World War II Chronicles

On the heels of the Allied victory in Tunisia, British Prime Minister arrived in Washington on May 12, 1943 for a meeting with President Roosevelt known as the Trident Conference. The Allies' position in the war had changed dramatically since Churchill had visited Washington in December of 1941. He made reference to the Allies' long struggle in an address to a joint session of Congress during his visit. The relationship between the Allies had altered significantly, and the US became the leading partner.

In Tunisia, the Allies had severely weaked the Axis in series of battles since February 26, 1943. By the last week in March, they were preparing for the final offensive. On April 7, U.S. forces in the in east and the British Eight Army in the west coverged to form an unbroken line of Allied forces. The Americans captured Bizerte on May 7, and by May 13 had achieved victory in North Africa.

Following the invasion of Poland in 1939, Jews living in Warsaw were forced into a walled ghetto. By July 1942, thousands were being deported to the Treblinka death camp. When the tragic news reached the Warsaw ghetto, the remaining Jews revolted. On April 19, 1943, SS troops were ordered to put down the Warsaw ghetto resistance. After four days of fighting, the entire area was destroyed, but the resistance continued for almost a month. It was May 16th before the Germans could announce that the Warsaw ghetto was no longer in existence. Though thousands of Jews had been killed, many had escaped to carry on the resistance.

After the retreat from Guadalcanal, Japanese commander Admiral Yamamoto -- the chief architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor -- sought to shore up his defenses. He staged a massive series of air strikes at Guadalcanal and New Guinea. Yamamoto mistakingly believed these raids to be successful. However, in early April 1943, U.S. intelligence intercepted information regarding Yamamoto's itinerary. On April 18, a squadron of P-38s intercepted Yamamoto's plane in the South Pacific. In additional to losing their greatest military strategist, Japanese morale suffered terribly when the announcement was finally made in May.

During the Spring of 1943, tensions between the Soviet Union and the Western Allies were easening. However, recent news about the disappearance of Polish soldiers in the USSR did not work to smooth this alliance. In what came to be known as the Katyn Massacre, the bodies of thousands of Polish soldiers who had been shot in the head were found in eight communal graves in the Katyn Forest. Medical evidence proved that the Poles had been killed in 1940 by the Soviets. However, the truth was not revealed for almost fifty years.

The relationship between labor and business was key to the American war effort. Yet despite patriotic efforts to maintain work, strikes continued. By 1943, workers resorted to the picket line again. Coal Miners caused most of the labor troubles in 1943. In late April, 3,000 coal mines were closed across the country, and the government eventually seized the mines.

Yugoslavia had ostensbily surrendered to Germany in April 1941. However, two years later, a Yugoslavian resistance was being led by a partisan who went by the name of "Tito." He soon received help from both the Soviets and the Western Allies. In Spring 1943, British and American supplied were flown in to aid the Yugoslav guerillas and contribute to the Yugoslavian resistance.

The ever-increasing number of German U-boats in the Atlantic were taking their toll on Allied forces. Since the U.S. had entered the war, Allied shipping losses in the Atlantic continued to grow. By the end of March, the Allies had lost over 80 vessels. The struggle wore on as more U-boats entered the Atlantic everyday.

Since March 1941, President Roosevelt had the power to sell, transport, exchange, lease, or lend military equipment, known as the Lend-Lease Act. By February of 1943, the United States had committed $10 billion in aid to nations fighting the Axis Powers. During the Second World War, 44 nations receieved Lend-Lease aid, totaling more than $50 billion. Following the war, Lend-Lease evolved into foreign aid, and eventually the Marshall Plan to help nations rebuild after the war.

In the Spring of 1943, Germany was subject to around the clock bombing raids from American planes by day, and RAF squadrons by night. On March 5 and 6, Allied bombers launched their first air offensive called The Battle of the Ruhr.