America in World War 2

WW2 started in September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland, America remained neutral until the attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack was preformed by the Japanese navy on Sunday, December 7, 1941. By attacking America's Pacific Fleet, the Japanese provoked the Americans to join the war.  America joined the Allies, while Japan was a member of the Axis powers.

 Pearl Harbor

On the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, 353 Japanesese fighter planes approached Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Americans were like sitting ducks, and Japan destroyed 4 American battleships, 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, one minelayer, 188 aircraft, and killed 2,402 people and injured 1,282. This was a large blow to the American navy. American ships only managed to destroy 29 Japanese aircraft and 5 submarines.  One day after the battle, the United States then declared war on Japan. and on December 11, 1941, Nazi Germany declared war on the United States of America.

 On the day that Nazi Germany declared war on the United States, president Franklin Rosevelt signed a document called the Lend-Lease Act, which allowed U.S weapons to be sent to other Allied powers. This told the rest of the Allied powers that the United States cared about all of the other countrys in the war.

 The Plan

  The Allies wanted to attack Germany before they attacked any other Axis powers because the other countrys did not threaten the Allies as much as Germany did. After Germany, then Japan would be the top priority. Britain was one of the main fighters, and they needed many weapons. America supplied them with many weapons and set up more factorys to make guns and bombs. Due to the distance the United States was from all of the other Allied countrys, it was hard for America to transport troops and weapons to the battle grounds. The Great Depression slowed America down even more because the economy was crashing.

Operation Overlord

 Many countries were very heavily guarded by the Germans, so it was hard for the Allies to penatrate into Europe and take back citys and countrys. Then America and their allies went to Africa and taking the land there. After this, one of the most famous operations in the war took place. Operation Overlord, or D-day as most people call it, took place on June 6, 1944. The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the French who escaped when Nazi Germany took over France. These troops landed in 5 sectors, and they are: Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Gold Beach, Juno Beach and Sword Beach. Each member of the attack had a special role to play. The map below shows what roles each country played.

 As you can see, the United States contributed a lot of men in this battle. Canada had only 1 division, but the United Kingdom gave needed support to the American divisions. Some of the divisions in the battle are:

 6th Airborne division: went into battle by parachute and glider to protect the west flank. consisted of 7,900 men.

 79th Armoured division: cleared mines, recovered mines and assault tanks. Went all around the beaches to get rid of traps.

1st Infantry division: made up at least 34,250 troops that landed on Omaha Beach

82nd Airborne division: were dropped by airplane with a parachute; protected the right flank.

The Allies won this battle, and they sought to deliver a even more major blow to the Axis powers. America started to caonstruct a bomb. in a program called the Manhatten Project. Msny American scientists came together to construct a nuclear weapon to destroy the Axis powers. This began when America and other Allied countrys thought that Nazi Germany was devoloping an atomic program, so they created one to fight back if Germany was to use it. But when Germany never dropped the bomb, America went and bombed Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima was code-named Little-Boy, but it packed a larger than life punch! When Hiroshima was bombed, America asked if Japan if they would surrender. Japn refused, and America dropped a Fat-Boy nuclear bomb on Nagasaki. This forced Japan to submit, and America won the war against Japan, and other Allied countrys destroyed Germany. The battle was won. the Allies won WW2.

 Why is a nuke so devastating? Answer= atoms that split create a lot of energy in the form of heat and radiation.

The UN does not want America to make any more nuclear bombs due to the devastating power of the bomb.  

This is a WW2 nuclear bomber, simaler to the ones that dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Advanced at the time, but we now have very fast and more efficient bombers.

After the atomic bomb was dropped, there was still Germany to deal with. America raided Germany and freed many Jews and other prisoners from Death Camps or Concentration Camps. They let the prisoners eat, but sadly, some of the prisoners died because their stomachs exploded. They exploded because they did not eat enough at the camps, and so much food made their stomachs rupture.