Us Involvement In Ww2

U.S. Involvement in European Conflict In the year 1939 when World War II broke out, President Roosevelt was quick to declare the United States a neutral party in the conflict. He felt this best for our nation, as did the American citizens. We wished to avoid all foreign entanglements. On December 7th, 1941 the public outlook changed with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Soon after, Germany declared war on our nation. Through the use of propaganda, videos and posters alike, the U.S. government soon had the American people backing the war effort. We soon saw and understood that Germany had to be stopped. The United States was by no means the soul contributor to the downfall of Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany, but without our

The staple of their war effort originated in the Lend-Lease Program. Instated by President Roosevelt in 1941, this act supplied Britain with a quarter of their munitions and Russia with just over a tenth of theirs. These goods were not seen as credits or loans, rather given freely to the nations fighting against the Axis powers in the interest of national defense (Dear 677). This secured a staging ground for all attacks on Southern Europe. During the war in Northern Africa, the Lend-Lease Act provided General Montgomery with nearly 700 tanks, weighing the battles in his favor and aiding in securing his victory against Rommel and the Afrika Corps (Dupuy 21). This program not only supplied countries with munitions and vehicles, but also with food. One-tenth of Americas entire crop yield was spent on supporting Britain while they were being cut off by German U-Boats. Also, at this time, nearly two thirds of all oil production used by the Allies came from wells in Texas and California. This was yet another vital component of the war against the Nazis and was also supplied through the Lend-Lease Act. This policy was a key component in the Allied victory and, without it, Britain and Russia would have surely fallen to the Axis Powers early in the

The U.S. produced 325,000 aircraft while involved in the war; 87,000 tanks; 315,000 artillery pieces; 2.5 million trucks; and 5,200 merchant vessels (Liberty Ships) to supply the war effort from across the Atlantic. Furthermore, we produced more than %50 of all armaments used against Germany and Italy during WWII. All of this, however, was still not enough. Secretary of War, Henry Stimpson, said that "we cannot permanently be in the position of toolmakers for other nations fight." We needed also to provide men and command (Dear 679). America sent upwards of 16 million men into WWII, losing only 2 million. People may say that Russia contributed so much more to the sheer numbers on the field against Germany which may be true, but, with superior leadership, we made our troops count for more. We had amazing mobility. This allowed us to move our troops from one battlefront to another depending on where the battle was. For example, the Big Red One fought in North Africa and was dominated by the Germans at the Battle of Kasserine Pass (Parker 323). Although the units were in shambles, they were able to regroup and quickly move on to Sicily, Italy, and Normandy. We also fought decisive battles. We wasted no manpower. Every soldier was used to his full extent. For example, Omaha and Utah Beach, where we