese offered the most fierce resistance of the entire war, since these islands were already directly Japanese territory. Allied ships were often attacked by Japanese kamikazes. The battles on both islands ended with the almost complete destruction of Japanese troops.

In July 1945, the Allies presented Japan with an ultimatum, but it refused to capitulate. On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 Superfortress bomber dropped an atomic bomb (atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) on Hiroshima, and on August 9 on Nagasaki, which led to enormous destruction - and on August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced the unconditional surrender of Japan. The Japanese surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, on board the USS Missouri.

Mediterranean theater of operations

On November 8, 1942, American troops under the command of General Dwight Eisenhower - three corps (western, central and eastern) with the support of one British division landed on the Atlantic coast of Morocco and on the Mediterranean coast - in Algeria, in the territories controlled by the puppet government of Vichy, and by November 11 captured Casablanca, Oran and Algiers, and the Vichy French surrendered and went over to the Allied side. Meanwhile, the British 8th Army, under the command of General Bernard Montgomery, defeated the Germans in Egypt at El Alamein (the US Air Force also participated in this battle and the British Army was armed with a significant amount of American armored vehicles, which played a decisive role in the Allied victory in this battle ), advanced to the west, pursuing the remnants of the German-Italian troops. Because of these events, the Germans began to capture Tunisia, where on November 17, 1942, fighting began between them and the troops of the United States, Great Britain and Free France. In a matter of weeks, the Germans formed the 5th Panzer Army in Tunisia to cover the rear of their retreating Army Africa. In December 1942 and January 1943. Due to heavy rains that washed out all the roads in Tunisia, the Allies were unsuccessful. On 14 February the Germans launched a counter-offensive at the Kasserine Pass in western Tunisia, but by 18 February the Allies stopped them and the Germans retreated. On March 6, the Germans tried to counterattack the 8th British Army advancing from Libya to the Mareth Line, but were defeated. The American 2nd Corps and the British 8th Army, attacking the Germans from the west and east, united in southern Tunisia on April 7, 1943, on the road between the cities of El Guettar and Gabes, forming a united front. All Allied ground forces were united into the 15th Army Group, led by British General Harold Alexander. The US 2nd Corps began to operate independently as a separate army, directly reporting to General Alexander. The 2nd Corps was transferred to Northern Tunisia, opposite the cities of Tunis and Bizerte. On April 23-24, the final Allied offensive began in North Africa. The Germans put up strong resistance. The Italians, on the contrary, often surrendered to the Allies. On May 7, Bizerte and Tunisia were liberated, and German-Italian troops, including most of Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps, were pinned to the sea at Cape Bon, where they capitulated on May 13, 1943.

On July 10, 1943, the American 7th Army and the British 8th Army successfully landed on the southern coast of Sicily, liberated the city of Palermo on July 22, and by August 17 entered Messina and completely liberated Sicily. The Italians have long understood that the war into which the Duce dragged them did not meet the interests of Italy. King Victor Emmanuel III decides to arrest Mussolini and on July 25, 1943, Mussolini was arrested. The new Italian government, led by Marshal Badoglio, began to conduct secret negotiations with the American command with a view to concluding a truce through the mediation of neutral Portugal. Badoglio held secret negotiations with General Eisenhower, first in Lisbon and then in Sicily. The Italian troops mostly surrendered, the Germans suffered losses, and some troops were evacuated to the continent.

On September 3, 1943, the British 8th Army crossed the Strait of Messina and landed on the tip of the Apennine Peninsula, and an additional contingent of British troops landed in the port of Taranto. On September 8, Badoglio officially announced the unconditional surrender of Italy, and the Italian fleet surrendered to the Allies on the island of Malta. After which the Wehrmacht began the occupation of northern Italy. On September 9, 1943, the American 5th Army landed in the Salerno area south of Naples (300 km north of the Strait of Messina), the Germans constantly attacked them, but by mid-September the 5th Army gained a foothold in the bridgehead and linked up with the advancing 8th Army from the south of the peninsula. On October 1, Naples was liberated. In October-November, the 5th Army encountered strong German resistance along the Volturno River and crossed it by November 15th. By the end of December, the Allied offensive was stopped due to the weather and the mountainous terrain of Italy - the offensive could only be carried out to the west or east of the Apennine mountains, along the coast.

On January 4, 1944, the American 5th Army resumed its offensive and by January 17 reached the area of ​​Mount Cassino and the German Winter Line fortifications. On January 22, 1944, an Anglo-American amphibious assault was landed in the Anzio area to help the Allies break through the Winter Line. The landing was successful, but soon the bridgehead at Anzio was blocked by the Germans, who attacked it twice on February 17 and 29, 1944 - the Allies repelled these attacks and positional battles continued there until the end of May. At the end of January and beginning of February, the Americans tried to seize positions in the Monte Cassino area, but without success. Both sides suffered heavy losses and the American 2nd Corps was withdrawn to the southern flank of the Italian Front, replaced by New Zealand, Indian and British units at Monte Cassino. The Allies continued to attack Monte Cassino unsuccessfully in February and March. By May the weather had improved and on May 11 the Allies launched Operation Diadem. The main offensive took place on the western flank towards Rome, and later began on the Adriatic coast of Italy. On May 18, they took Monte Cassino and broke through the Winter Line, and the Germans began to retreat. On May 23, the Allies broke out of the Anzio bridgehead and on May 25 they linked up with the US II Corps, advancing from the southeast along the Tyrrhenian Sea coast. On June 4, 1944, the Allies liberated Rome, and by early August they reached the Arno River, near the cities of Pisa and Florence.

During the summer of 1944, some American troops were withdrawn from the Italian front and loaded onto landing ships in Naples. On August 15, 1944, they successfully landed in Southern France and, having liberated most of its territory, began to advance along the Rhone River valley along with the Free French troops, and in September they united with the 3rd Army of General Patton, advancing from Normandy and Brittany, and from that moment these hostilities became part of the Western European theater of operations. Meanwhile, in Italy the offensive stopped at the Gothic Line. In the autumn and winter of 1944, positional battles took place there. Only by April 1945 did the 5th and 8th armies launch an offensive and manage to break through the enemy defenses near the Po River. On April 28, the partisans executed Mussolini, and on May 2, all German troops in Italy surrendered to the Allies. On May 4, the 5th Army linked up with the 7th Army, which was advancing from southern Germany.

Western European Theater of Operations

According to the decision of the Tehran Conference, where Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met, the second front of the war was opened on June 6, 1944. Allied forces of the USA, Great Britain and Canada landed in Normandy. The operation was called Overlode, also called D-Day. The operation ended on August 31 with the liberation of the entire northwestern part of France. Allied forces liberated Paris on August 25, which had already been almost liberated by French partisans. On August 15, American-French troops landed in the south of France, where they liberated the cities of Toulon and Marseille.

In September, Allied forces advancing from Normandy joined forces advancing from southern France. Also in September, the Allies advance into Belgium, where they cross the German border on September 13 and capture the city of Aachen on October 21. The Allies had to temporarily stop the advance due to lack of resources and worsening weather. During November and the first half of December, American troops liberate the northeastern part of France, reaching the Siegfried Line and the French-German border. By mid-December, the Allies' supplies had improved and they began planning a new offensive.

On December 16, German forces launched an offensive and advanced 90 km in the Ardennes into Belgium. On December 22, General Patton's 3rd Army launched a counteroffensive on the southern flank and attacked the advancing Germans from the south. By December 25, the German offensive floundered near the Belgian city of Selle, not reaching just 6 km of the Meuse River, and the Allies launched a large-scale counteroffensive and launched an invasion of West Germany on January 29, 1945. During February, the Allies captured almost all of German territory west of the Rhine. On March 7, the Americans captured the railway bridge across the Rhine in the city of Remagen; at the end of March, the 6th, 12th and 21st Allied Army Groups crossed the Rhine, and in April they surrounded and defeated the Ruhr group of German troops. On April 25, the American 1st Army met Soviet forces on the Elbe River. The 3rd Army penetrated further than any American forces - to the city of Pilsen in Czechoslovakia, where it met Soviet troops in May. French units on the French-Italian border launched an offensive and linked up with the western flank of the American 5th Army in the Western Alps. The 7th American Army, advancing to the south and southeast, captured most of southern Germany, the western part of Austria, crossed the Brenner Pass in the Alps and entered the territory of Northern Italy, where on May 4 it met with units of the 5th Army advancing from valley of the Po River.

In preparing the material, articles from Wikipedia- free encyclopedia.

The United States was forced into the war on December 7, 1941, as a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. And although the scale of the battles was not the same as on the Eastern Front, this does not negate their fierceness. Having gotten bogged down in battles with the Japanese, the United States was able to secure the rear of the USSR, and by subsequently opening a second front, it brought Germany’s defeat closer and made its collapse inevitable. In total, the main losses in World War II were due to the following factors:

The Allied contribution to the victory cannot be underestimated. In fact, while fierce battles were going on in the east and the blitzkrieg was thundering, Great Britain and the USA also did not sit idly by, stretching the forces of the Germans and their allies in several directions, thereby reducing the pressure on the USSR.

During the entire war in the United States, it was mobilized great amount recruits - more than 16 million people. Such reserves were enough to fight long wars of attrition; in addition, American soldiers did not have the worst level of training, which allowed them to withstand even superior enemy forces.

After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the destruction of one of the most powerful military bases, the United States entered the war. Just hours after the attack, the Americans declared war on Japan and began planning a response.

Already starting in 1942, the Japanese army lost its advantage and ceased to win significant victories, which led to defeat in the Battle of Midway, and dealt a crushing blow to the imperial troops.

After this, the Americans continued their systematic offensive, liberating all the islands that came along the way. The Japanese refused to capitulate even when they found themselves in a completely hopeless situation in 1945. Anticipating heavy losses at the beginning of the assault on the main island of Japan, the US command decided to drop two atomic bombs, which finally broke the spirit of the Japanese and led to the subsequent complete surrender.

In total, during the war with the Japanese, the Americans lost about 300 thousand soldiers and sailors killed, captured and subsequently died from wounds. In addition, civilian casualties are also known. So the Japanese managed to intern more than 12 thousand civilians.

One of the main "meat grinders" - the place where the Allies suffered the greatest losses - was the beaches during Operation Overlord. The infantry had to storm enemy bunkers, advancing across open ground under fierce artillery and machine gun fire. However, due to disagreements between the German commanders, who as a result were unable to provide assistance to each other in an organized manner, the defense was broken through. The Battle of Normandy lasted for about two months. The main objective of the Allies was to capture, expand and strengthen coastal bridgeheads in order to create favorable conditions for subsequent attacks on the enemy. This operation went down in history as the largest amphibious operation, as it involved more than 3 million soldiers who crossed the English Channel.

Powerful German armored vehicles inflicted heavy losses on the Allies - the outdated military doctrine had its effect. The main tank of the US Army at that time was the M4 Sherman, equipped with a short-barreled 75-mm gun, which was not capable of adequately fighting enemy tanks that destroyed Shermans at distances of more than a kilometer. The use of specialized self-propelled guns did not produce significant results, which is why the Americans lost greatly to the mechanized divisions of the Wehrmacht. As a result, due to heavy casualties, the Americans had to quickly develop new types of tanks, as well as figure out how to modernize the current ones that remained in service.

Even despite the complete dominance of the Americans in the air, German forces continued to put up serious resistance. The Hitler Youth especially managed to distinguish itself here. Teenagers, under the leadership of experienced officers, managed to inflict enormous damage on American forces, turning French vineyards into a real hell. However, they did not stand a chance, since the Americans were more prepared and already had combat skills by the time the operation began. Some units had real combat experience gained during battles with the Japanese. This played a cruel joke on the American Marines, since the Germans used completely different battle tactics, which also led to heavy losses at first.

In total, during the bloody battles in Europe, the United States lost almost 186 thousand military personnel, which, of course, is quite small when compared with the losses of the USSR.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, he made the greatest contribution to the victory over the Third Reich. The Allies could only indirectly help the Soviet troops, diverting the attention of the Wehrmacht command and forcing them to disperse their forces. They also supplied additional weapons to the Soviet army under the Lend-Lease program. In total, US losses in World War II amounted to 405 thousand killed and 671 thousand wounded.

72 years ago the United States entered World War II. According to the general belief of the Americans, this fact predetermined its final outcome.

Many Americans (I would hardly be wrong if I say the majority) firmly believe that their country made a decisive contribution to the victory over Germany and Japan in World War II and that the USSR would have been crushed by Hitler without American arms supplies. On the Internet you can often come across sincere statements from US residents, such as “we saved the Russians from Hitler” in different variations. Sometimes statements that “without the Americans we would not have won the war” can now be heard from compatriots.

The author does not intend to deny the significant role of the United States in the victory over the countries of the aggressive bloc, especially over Japan, the significant assistance of the United States to the Soviet Union with military materials in 1941-1945. The point is to accurately indicate the magnitude of this role.

Without a doubt, Americans have a right to be proud of what their country accomplished during World War II. The United States (in alliance with the countries of the British Commonwealth) inflicted major defeats on the naval and air forces of Japan, causing serious damage to the military and industrial machinery Nazi Germany. The role of the United States in supplying the USSR with weapons, vehicles, valuable industrial raw materials, medicines and food during the war is also important (its value is discussed below). As a result of World War II, the United States became a superpower, dominating much of the globe. The United States achieved these outstanding results at the cost of relatively small losses - only 322,200 US citizens died, almost exclusively military personnel, since military operations almost did not affect the territory of the United States itself. At the same time, the United States avoided a decline in the living standards of its population. On the contrary, their economy experienced intensive growth throughout the war years.

There is no reason to attribute merits beyond those listed above to the United States in World War II. Let us now understand this role using specific examples.

1. "Arsenal of Democracy"

In March 1941, the US Congress passed a law providing countries “whose defense is important to US interests” with preferential targeted loans for the purchase of weapons and other military materials from the United States. The debt for weapons and materials that would have been spent during the war was declared written off. This system is commonly known as lend lease. England became the first recipient of American aid. It remained the main recipient of Lend-Lease supplies throughout the years of World War II ($31.4 billion; USSR - $11.3 billion).

The Lend-Lease Law was extended to the USSR only on November 7, 1941, but actual deliveries began earlier - after on September 30, 1941, during the visit to Moscow of the special representative of the US President W. A. ​​Harriman and the Minister of War Industry of England, W. Beaverbrook. The first supply protocol was signed.

The total volume of Lend-Lease deliveries to the USSR is usually estimated at 4% of the total GDP of the USSR for this period. However, this is not an indicator, since Lend-Lease assistance was not intended to replace military production of the USSR. A more objective, although differentiated, indicator is the share of American supplies by certain species military production. Here it is also necessary to take into account that the main arms assistance went to the USSR in 1941-1942, then the main emphasis in supplies was placed on military materials and food, which were in short supply in the USSR.

The United States provided significant assistance to our country in such types of products as, for example, canned meat (480% of what was produced over the years in the USSR), non-ferrous metals (from 76% to 223% for various metals), animal fats (107%), wool (102%), car tires (92%), explosives (53%). Significant were the supplies of trucks (375 thousand), jeeps (51.5 thousand), barbed wire (45 thousand tons), telephone cable (670 thousand miles), telephone sets (189 thousand pieces). Deliveries of main types of weapons amounted to 12% of the production of tanks by Soviet factories, 20% of the production of bombers, 16% of the production of fighters, 22% of the production of combat ships. Of particular note is the supply of radars (445 pieces).

There is an unofficial assessment of the role of Lend-Lease supplies for the course of the Great Patriotic War such an authority as Marshal G.K. Zhukov (reported by KGB chief V.E. Semichastny to N.S. Khrushchev, it served as one of the reasons for Zhukov’s removal from the post of Minister of Defense in 1957): “Now they say that the allies will never give us didn’t help... But it cannot be denied that the Americans sent us so much material, without which we would not have been able to form our reserves and would not have been able to continue the war... We received 350 thousand cars, and what cars!.. We didn’t have explosives, gunpowder. There was nothing to equip the cartridges with. The Americans really helped us out with gunpowder and explosives. And how much sheet steel they sent us. Would we be able to quickly establish tank production if it weren’t for American aid steel. And now they present the matter in such a way that we had all this in abundance.” It is necessary, however, to keep in mind that many statements in this quote could have been deliberately distorted in order to present the speaker in an unfavorable light.

The fact remains that during the most difficult period of the war for our country - the summer and autumn of 1941 - there were no Lend-Lease supplies to the USSR yet. The Nazi armies were stopped on the approaches to Leningrad and Moscow solely by our weapons. It would be correct to assume that American economic assistance to the Soviet armed forces(which unfolded on a large scale only since 1943!) accelerated the final defeat of the Nazi troops on the Eastern Front. But it would be a mistake to conclude that without such help this victory would not have come at all.

2. “The Normandy landings were the decisive battle of the war.”

The invasion of Northern France by American and British troops, which began on June 6, 1944, is considered in the West to be a turning point in the Second World War. However, this assessment ignores the fact of numerous defeats that the Wehrmacht had already suffered on the Eastern Front, starting in December 1941. Since November 1942, with the exception of short-term episodes of the counter-offensive near Kharkov and the initial stage of the Battle of Kursk, German troops in the East were on the strategic defensive. By the summer of 1944, the Soviet armies had already liberated most of the territory of the USSR initially captured by the Nazis and in a number of places reached the state border of the USSR. The final outcome of the war was no longer in doubt, and this outcome was determined precisely on the Eastern Front.

Taking into account the overall strategic picture of the Second World War, the traditional point of view of Russian historiography seems more justified, according to which the very landing of Anglo-American troops in Normandy was undertaken in the summer of 1944 in order to prevent the final defeat of the Wehrmacht by Soviet troops alone.

The scope and intensity of battles in the Western European Theater of Operations (TVD) in 1944-1945. never came close to what took place on the Eastern Front, not only in 1941-1943, but also in these last two years of the war. The Soviet-German front remained the main front in Europe until May 9, 1945.

By January 1945, at the moment of maximum tension of German forces on Western Front, caused by an attempted offensive in the Ardennes, Wehrmacht units in the West numbered only 73 divisions, while in the East at the same time there were 179 German divisions. Overall 80% personnel Germany's active army, 68% of its artillery, 64% of its tanks and 48% of Luftwaffe aviation during this period were used against Soviet troops. Thus, in the last year of the war, the main forces of the German ground army fought not in the West, but in the East.

On the Eastern Front, the Wehrmacht suffered decisive losses in World War II. 70% of all German aircraft destroyed during the war, 75% of lost tanks and 74% of German artillery losses occurred in the war with the USSR. It is always more difficult to estimate the number of human losses. However, the list of Wehrmacht formations shows that in total during the Second World War, 130 German ground divisions were completely defeated on the battlefield and deleted from this list. Of these, 104, that is, 80%, were defeated by Soviet troops.

3. “The United States single-handedly defeated Germany in the West and Japan”

The myth about the decisive role of the United States in World War II is aimed at belittling the role of not only the USSR, but also other participants in the anti-fascist coalition - the countries of the British Commonwealth and China. Meanwhile, when we talk about those theaters of war where American troops operated, it is necessary to keep in mind that they always fought as part of coalition forces, not always having a majority in them.

The United States actually entered the war east of the Atlantic only with the landing in North Africa on November 8, 1942. Moreover, this was a blow not even to Germany, but to Italy and Vichy France. In 1940-1942. British Commonwealth forces themselves repelled a number of Axis offensives in North Africa. The British victory at El Alamein in October-November 1942, which resulted in the final turning point in the war in the Mediterranean theater of operations, was won before the arrival of American troops.

The role of American supplies in arming and equipping British troops was significantly higher than their role for Soviet troops. However, the subjects of the British Empire paid for these supplies with their blood. In World War II, 364 thousand residents of the United Kingdom (1/6 - civilians) and 109 thousand residents of the British dominions and colonies died, that is, a total of more than Americans.

Until the summer of 1944, the number of ground forces of the British Empire fighting enemies in the Western and Asia-Pacific theaters (both together and in each separately) invariably exceeded the number of American troops stationed there. Only after the landing in Normandy did this ratio slowly begin to change.

In the “Battle of the Atlantic,” the decisive role was played by the British Navy, which destroyed 525 German submarines (while the American Navy destroyed 174). In the Asia-Pacific region, the Americans fought together with the Australians and British colonial troops in India. In addition, one cannot discount the constant (albeit in itself passive) factor of China, which constantly diverted more than half of the Japanese ground army and significant Japanese aviation forces. These forces together, and not the Americans alone, ensured the Allies' victory over Japan's sea and air power. And, as has been written many times, it was the USSR’s entry into the war against Japan, and not the atomic bombing, that became the “last blow of the sword” that forced Japan to capitulate.

Thus, even in those theaters of World War II where the decisive role belonged to the Western allies, the role of the United States as part of the coalition forces cannot be regarded as absolutely dominant.

70 years ago, the United States entered World War II, which, according to Americans, predetermined its outcome. Most American residents are confident that only thanks to America was victory achieved over Germany and Japan in the war and that the USSR would not have withstood the onslaught of Nazi Germany without supplies from the Americans.

No one intends to deny the great contribution of the Americans to the victory, especially over Japan, as well as assistance to the USSR with military materials. However, it is still necessary to indicate how great this role was.

Americans have every right to be proud that American troops, together with the countries of the British Commonwealth, inflicted significant damage on the Japanese naval and air forces, as well as on the German military-industrial complex.

America's importance in military supplies of weapons, food and medicine for Soviet soldiers also great. After all, during the war, the United States became a superpower that dominated most of the globe. Such results, however, were achieved at the cost of rather small losses, compared to other states. During the war, the United States lost about 325 thousand military personnel. There were practically no civilian casualties, since military operations very little affected American territory.

In addition, the US government managed not only to maintain the standard of living of the population at the proper level, but also to boost the American economy.

In March 1941, the American Congress passed a law providing targeted loans to allied countries for the purchase of weapons and other military materials from the United States. The debt for such supplies was declared written off. This system was called Lend-Lease. The first country to receive American help was England. By the way, it remained the main recipient of military materials.

This law came into force in relation to the USSR only in November 1941, although deliveries began in early October. The total American supply was estimated at 4 percent of the Soviet Union's total GDP. The bulk of deliveries occurred in 1941-1942, after which the main emphasis was placed on supplies of military materials and food, which were in short supply in the USSR.

The main types of products supplied by the United States under Lend-Lease to the USSR were canned meat, non-ferrous metals, animal fats, wool, car tires and explosives, as well as trucks, telephone cable and devices, barbed wire.

Regarding military equipment, American supplies amounted to 12 percent of general production tanks, 20 percent of bombers, 16 percent of total fighter production, and 22 percent of warships and vessels. Of particular note is the delivery of 445 radars.

And although G. Zhukov spoke very positively about the role of American supplies for the formation of reserves by the Soviet army and the continuation of the war, the fact remains: during the most difficult period for the Soviet army, the summer-autumn of 1941, there was no help. The fascist troops were stopped on the approaches to Moscow and Leningrad exclusively by the forces of domestic weapons.

It is more correct to say that US military supplies contributed to the acceleration of the defeat of fascist troops in the East, but it would be a mistake to assume that without such assistance the victory would not have taken place.

It is generally accepted that the invasion of France by Anglo-American troops in 1944 was a turning point in the course of the war. However, such a statement neutralizes all the successes achieved by the Soviet troops by this time. Indeed, since 1942, with the exception of some moments (the counteroffensive near Kharkov, the initial stage of the battle of Kursk), the Nazi troops were in a state of defense on the Eastern Front. And by the summer of 1944, most of the Soviet territory, previously occupied by the Nazis, was liberated. The final outcome of the war was already predetermined, and precisely on the Eastern Front.

If we take into account the overall strategic picture of the war, it becomes clear that the landing of Anglo-American troops in France in 1944 was nothing more than a reluctance to allow the defeat of Nazi Germany by the forces of the Soviet Union alone. After all, it was on the Eastern Front that the main landmark battles took place. Here the Wehrmacht suffered about 70 percent of the total losses of military equipment, and the number of casualties inflicted only by Soviet troops is estimated at 80 percent of the total number of killed.

Thus, the assertion of a decisive American role during the Second World War is aimed solely at downplaying the role not only of the Soviet Union, but also of other countries participating in the British Commonwealth, as well as China. Meanwhile, when talking about military actions carried out by the Americans, for some reason they do not take into account the fact that in most cases the US army acted as part of coalition forces, not always forming a majority in them.

The beginning of the real US offensive in the war can be considered the landing in North Africa in 1942, and it was rather a blow not against Nazi Germany, but against Italy and France. And the victory of the British troops at El Alamein, which became a turning point in the Mediterranean, was won before the arrival of the Americans.

The share of American supplies for the British army was much higher than for the Soviet army, but the British paid for these supplies with their lives. During the war, about 365 thousand residents of the United Kingdom died, as well as up to 110 thousand residents of the British colonies, thus, British losses were significantly greater than American ones.

In the “Battle of the Atlantic,” the decisive role also belonged to British troops, who managed to destroy 525 fascist submarines, while the Americans only 174. In the Asia-Pacific direction, the Americans were part of the coalition forces together with Australia and England. In addition, one should not discount China, which diverted more than half of the Japanese army and equipment. And only together these forces were able to deal a crushing blow to Japan, but not the only American troops. And it was the entry of Soviet troops into the war with Japan that became decisive for the beginning of Japan’s surrender.

Thus, the role of America and American military supplies cannot be regarded as dominant.

USA in World War II

Observing events in Europe, the United States did not delude itself about the possibility of maintaining long-term peace in it, but at the same time America, having returned to the old policy of isolationism, did not want to interfere in the development of European affairs. Back in August 1935, Congress approved the American Neutrality Clause, prohibiting the export of US-made weapons to any warring countries. Already in October, the neutral position of the United States was manifested in practice during the seizure of Ethiopia by fascist Italy. After the expiration of the first resolution on neutrality in February 1936, Congress adopted a second similar document, thanks to which the United States found itself aloof from the dramatic events unfolding in Spain, did not interfere with the shameful Munich Agreement of 1938, and did not even participate in the conference in Munich, at which predetermined the separation of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia and its transfer to Germany, although it was President Roosevelt who initiated the meeting of representatives of England, France, Italy, Germany and the USA. At the same time, the US Ambassador to Germany G. Wilson traveled to Prague in August 1938 with the goal of persuading the Czechoslovak government to make concessions to Germany.

However simple people did not remain indifferent to the suffering of others. Moreover, sympathy resulted not only in crowded solidarity rallies. About three thousand American volunteers, who made up the Lincoln Brigade, went to fight for Republican Spain. The great writer Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) also went to the Spanish War as a war correspondent. His military impressions were reflected in the novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (1940). More than half of the American internationalists died in battle. This did not prevent the United States from officially recognizing the dictatorial fascist regime of Franco, which came to power in March 1939 - and just three months earlier, F. D. Roosevelt warned the nation about the danger that threatens democracy due to the strengthening of the fascist position.

The United States justified its position by the neutrality law that came into force in 1937. It was of a compromise nature, taking into account the interests of the national military-industrial complex. Prohibiting the direct supply of weapons and the provision of credits and loans to warring countries, including those engulfed in civil wars, the new law allowed trade in weapons and ammunition with neutral partners, who, in turn, were free to dispose of goods purchased in America.

The annexation of the Sudetenland and the occupation of all of Czechoslovakia by Germany only fueled the imperial ambitions of the Nazis. Italy invaded Albania, Germany laid claim to the northern part of Poland. However, even during this dramatic period, the United States continued to comply with the law of neutrality. Only after the outbreak of World War II, in November 1939, was an amendment made to allow the sale of arms to warring countries, which meant Great Britain and France.

The rapid development of events in Europe, the defeat of France, which capitulated in June 1940, which on the other side of the Atlantic was regarded as a power capable of putting a powerful barrier on the path of fascist expansion, forced America to begin preparations for war: in September, a law on universal conscription was adopted. In the new conditions, the United States decided to increase the supply of American weapons to Great Britain. So, in the summer of 1940 alone, Great Britain received a million rifles, 84 thousand machine guns and 2,500 cannons. In turn, the US military industry was noticeably revived at the expense of British money, and in 1940 America was finally able to reach the level industrial production to the 1929 figures. At the same time, the United States took advantage of the situation to strengthen its own positions. Thus, for the transfer of fifty old naval ships to Great Britain, the United States received the right to lease territory for eight military bases on British-owned islands in the Atlantic Ocean for a period of 99 years. In addition, military supplies further increased Britain's dependence on the United States. In a short time, America managed to create a powerful army numbering 16.5 million people.

In such conditions, in 1940, regular presidential elections, which Roosevelt, who nominated himself, won again. This was against all the rules (a president can only serve two terms in power), but common sense told the Americans not to change the government so early. difficult situation. In addition, Roosevelt acted as an opponent of fascism and as a politician who did not want to plunge America into war. The beginning of Roosevelt's third presidential term was marked by the adoption of the Lend-Lease Act (from English words to lend - “to lend” and to lease - “to lease”), according to which it was allowed to lease or lend weapons to states defending against aggressors. Although the country was constantly fighting against German spies, American ships supplying weapons to Great Britain became the target of attacks by German submarines.

The United States suffered its first military losses on October 17, 1941, when the Nazis practically shot down the American convoy SC-48 400 miles off the coast of Iceland. President Roosevelt said on this occasion: “We wanted to avoid shots, but shots were fired. And history will remember whose shot was first.” As German submarines continued to prey on American ships, Congress passed legislation on November 13, 1941, allowing defenseless American merchant ships to be armed. Every day the US entry into the war became more and more inevitable.

Along with the deterioration of relations with Germany, US relations with Japan continued to deteriorate. In July 1937, the Japanese army invaded China. Since war was not formally declared and China was not considered a belligerent country, the United States began to supply it with weapons, wanting to prevent the strengthening of the Japanese and their entry into Indochina and Indonesia, which were considered an area of ​​American strategic interests. However, some American firms were engaged in supplying strategic goods to Japan, and ceased this activity only after such transactions were legally prohibited by Congress in January 1938 until Japan withdrew its troops from China. The American government's refusal to recognize Japan's conquests in China led to a breakdown in trade and financial relations between the two countries.

Further actions of the Japanese provoked the US entry into World War II. At dawn on December 7, 1941, the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, located in the Hawaiian Islands, was subjected to massive bombardment by Japanese aircraft launched from six aircraft carriers approximately 300 miles from the target. The air raid on Sunday morning came as a complete surprise to the Americans at the base. The base's radars detected the approach large quantity aircraft, but the officers on duty mistook them for American bombers that were supposed to be transferred to the base from Wake Island. The alarm was announced only at 7:58 a.m., when enemy planes entered the line of sight. Already at 8 o'clock two large US warships were destroyed. The hardest hit ship was the Arizona, with 1,103 of its 1,400 crew killed. Japanese bombers bombarded the American base for two hours, virtually destroying the main US naval forces in the Pacific. They were assisted by a squadron of small submarines. In two hours, 2,377 military personnel and 70 civilians were killed, and 1,143 people were injured. The Japanese disabled 15 US ships and 347 aircraft. At 9:45 a.m. the Japanese planes set off on their return journey. 29 vehicles and 6 submarines did not return, but the Japanese had every reason to believe that they had won a victory that would not allow the United States to interfere with Japan’s actions in the Pacific.

On December 8, the indignant Senate unanimously approved the president's decision to declare war on the aggressor. The House of Representatives also voted in favor of this decision, with only pacifist Representative Janet Rankin from Montana speaking out. Ordinary Americans were also indignant. In addition to mass anti-Japanese protests in the country, there were cases of leavened American patriotism: someone expressed his anger by cutting down four Japanese cherries and was arrested for disturbing public order. This is how the United States entered World War II. The war with Japan also meant war with its ally Germany: on December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. The Congress that met on the same day confirmed the country's intention to fight the Nazis. In June 1942, the United States declared war on Hitler’s satellites - Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the American government feared the possibility of a Japanese landing on the US Pacific coast. Therefore, unprecedented precautions were taken. In particular, Japanese Americans living on the coast, who could potentially become accomplices of the aggressor, were forcibly relocated to guarded camps set up in the interior regions of the country, for example, in the states of Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. In 1942, 110 thousand people ended up in the camps, and “Japanese” included those who were born in America into families of Japanese emigrants, and even those who had at least one great-grandfather or great-grandmother who were Japanese. However, the American Japanese were eager to prove their loyalty to the United States and achieved the formation of special military units who have proven themselves with the most the best side during hostilities. The most famous Japanese American unit was the 442nd Regimental Task Force, which distinguished itself in Europe.

Fortunately for the United States, Japan never attempted to land troops on the American Pacific coast. Only on February 23, 1942, the Californian city of Santa Barbara was fired upon by a Japanese submarine under the command of Kaizo Nishino. However, the Americans found a way to ridicule the samurai’s “feat.” The former captain of a Japanese tanker allegedly carried out an act of personal revenge on California: a few years before the war, he visited Saita Barbara, where, through negligence, he managed to fall on a prickly cactus. So the daring bombing was attributed to the desire of the unlucky Japanese to take revenge on the local thorns.

The Japanese hoped that the attack on Pearl Harbor would bleed the American navy, but the United States managed to restore its naval forces in the shortest possible time. In June 1942, the American and Japanese fleets fought at the Battle of Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean. Aircraft carriers also took part in it, so it became the first battle in history, the outcome of which was decided simultaneously at sea and in the air. As a result, US bombers destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers that took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor. During the battle, the plane carrying Admiral Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese fleet, was also shot down.

The Americans managed to seriously batter the enemy forces and put an end to the threat of a Japanese landing on the US Pacific coast, but victory over Japan was still far away, and operations such as the bombing of Tokyo on April 18, 1942, were rather frightening in nature.

At the beginning of the war, Japan invaded the Philippine Islands and defeated the 75,000-strong US military contingent, the remnants of which were transferred to Australia, where they joined the international corps of allied forces, under the command of General MacArthur, who had evacuated from the Philippines. The task of this unit was to land troops to the Pacific islands captured by the Japanese in order to gradually force the aggressor to leave them. This took three years of fierce battles. On October 25, 1944, the Americans recaptured the Philippines. In fact, this meant a decisive turning point in the course of hostilities in favor of the Americans. By the beginning of 1945, of all the occupied territories, the Japanese only had Manchuria left.

For Americans Second World War began primarily as the War in the Pacific. The nation was again lucky, as not a single battle took place on American soil. At the same time, participation in the war required the introduction of rationed distribution of some strategic materials and food. In May 1942, coupons were first introduced in the country. Thus, a US citizen was entitled to one pound of sugar for two weeks, and a car owner could buy 25–30 gallons of gasoline per month. At the same time, everything that was sold with coupons could be purchased in unlimited quantities at commercial prices.

Entering into the war against the fascist bloc forced the US government to reconsider relations with the USSR. After the failure of Plan Barbarossa, the German armies were firmly stuck in Russia. The Western world received a respite, since the Nazis did not have the strength to begin the simultaneous conquest of Great Britain. Americans viewed events in our country differently. Of course, there were many who, putting aside ideological prejudices, sincerely sympathized with the misfortune that befell our people, but many viewed the Nazi invasion of the USSR as the beginning of the end of the communist regime and joyfully rubbed their hands, believing that after the fall of the Soviet Union it would be possible to calmly reach an agreement with Germany about the division of the world. There were pragmatists who saw a war between Germany and the USSR as a means to weaken both opponents, from which America would benefit. This point of view, in particular, was shared by Senator Harry Truman (1884–1972), the post-war President of the United States; F. D. Roosevelt judged differently. The defeat of the USSR was not in the interests of the United States, since it would incredibly strengthen the positions of Germany and Japan. Therefore, already on June 24, 1941, on the third day after the Nazi attack on the USSR, Roosevelt announced the United States’ readiness to provide assistance to the country that had become a victim of aggression. Indeed, in November 1941, the Lend-Lease law was extended to the USSR.

Our country will always remember the military-technical support provided to it by the United States, the 19 thousand aircraft that flew to the USSR via the air bridge across the Pacific Ocean, and the sea convoys that delivered 11 thousand tanks and many other types of weapons, as well as cars. Soviet Union also received 2 thousand tons of grain from America. Our army ate American canned meat - these cans of stew were jokingly called the “second front”. Part of the cargo intended for the USSR was delivered across the Atlantic Ocean to Great Britain, and from there sea transport convoys were sent to Murmansk. Their courageous participants were constantly attacked by German submarines and bombers. Supplies to the USSR accounted for only 22 percent of the total Lend-Lease supplies carried out by the United States. In turn, the warring Soviet Union supplied raw materials to the USA and Great Britain.

The military cooperation of the USA, Great Britain and the USSR took shape in the anti-Hitler coalition. In June 1942, a Soviet-American agreement was signed on the principles of mutual assistance in waging war against aggressors. During the negotiations, an agreement was reached to open a second front in Europe. However, the Americans were in no hurry to fulfill their promises. Not only because they sought to further weaken Germany and the USSR, but also because their interests required efforts in other theaters of military operations. For them, the main thing remained the fighting in the Pacific Ocean and the support of Great Britain. At the height of the Battle of Stalingrad, they announced that they were not ready to begin hostilities in Europe, and in November 1942, together with British troops, the Americans landed in North Africa.

The Joint Council of Chiefs of Staff of the United States and Britain, created in Washington, adopted a pro-British plan of military action, which consisted of clearing North Africa of the German and Italian troops that occupied it. Italy occupied British Somalia in August 1940 and attempted to invade Egypt, but by May 1941 the British under General Archibald Whewell (1883–1950) had retaken Somalia. Meanwhile, the need to deploy troops in the Middle East (Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria), especially urgent after the loss of positions in Greece, weakened Britain's African group of forces. The situation in North Africa became more complicated after the fascist group in Libya was strengthened by the Germans in February 1941 and led by General Erwin Rommel. In January 1942, the Nazis began to actively advance towards the Suez Canal. During the bloody battles, the British lost half of the tanks at their disposal and were able to stop Rommel’s troops only by the end of June, when the fascist group was surrounded near El Alamein.

When, in November 1942, an Anglo-American landing force landed in Algeria to join the British army in East Africa, Rommel’s group lost the battle for Tunisia, which was decisive for the course of the African campaign, and on May 13, 1943, admitted itself defeated. Having gained a foothold in northern Africa, the British and Americans found a springboard for the invasion of Italy. Already on July 10, they landed troops on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, which became the prologue to their successful military operations on the Apennine Peninsula. The danger of war on their own territory prompted the Italians to take decisive action. Mussolini was removed from power, and the new Italian government led by Marshal Badoglio negotiated surrender. However, despite the surrender announced in September 1943, fighting in Italy continued until June 1944, since the Nazis, who were trying to support Mussolini, managed to occupy a significant part of Italy. Since the spring of 1944, Allied aviation began to conduct massive air raids on German territory.

During the Second World War, the allies - members of the Anglo-Soviet-American anti-Hitler coalition - maintained constant contacts. The leaders of the three countries met at the Tehran (1943) and Crimean (Yalta) (1945) conferences. However, the second front, promised at the beginning of 1942, actually opened only when the territory of the USSR was almost completely liberated from the invaders. During this period, the final victory of the USSR in the war was no longer in doubt, but the opening of a second front certainly brought the end of the war closer.

For two years, the United States and Great Britain developed a plan for the invasion of France - Operation Overlord. Its development was led by the Chief of Staff of the American Army, General George Marshall (1880–1959). In the spring of 1944, American General D. Eisenhower, appointed commander of the American army in Europe, was tasked with preparing the most powerful landing in the history of all wars in Northern France. The beginning of the Normandy operation marked the opening of the long-awaited second front. However, this did not happen in May, as planned, but only on June 6, which went down in history as “D-Day,” which in military jargon means the day on which the military operation. The Normandy operation involved 1,200 warships, 10,000 aircraft, 804 transport ships and 4,126 landing craft, transporting a total of 156,000 people across the English Channel. 132,500 paratroopers were delivered by sea, the rest by air. The majority of the invasion force - 83 thousand people - were British and Canadians, 73 thousand were Americans. The Allies enjoyed undivided air supremacy. Their aircraft constantly bombed crossings across the Seine and Loire, preventing reinforcements from approaching the defending Nazis.

Ground battles turned out to be fierce and bloody. Assuming the possibility of landing troops in Western Europe, the Nazis kept 59 divisions along the coast, i.e., each division was entrusted with the defense of a 50-kilometer section of the coast. Approximately half of the German divisions were mobile, and the troops who landed had a hard time. Nevertheless, in the first day of fighting they captured five coastal bridgeheads. At the same time, Caen, which was planned to be taken on the first day of the Normandy operation, was released only by July 9.

In July, the Allies quickly crossed Northern France and immediately entered Belgium, but in the fall the pace of the offensive came to naught - as they approached the borders of Germany, the Nazi resistance increased. At the beginning of winter they launched a desperate counter-offensive on the Western Front (December 16, 1944 - January 16, 1945). The position of the Anglo-American troops stabilized when, at the request of British Prime Minister W. Churchill, in January, earlier than planned, Soviet army went on the offensive along the entire length of the 1200-kilometer Eastern Front. This operation allowed the Allies not only to level the situation on the Western Front, but also to go on the offensive in March, breaking the so-called “Siegfried Line” - a defensive line on western border Germany, created back in the 1930s. Advancing towards Berlin, the Americans reached the banks of the Elbe, where on April 25, 1945, near the city of Torgau, the 1st Army of General Hodges met with the troops of the First Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal Konev, who had reached the river from the east.

May 7, 1945 turned out to be “V-E day” for the Americans and the British - the day of victory in Europe (V - shortened victory - “victory”, E - Europe - Europe) - Eisenhower accepted the surrender of German troops in Western Europe, but this document The complete and unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed on the night of May 8-9 in the town of Karlshorst in the vicinity of Berlin.

US losses in the war amounted to 400 thousand people.

President Roosevelt, who won the election for the fourth time in 1944 and thus remained the permanent head of state during all these difficult years, did not live to see the victory: he died on April 12, 1945. Harry Truman, vice president of the Roosevelt government, became the 32nd president of the United States.

At the Potsdam Conference, which met on August 2, 1945, the leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition set themselves the task of forcing Japan to surrender. The adopted appeal to the Japanese government proposed unconditional surrender. Because the Japanese ignored this demand, the epicenter of World War II shifted to Far East, where the allies had to destroy the last enemy.

Having transferred some of its divisions to the east, the USSR continued the war in Manchuria, victoriously fighting side by side with the People's Liberation Army of China. The United States and other allied countries began massive bombing of Japan, forcing its leadership to admit their military defeat. However, when the outcome of the war was already completely decided, the United States decided to test the newly created atomic bomb in Japan. This was infinitely cruel to the population of Japan, but, from the point of view of American politicians, it was necessary to establish the exceptional position of the United States in the post-war world.

The first act of the atomic tragedy took place on August 6, 1945. The bomber, named Enola Gay after the mother of its crew commander, dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. 80 percent of the city's buildings were wiped off the face of the earth, not a single building remained intact (the least damaged was the so-called "Atomic House", which still stands in ruins as the main part of the memorial to the victims atomic bombing). 70 thousand people burned in the flames of an atomic fire. However, this figure is controversial; some sources claim that instant death overtook up to 240 thousand people. Hundreds of thousands more were injured and exposed to extreme doses of radiation. On August 9, the second American atomic bomb wiped out Nagasaki, where 35 thousand people were killed, 60 thousand were injured and suffered radiation sickness, and another 5 thousand were missing. On September 2, 1945, Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender, marking the end of World War II.