World War II Chronicles

The United States was fearful of Axis terrorism, which the government and citizens alike feared could "disrupt our industries, destroy our morale, and damage the impact of our fighting armies." There came a close call when German spies landed in U-Boats on Long Island, but their leader, George Dasch, turned himself and his fellow spies in. However, Americans remained wary of more attacks on the home front.

Perhaps the most difficult commodity that become subject to rationing was meat. Beef became quite scarce in American homes, and alternatives such as horse, rabbit, and muskrat meat were used. Americans were even encouraged to cook meatless meals.

By 1942, Japan had conquered nearly all of Burma, through which China had been receiving supplies from the United States. To keep China in the war, the US used air transport to supply China. At first, the flight was dubbed the "Aluminum Trail," due to the 400+ downed planes that littered the path.

One third of the Hollywood—about 7,000 individuals—joined the US military to aid in the war effort. Some of the biggest names to enlist included Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable. Most of this workforce was dedicated to making war films.

When the Nazis attacked the Soviet city of Kursk, they intended to cut off the Soviet Union's economic supply lines rather than its army. However, the Soviets lost less men than the Nazis anticipated, and the culmination of this battle led to a turning point in the war on the Eastern Front.

As early as May 1942, Erwin Rommel's Africa Corps rolled onto the offensive, defeating the British in the Battle of the Cauldron. Rommel's troops went on to take Tobruk in Libya, an act so impressive that Rommel was promoted to Field Marshal. Unsatisfied, Rommel continued to Egypt, where the Axis overtook the seaport Mersa Matruh

On June 18, 1942, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt met in Washington, DC, to discuss the possibility of opening a second front for the war in Europe, although what a second front constituted remained under debate. At this meeting, the then-little-known General Dwight D. Eisenhower became the the commander of the Allied forces in Europe.

On June 16th, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Office of War Information to fight the propaganda war on the home front and the war front. The OWI produced advertisements, surveys, films, and radio programs until 1945, when President Truman disbanded the OWI and transferred its responsibilities to the US Information Agency.

After the bombing of Tokyo, Japan was eager to attack the US Navy base in the Midway Islands. Instead, because US codebreakers broke the Japanese naval code JN-25b, three US aircraft carriers were waiting for the Japanese planes. While the United States lost an aircraft carrier and a destroyer, Japanese losses were far greater, and the Battle of Midway came to be known as the turning point for Americans fighting in the Pacific Theater.

For the first time in the war, more than 1,000 bombers took part on a single raid. On the night of May 30th 1942, "Operation Millennium" commenced, and the Royal Air Force dropped almost 1,500 tons of bombs on the city of Cologne.