Summary
Chapter 12 focuses on the last years of the Second World War, 1943 to 1945. In Europe, the Allied landings on North Africa, Sicily, and Italy in 1942 and 1943 served as preludes to D-Day on June 6, 1944. This invasion of Normandy was the largest amphibious assault in history as well as one of the greatest gambles. Subsequent operations to defeat German ground forces took another eleven months, including the massive Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. On the other side of world, two irresistible offensive campaigns continued in the Central Pacific under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and in the Southwest Pacific under General Douglas MacArthur. These would eventually bring American forces to the shores of the Japanese home islands by the summer of 1945. Combined arms operations using air, ground, or naval assets characterized American fighting in the Pacific and Europe.
Throughout the Second World War, the new doctrines and technologies so hotly debated in the 1920s and 1930s were validated or altered to help achieve victory. Armor tactics, amphibious operations, and strategic bombing stand as representative case studies. The last of these included the most striking application of air power doctrine – the atomic bomb.
In this chapter, students will learn about how the United States put interwar doctrines and weapons systems to the test in wartime operations. It will trace the two-pronged American strategy in the Pacific during 1943-1944. The importance of how the United States won the logistics war against the Axis Powers is discussed. In European Theater discussions, the planning and execution of Operation OVERLORD is highlighted, while the bloody battles on Iwo Jim and Okinawa will be discussed for the Pacific Theater. Last, this chapter will examine the practical, strategic, and ethical factors in using the Atomic Bombs.
Glossary
Arnold, Henry H. “Hap”- (1886-1950), U.S. Army general, commander of the Army Air Force during World War II, and a man possessed of considerable affability, hence his nickname “Hap,” which was short for “happy.” He is considered the father of the modern Army Air Force, since under him the air arm grew from 150,000 in 1941 with antiquated aircraft, to nearly 2.4 million men in 1944 with modern equipment.
“Atlantic Wall”- Nazi Germany’s line of coastal defenses during World War II that stretched from the Netherlands south to Spain. A formidable obstacle, by mid-1944 the Germany Army in northwestern France totaled 50 divisions of more than 600,000 men.
B-17 “Flying Fortress”- American heavy bomber developed by Boeing and used during World War II. Most predominately used in the European theater, it was the backbone of the U.S. Army Air Force’s effort to target Nazi Germany’s war-making capabilities and infrastructure. An impressively rugged aircraft, it was known for bringing its eleven-man crew back from missions after suffering impossibly heavy damage.
B-24 “Liberator”- American heavy bomber designed by Consolidated Aircraft, flown extensively throughout the world in multiple theaters by American armed forces as well as Allied militaries. Although better in many categories compared to the Flying Fortress, the B-17’s ruggedness still places the B-24 in the shadows of popular memory. A decorated and impressive service record for the B-24 during WWII is topped by the 12 June 1943 raid on the German oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania.
B-29 “Superfortress”- High-flying American heavy bomber designed by Boeing and used during World War II and the Korean War. Used mostly in the Pacific Theater where its ample range was needed most, the Superfortress boasted a pressurized fuselage, allowing it to fly at higher altitudes, avoiding anti-aircraft and enemy aircraft. Superfortresses delivered the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“Big Week”- An Allied air offensive during World War II, codenamed Operation ARGUMENT, where some 3,000 bombers of the U.S. 8th Air Force and 500 from the 15th Air Force hit German aircraft factories and other strategic targets. From 20-25 February 1944 the Americans lost 250 bombers shot down or disabled, but the enemy more acutely felt the loss of at least 100 experienced fighter pilots and 350 German fighters downed.
“Black Thursday”- The 14 October 1943 U.S. Army Air Force bombing raid on ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt, Germany. On a single day the USAAF experienced their highest loss rate of any single mission with 60 B-17s shot down out of the 251 aircraft that participated. With each B-17 carrying a crew of ten, 650 men were killed, wounded, or captured.
Bradley, Omar N.- (1893-1981), U.S. Army general officer during World War II in North Africa and Europe, known for his unpretentious bearing and highly popular status among soldiers. The last Army officer to hold the rank of five star general.
Broad front strategy- General Dwight Eisenhower’s, Supreme Allied Commander during World War II, decision after the success of Operation OVERLORD to advance into Germany on a broad front instead of what he perceived as a risky singular thrust. A controversial decision, critics such as Bernard Montgomery favored a quick drive into Germany all the way to Berlin, ending the war as soon as possible.
Bulge, Battle of the- The German offensive Operation Wacht am Rhein (Watch on the Rhine) from 16 December 1944 to 15 January 1945. The battle was the German’s last desperate attempt to halt the Allied advances. German forces opened a seventy-mile bulge in the U.S. lines while American units made a stand in the town of Bastogne. By the New Year U.S. forces recovered from the initial blow and steadily drove the enemy back.
Casablanca Conference- January 1943 meeting between U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Morocco. During the conference they authorized the feasibility study for an amphibious operation across the English Channel. Additionally, the two leaders agreed on the Allied policy of “unconditional surrender” as their grand strategic objective for the war, requiring the Allies to militarily defeat Germany and Japan to establish a post-war settlement.
Close air support- Distinct from strategic bombing, close air support is the use of aircraft in a coordinated way with the ground forces, providing suppressive fire or destroying specific targets.
DOWNFALL, Operation- The planned American invasion of the Japanese home islands during World War II. Using the casualty rates on Okinawa and Iwo Jima as predictors of what to expect on the home islands. The Americans decided to cancel the operation, fearing 130,000 casualties in the initial invasion itself. Instead, President Harry Truman ordered the use of the atomic bombs to end the war.
Eisenhower, Dwight D.- (1890-1969), U.S. Army general officer during World War II and acting supreme commander of Allied forces. Elected president in 1953, Eisenhower served two terms, ending in 1961, warning in his farewell address about the perils of the military-industrial complex.
Enola Gay- The B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 during World War II. Piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, he named the aircraft after his mother. Although the atomic bomb did not end the war immediately, the additional dropping of another bomb three days later convinced the Japanese to surrender.
Falaise Pocket, Battle of- (August 12-21, 1944), World War II battle between Allied forces and German troops near the French city of Falaise. While Canadians attacked south from near Caen, the Americans drove north, tightening the noose on two German Panzer armies. Even though 100,000 of the enemy escaped the trap, the Allies inflicted 10,000 killed in action and captured 40,000 more. As a result, the Allies threw back Germans east of the Seine River and liberated Paris from enemy occupation.
Halsey, William- (1882-1959), U.S. navy admiral, tellingly nicknamed “Bull,” his aggressiveness was a hallmark of his command during World War II. He was made commander of South Pacific Forces in October 1942 during the crucial Guadalcanal Campaign when his leadership was instrumental in American victory. In September 1944 Halsey became the head of Third Fleet, the force he led away from the landing at Leyte when he fell victim to a Japanese ploy to lure him out to sea.
Hedgerows- Earthen embankments in the Normandy, France region, several feet tall and several feet wide at their base that divide fields and line roadways and are covered with nearly impenetrable tangled vegetation. During Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of France in June 1944, hedgerows provided excellent opportunities for enemy direct and indirect artillery and machine gun fire, while also concealing enemy positions from the air and limiting the Allied soldiers’ ability to maneuver.
Hollandia- The largest and most critical Japanese bases on New Guinea during World War II. It fell quickly to the American amphibious assault forces with minimal losses on 22 April 1944.
Hirohito, Emperor- (1901-1989), Japanese emperor during World War II. After the Americans dropped two atomic bombs – 6 August 1945 on Hiroshima and 9 August on Nagasaki – Hirohito understood Japan’s continued war effort to be certainly futile. On 15 August 1945, despite pressure from inside the army to keep fighting, he announced his decision to surrender to the Allies in the best interest of preserving the Japanese nation and culture.
Hitler, Adolf- (1889-1945), The leader of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. After taking power as chancellor he became dictator with the start of Nazi Germany one year later, a regime that espoused a fascist political philosophy, embracing anti-Semitism, anti-communism, and racial hatred. After realizing his defeat was certain, he took his own life on 30 April 1945 in his Berlin underground bunker.
Island-hopping strategy- A U.S. Navy technique during World War II. A multi-phase strategy, it can best be described using three generic Japanese bases: Island A, Island B, and Island C. American aircraft would destroy enemy naval and aviation assets near Island A, allowing Marines to conduct amphibious assault operations against the island, securing it from the Japanese. Then, Island A became a jumping-off point for attacks on Island B, which would then support operations against Island C.
Kurita, Takeo- (1889-1977) World War II Imperial Japanese Navy vice admiral, commander of the center force of the Japanese fleet at the Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 23-26, 1944), including the superbattleships Yamato and Musashi. Due to audacious American attacks against his center force, Kurita withdrew his ships. Otherwise Kurita could have affected the American’s strategic effort by destroying General Douglas MacArthur’s supply ships and then bombarded the U.S. troops on Leyte.
Leapfrogging strategy- American strategy during World War II in the Pacific Theater whereby U.S. forces skipped over certain islands. While the first phase resembled the island-hopping strategy of assaulting and taking an island as a staging point for future operations, the second phase involved American aircraft destroying all enemy air and naval assets near the next island but not using ground forces against it. Without aerial or naval capabilities the enemy there posed no threat to American forces.
Leyte Gulf, Battle of- A World War II naval battle, the largest in the world’s history, between the United States and the Japanese Navy from October 24-24, 1944. The Japanese assembled the remnants of their surface fleet in an attempt to destroy the American landing at the Filipino island of Leyte including their twin super-battleships Yamato and Musashi. However, due to Japanese cautiousness, along with a spirited defense from the outnumbered and outgunned Americans, the Japanese withdrew away from the battle area.
Logistics- A military’s administration, procurement, maintenance, transportation, and storage of supplies and equipment, as well as the housing and transportation of personnel and the evacuation and hospitalization of casualties.
MacArthur, Douglas- One of the most controversial U.S. Army officers of the twentieth-century. Known for his superlative egotism, MacArthur’s prestige, ability to appropriate credit where it was due others, and later wartime exploits contributed to his avoiding Congressional investigations like those after Pearl Harbor. MacArthur commanded the Southwest Pacific Theater during World War II that stretched from New Guinea to the Philippines.
Manhattan Project- The codename for the secret development of the atomic bombs that the United States dropped on Japan in August 1945. Run by the United States, along with assistance from Great Britain, it began in 1942 with multiple locations across North America participating. President Harry S. Truman was not even informed of it in his role as vice president until the death of Franklin Roosevelt moved him into the presidency.
MARKET GARDEN, Operation- A World War II Allied operation designed by British Field Marshal Montgomery from September 17-25, 1944. Montgomery planned a singular thrust that would open a bridgehead across the Rhine River. Boasting the largest airborne operation in history, 30,000 paratroopers would hold three bridges, while British units fought to relieve them and move to the next bridge. But, these British units failed to reach the third bridge.
Nagasaki- The target of the second atomic bomb dropped, nicknamed “Fat Man,” by the United States on August 9, 1945. Of the 270,000 Japanese civilians who lived in the city at the time of the explosion, the blast killed 35,000 and injured 50,000. Over the coming decades several hundred thousand more succumbed to complications caused by radiation from the bomb. Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender six days later on 15 August.
New Guinea, Campaign for- One of the fiercest and most enduring campaigns of World War II, fought by Australian and American forces in the Southwest Pacific Theater, along with the help of indigenous Papuans and New Guineans. The Australian colony of Papua and the mandated territory of New Guinea were important strategic points during the war, and when Japanese troops landed on 8 March 1942, they threatened Australia and important shipping lanes.
Nimitz, Chester W.- (1885-1966), U.S. Navy admiral during World War II, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. He controlled not just all naval assets, but all Allied air and land forces in the theater. Nimitz was responsible for planning and point Battle of Midway in 1942, along with the offensive against Guadalcanal in 1942. In 1944 Nimitz’s forces assisted General Douglas MacArthur in the Southwest Pacific Theater with the Philippines Campaigns.
OVERLORD, Operation- The code name for the Allied invasion of France during World War II, beginning on “D-Day,” 6 June 1944, and lasting until 25 August. An unwieldy German command structure, convincing deception efforts, Hitler’s sleeping habits, and the Führer’s intransigence regarding committing armored reserves allowed the Allies to gain a foothold and push inland.
Okinawa, Battle of- A World War II battle that ended in an American victory. Only 400 miles southwest of the home islands, Okinawa was part of Japan – an attack on that island constituted an attack on the nation itself. The Japanese fought tenaciously from 1 April to 22 June 1945. Along with the 100,000 Japanese combatants who died, some 82 days of combat operations saw 183,000 Americans on Okinawa with more than 12,500 died and 40,000 were wounded.
P-51 “Mustang”- World War II American fighter designed by North American Aviation. As an escort for bombers, the long range of the P-51 and inclusion of extra fuel held in drop-tanks made it ideal. As a result the P-51 allowed the Army Air Force to provide escorts for the duration of a mission, something that had been made more difficult as bombing targets deep inside Germany taxed the range of most fighters.
Patton, George S.- A U.S. Army general officer, well known for his brash demeanor and flamboyant nature, but also for inspiring his soldiers through discipline, esprit de corps, and leading from the front. Leading the Third U.S. Army, he was able to execute a series of impressive armored drives, helping to relieve Bastogne and in March 1945 crossing the Rhine River, entering Germany. Tragically, in December 1945, months after WWII ended, he died of injuries sustained in a car accident.
Peiper, Joachim – (1915-1976) A German Waffen SS officer during World War II. He commanded Kampfgruppe Peiper, which was the tip the German surprise attack against American lines during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Peiper’s unit was repeatedly delayed and essentially halted by American combat engineers along the Elsenborn Ridge which ran along the northern edge of the bulge.
Peleliu, Battle of- World War II battle in the Pacific Theater from 15 September to 27 November 1944. The Japanese-held island and its airfield threatened U.S. shipping routes to the Philippines, convincing American planners that Peleliu needed to be taken. Japanese defenses were denser than initially believed, and what was supposed to take less than four days of combat dragged on for over two months. Fighting claimed 1,800 U.S. deaths and 8,000 wounded out of 28,500 who went ashore.
Philippine Sea, Battle of the- A World War II naval battle from 19-20 June 1944. The war’s biggest carrier battle, the Japanese attempted to destroy the U.S. Navy during the invasion of Saipan. Admiral Spruance’s Fifth Fleet refused to fall for a designed trap, allowing instead for the enemy to sail his remaining five heavy aircraft carriers to the American position where seven U.S. carriers waited. Japanese losses numbered more than 30 planes without a single sunk American vessel to show for their efforts.
Potsdam Conference- Codenamed “TERMINAL,” it was an Allied conference from 17 July to 2 August 1945 held outside of Berlin in Potsdam, Germany. The third, longest, and final conference in which all three leaders of the Grand Alliance discussed the surrender of Japan, peace terms in Europe, and a newly re-established Poland. While at the conference Truman learned of the successful test of an atomic bomb in New Mexico.
Saipan, Battle of- A World War II Pacific Theater battle for the twelve mile by four mile island of Saipan. Lasting from 15 June to 9 July 1944, Japanese resistance was typically fierce, and American soldiers and Marines used artillery, demolitions, and flamethrowers to clear the cave networks of enemy. With the island’s capture the Americans were able to fly from Saipan with B-29s and hit targets on Japan’s home islands.
Sherman Tank- The main American medium tank during World War II. The M4 first saw action in North Africa in late 1942 with the British. It saw extensive use throughout the war in American hands and was generally considered reliable and highly mobile by its crews, qualities essential to the fast pace of some operations. Throughout World War II the United States produced nearly 50,000 Shermans in different configurations.
Strategic bombardment- Dating back to the 1920s and 1930s as a debated concept, strategic bombardment is the use of aircraft to bomb targets important to an enemy’s prosecution of war. During World War II the United States used their long- and medium-range bombers (B-25, B-26, B-17s, B-24s, B-29s) to destroy enemy railroads, bridges, factories, and oil refineries, as well as bombing urban areas in the hopes of crushing the population’s will to fight.
Tactical airpower- The use of aircraft to establish and maintain control of the airspace over a finite area above a battlefield, city, region, or area of water. Command of the skies allows freedom of ground maneuver, and disruption of enemy movement and supply – a reality enjoyed by American forces during the majority of their conflicts where aircraft played a role.
Terror bombing- The targeting of civilian populations in total war by aerial bombardment in an attempt to break the nation’s will to fight. World War II’s most illustrative examples include the Allied bombing of Dresden, Germany on 13 February 1945 when 1,300 bombers dropped 4,000 tons of incendiary bombs causing at least 25,000 civilian deaths.
Tarawa, Battle of- A World War II Pacific Theater battle on the Tarawa atoll situated in the Gilberts island chain. On 20 November, more than 1,500 Marines became casualties on the first day of the 5,000 who made the assault. On the second and third day Marine reinforcements cut Betio into two parts and eventually overwhelmed the Japanese during bitter fighting. Overall American losses counted 1,000 killed and 2,250 wounded. Japanese casualties totaled 4,800 dead of the original 5,000.
Total War- The complete mobilization of a nation’s resources and population in wartime.. The most complete definition of total war is arguably not seen until World War II when aerial bombardment of the opposition’s industrial capacity and civilian population’s will to fight was targeted, when the lines between combatant and non-combatant became blurred.
Tokyo- Japan’s capital city. During World War II it was the target of U.S. Army Air Forces Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle’s raid in 1942 with B-25 Mitchells, constituting a symbolic victory more than a strategic one for the Americans. Tokyo was also the sight of the most destructive terror bombing in the Pacific Theater when on 10 March 1945 some 330 U.S. Superfortresses dropped 3,000 tons of incendiaries killing an estimated 100,000.
Truman, Harry- (1884-1972), the thirty-third U.S. president from 1945 to 1952. As vice-president to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman was sworn in to the presidency after FDR’s death on 12 April 1945. Truman assumed the leadership of the country at a truly momentous time, when the war in Europe was coming to an end and fighting in the Pacific continued to rage. While at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945 he learned of the first successful test of the bomb and ultimately decided to use the weapon against Japan.
“Unconditional surrender”- Allied war aims during World War II to seek the complete victory and the total surrender of the Axis powers. It was mostly understood to mean Germany and Japan. As a policy, it looked to avoid the perceived mistakes of World War I when peace came with conditions, which was seen to have allowed Germany to perpetrate World War II. The Allies first articulated the desire for unconditional surrender at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943.
V-E Day- Victory in Europe day, on 8 May 1945 when the Allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, which effectively ended fighting in the European Theater during World War II.
V-J Day- Victory over Japan day, 15 August 1945 (14 August in the U.S. because of the time difference), when Japan surrendered, marking the cessation of hostilities in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
U.S. Army Air Forces- The aviation arm for the United States during World War II. Formerly called the U.S. Army Air Corps, in 1941 it was designated the Army Air Forces until the National Security Act of 1947 solidified it as the autonomous U.S. Air Force, separate from Army control. Throughout World War II it undertook both strategic and tactical operations, and was responsible for the punishing daytime bombing raids across Europe against Nazi Germany, as well as bombing missions in the Pacific.
U.S. Army Service Forces- The main organization during World War II responsible for handling the U.S. Army’s logistics. Commanded by Lieutenant General Brehon Somervell, his 2 million soldiers, including most of the African Americans and women in uniform, performed tasks ranging from record keeping and inventory management to truck driving and combat loading of landing craft. Somervell also coordinated not only the flow of supplies with the Navy and the American merchant marine.
Yamato and Musashi- Twin Japanese superbattleships that sailed during World War II. Their armaments and armor made them the largest, most heavily armed and armored battleships ever put to sea. U.S. Navy carrier aviation forces sunk Musashi 24 October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Yamato 7 April 1945 off of Okinawa during the American invasion of the island.
Yalta Conference- Codenamed ARGONAUT, a World War II meeting in the Crimea between Allied powers represented by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin from 4 to 11 February 1945.Among the topics discussed were the Allied strategy in the final phase of the war and how their respective forces would liaise with each other in newly occupied territories. Without Churchill’s knowledge, Stalin and Roosevelt agreed to the Soviet acquisition of territory in East Asia in return for the USSR entering the war against Japan.
Flashcards
Annotated Bibliography
Adams, Michael C. C. The Best War Ever: America and World War II. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993.
This short survey of the United States in World War II takes a revisionist turn in exposing some of the hypocrisies and tragedies of the American war effort. Although sometimes called America’s “good war,” Adams demonstrates that not all decisions, activities, or operations in this conflict were “good” for all Americans. There were examples of discrimination like the Japanese American internments and of wonton destruction like the firebombing of Japanese cities.
Andrews, Lena S. Valient Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II. Boston: Mariner Books, 2023.
This book examines the roles played by some 350,000 American women who serving in uniform during World War II. They were codebreakers, gunnery instructors, metalsmiths, chemists, translators, parachute riggers, truck drivers, and hundreds of other occupations, many of which were male-typed in the pre-war U.S. military. Andrews highlights not only the breadth of roles played by American women, but also their deployments across the globe.
Atkinson, Rick. The Liberation Trilogy. 3 vols.New York: Holt, 2002-2013
This so-called “Liberation Trilogy” – An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944, and The Guns at Last Light: The War in Europe, 1944-1945 – took more than 15 years for Atkinson to research and write. Although a journalist by trade and training, the author conducts archival research that matches the more thorough historians. He blends stories of American combatants from the lowliest private to the highest ranking general into a coherent whole. There are not new interpretations here, but the writing is vivid, and the resiliency of the American military is apparent.
Burrell, Robert S. The Ghosts of Iwo Jima. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2006.
In this controversial book, Burrell challenges the mythical status of the battle for Iwo Jima in Marine Corps lore and legend. Burrell acknowledges the extraordinary service and sacrifices of the 70,000 Marines fighting on the island. Yet, he questioned the strategic necessities of assaulting an island that could offer no offensive threat to American forces, and of losing 24,000 Marine and Navy personnel to save a similar number of U.S. Army Air Force crews in route from bombing Japan back to the Marianas.
Bourque, Stephen Alan. Beyond the Beach: The Allied War Against France. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2018.
In this controversial book, Bourque challenged the success and the efficacy of the Allied bombing campaign in Normandy province in France in the months and weeks leading up to the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. The Allied targets included Germany bases, railroads, ports, bridges, and railroad marshalling years, all of which needed to be destroyed to cripple German logistics and reinforcement efforts after June 6. Bourque asserts the senior Allied leaders – including Eisenhower – willingly sacrificed more than 60,000 lives of French civilians caught in the bombings.
Crane, Conrad C. American Airpower Strategy in World War II: Bombs, Cities, Civilians, and Oil. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2016.
Crane a detailed his 1993 study of U.S. bombing doctrine and practice in the Second World War. He argues that, although notable exceptions like the firebombing of Dresden did occur, the U.S. Army Air Force stayed true to using precision bombing to hit strategic target in Europe, if not in Japan where racism and personality combined to make the campaign much more brutal.
Craven Wesley F., and James L. Cate. The Army Air Forces in World War II. 7 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948-1958.
This official history of the U.S. Army Air Firce during World War II is grounded in primary sources. These books represent the starting points for any study of this branch.
Dean, Peter J. MacArthur’s Coalition: U.S. and Australian Military Operations in the Southwest Pacific Area, 1942-1945. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2018.
Like Eisenhower in Europe, General Douglas MacArthur needed to work with Allies in the Southwest Pacific. Dean’s seminal book examines MacArthur’s command relationship, albeit lopsided toward the United States, with the Australians. Even with MacArthur’s idiosyncratic personality, the Australians and American found ways to coordinate efforts and achieve victory against the Japanese.
D’este, Carlos. Patton: A Genius for War. New York: HarperCollins, 1995.
This is the most balanced biography of the controversial general. D’este credits Patton with some great achievements, but he also does not shy away from pointed criticisms.
Dower, John W. War without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War. New York: Pantheon, 1986.
Although more than three decades old, Dower’s book remains the seminal study of both Japanese and American racisms during World War II. Both sides dehumanized and degraded their opponents, making killing and committing atrocities easier.
Ellman, James. MacArthur Reconsidered: General Douglas MacArthur as Wartime Commander. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2023.
Frank, Richard B. Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle. New York: Random House, 1990.
Frank’s operational study of Guadalcanal remains the single best book on the subject. He makes use of extensive archival sources to show the amphibious, air, sea, and land components of the six-month campaign for this island in the southwest Pacific. The American victory inaugurated the massive offensives against Japan that would follow, and it revealed the severe shortcomings of the Japanese logistical system.
Gaddis, John Lewis. The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941-1947. New York: Columbia University Press, 1972.
The start of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union is often marked in the late 1940. Gaddis, however, disagrees. He finds the beginning so the Cold War in the early 1940s as the United States drew closer entering World War II. In those war years, seeds of mutual distrust and ideological differences were sown even as the Grand Alliance of the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom fought the Axis powers.
Giangreco, D.M. Truman and the Bomb: The Untold Story. Lincoln, NE: Potomac Book, 2023.
The author sets out the dispel several myths about President Harry S. Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs in August 1945. Among these were Truman’s lack of knowledge about the bombs before becoming president in April 1945, the high casualty rates used to justify the bombings during the post-war era, and Truman’s desire to use the bombs to keep the Soviet Union out of East Asia. Giangreco uses previously unknown materials and dissects the personalities of Truman and others to set forth facts that make the myths into fallacies.
Hantzis, Steven James. Rails of War: Supplying the Americans and their Allies in China-Burma-India. Lincoln, NE: Potomac Books, 2017.
The CBI Theater is rarely covered in the historical survey of the World War II, and analyses of logistics in that theater is even more rare. This book tries to reverse these trends. The author highlights the contributions of the 721st Railway Operating Battalion that included constructing and maintaining some 7,000 miles of railroad track in the CBI in the most inhospitable of environments. The author argues that the Allies could not have been successful in fighting the Japanese without the 721st’s efforts.
Heinrichs, Waldo, and Marc Gallicchio. Implacable Foes: War in the Pacific, 1944-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.
Heinrichs and Gallicchio concentrate on the last 18 months of the Pacific War, starting the American island-hopping and leapfrogging campaigns in the Southwest and Central Pacific in 1944 to the dropping the atomic bombs in August 1945. By 1944, the outcome of the war was not in doubt. The Japanese were slowly being squeezed and defeated. Yet, the Americans still needed to achieve complete victory. The co-authors dissect the often contentious high-level strategic and diplomatic decisions of military and political leaders that needed to look for victory in the war and victory in the peace that would follow.
Hinnershitz, Stephanie D. Japanese American Incarceration: The Camps and Coerced Labor during World War II. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021.
This book is a recent examination of the internment in 1942 of Japanese and Japanese Americans living on the West Coast of the United States. President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 called for those Japanese and Japanese American to be expelled from military zones and sent to internship camps (more like prisons). There they worked as forced laborers by design of the federal government.
Hone, Trent. Mastering the Art of Command: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Victory in the Pacific. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2022.
This book focuses on Admiral Chester Nimitz’s leadership during the Pacific War. The author employs management theories to explain how and why Nimitz was so effective in planning strategies, restructuring organizations, and managing personalities. Hone asserts that Nimitz’s habits of mind should be studied and emulated in the 21st century.
James, D. Clayton. The Years of MacArthur, 1941-1945. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975.
In what is the best and more balanced biography of the controversial figure, James separates the man, myth, and history of Douglas MacArthur’s wartime exploits. He follows the general from the Philippines through the New Guinea campaign and on the Philippines. This is no hagiography, however, as James deals with MacArthur shortcomings.
Kennedy, David M. Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning study provides one of the best single-volume overviews of the Great Depression and the Second World War. Although a trained social and cultural historian and clearly at home when writing about the 1930s, Kennedy took the time to absorb the military aspect of the war years to include strategy, operations, tactics, and logistics. His prose is also peerless in its eloquence and elegance.
Koistinen, Paul A.C. Arsenal of World War II: The Political Economy of American Warfare, 1940-1945. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2004.
In this fourth of a multi-volume study of the American military-political economy in peace and war, Koistinen analyzes the greatest conflict in human history. He demonstrates how the mobilization of the American industry and economy played a critical role in the Allied victory. The author also deals with the controls by federal agencies over the war effort and the creation of a military-industrial complex.
Lovelace, Alexander G. The Media Offensive: How the Press and Public Opinion Shaped Allied Strategy during World War II. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2022.
This book examines the critical roles of the American media in the Second World War. Not only did media help infuse the American people with nationalistic fervor, but media also swayed strategic decision by senior leaders. General Douglas MacArthur escape from the Philippines in 1942 helped divide future operations in the Pacific into two theaters, one for the U.S. Navy and one of MacArthur and the Army. General George Patton drew criticism in the press because he slapped some supposed cowards in Sicily in 1943. General Mark Clark’s desire for good publicity, rather than operational opportunity, drove his decision to capture Rome in 1944.
Lyons, Michael J., and David J. Ulbrich. World War II: A Global History, 6th ed. New York: Routledge, 2021.
This survey of World War II sets out to examine the conflict in a more balanced way than many other histories of the conflict. The co-authors include chronological chapters on the European, Pacific, and China-Burma Indian Theaters of Operations, and they also include thematic chapters on comparative home fronts, innovative military technologies, and brutal totalitarian regimes.
McManus, John C. Fire and Fortitude: The US Army in the Pacific War, 1941-1943. New York: Dutton Caliber, 2019.
In the first volume of his trilogy on the U.S. Army in the Pacific, McManus traces the evolution of the Army from an undertrained, ill-equipped, tiny force in 1941 into a capable offensive force in 1943. Robert Eichelberger emerges as one of the key American leaders and outstanding contributors to Army operations. McManus highlights the essential contributions of the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater where the Marine Corps and the Navy receive most attention and credit.
McManus, John C. Island Infernos: The US Army’s Pacific Odyssey, 1944. New York: Dutton Caliber, 2021.
In the second volume of his trilogy on the U.S. Army in the Pacific, McManus turns to the Army’s operations in Burma, on New Guinea, in the Philippines and in the Aleutian Islands. He also examines the logistical challenges of moving men and supplies across the frigid waters of the northern Pacific and through the jungles of New Guinea, the Philippines, and Burma. McManus strikes a balance between the perspectives of the grunts and the senior leaders.
McManus, John C. To the End of the Earth: The US Army and the Downfall of Japan, 1945. New York: Dutton Caliber, 2023.
In the third volume of his trilogy on the U.S. Army in the Pacific, McManus takes readers from MacArthur’s triumphant liberation of the Philippines to the end of the war in September 1945. The Americans were clearly going to win the war, but it remained unclear if a bloody invasion of the Japanese home islands would be necessary to secure victory. McManus does not shy away from criticisms of MacArthur.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. 15 vols.Boston: Little, Brown, 1947-62.
This 15-volume history of the U.S. Navy stands as the semi-official history for the Second World War. It covers in detail every theater and operation in the maritime war effort. Morison has come under criticism for his partisan bias favoring the Navy and certain figures in high command.
Ossad, Steven L. Omar Nelson Bradley: America’s GI General, 1893-1981. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2017.
In this important biography of the well-known Omar Bradley, Ossad covers all phases of Bradley’s life beginning with his childhood, then turning to his military education and wartime exploits, and closing with his post-war activities. The Bradley portrayed by Ossad is not a stick figure, but rather a military leader with skills in strategy, operations, and organization.
Overy, Richard. Blood and Ruins: The Last Imperial War, 1931-1945. New York: Viking, 2021.
This major work represented a culmination of Overy’s decades of study of the Second World War. Overy portrays this conflict as the end of more than a century of European imperialism and as the beginning of the new post-war world order. He demonstrates command of the histories of all the combatant nations and biographies of their leaders. This book also points out the cost of the war to include war crimes and atrocities committed by all sides.
Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb: 25th Anniversary Edition. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012.
Originally published in 1987, this classic study of the research and development of the atomic bombs has stood the test of time. Rhodes ably blends the science and the politics behind the atomic bombs with a wide range of personalities into a seamless story. Readers will come away from this book understanding how the atomic bombs were developed and why they needed to be developed. Yes, readers will not find a triumphalist process because the atomic bombs led the way to new post-war conflict – the Cold War.
Symonds, Craig L. Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
Symonds track Chester Nimitz’s transformation form a naval administrator to the command-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in a matter of weeks in November and December 1941. In this latter role, Nimitz took a devasted U.S. Pacific Fleet and molded into a superior fighting force capable of projecting American naval, air, and amphibious power across thousands of miles of open water. Nimitz exhibit strong leadership traits despite challenges of other American senior leaders like General Douglas MacArthur, let alone the formidable Japanese Navy.
U.S. Army Center of Military History. The U.S. Army in World War II. 78 vols. Washington: Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Army, 1947-92.
This truly monumental official history of the U.S. Army includes 78 volumes written over several decades. The research is grounded in primary sources, and the analysis can be biting in its criticism of mistakes and shortcomings of the Army during the Second World War. These books are the starting points for any study of this branch.
U.S. Marine Corps. History of the U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II. 5 vols. Washington: Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, 1958-68.
The 5-volume official history of the USMC in the Second World War is comprehensive in its coverage. The story of the Corps in that conflict is one of dramatic growth, development of doctrines and technologies, and hard-won victories on the islands of the Pacific. The focus, as the title states, is on the operational level of war, but strategy and tactics are not ignored.
Urwin, Gregory J. W. Victory in Defeat: The Wake Island Defenders in Captivity, 1941-1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2010.
In this sequel to Facing Fearful Odds: The Siege of Wake Island, Urwin explores the experiences of Wake defenders in captivity as Japanese prisoners of war. Using diaries, interviews, and archives, Urwin explains how and why the Wake defenders suffered one of the lowest death rates of all captured Allied units. He offers reasons for their survival, including maintenance of discipline, mutual support among the captives, generous aid from the Red Cross and other groups, and a few less-brutal Japanese guards.
Weigley, Russell F. Eisenhower’s Lieutenants: The Campaign of France and Germany, 1944-1945. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981.
In this seminal examination of senior U.S. Army leaders in Europe from D-Day to V-E Day, Weigley explores the relationships, decision-making processes, and strengths and weaknesses of Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton, Montgomery, and others. Weigley reinforces conventional wisdom that Patton was the Allies’ best battlefield leader or that Montgomery tended toward timidity, but Weigley does so with such thorough command of the sources that his arguments are plausible.
Weinberg, Gerhard L. A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Weinberg’s magisterial survey of the Second World War is sweeping in its scope, broad in its context, and thick in its analysis. Given the author’s expertise in strategy and diplomacy, this book focuses on the highest level of leadership. Weinberg does not favor the Allied or American perspectives. He also includes detailed coverage of the war between Germany and the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front.
Werrell, Kenneth P. Blankets of Fire: U.S. Bombers over Japan during World War II. Washington: Smithsonian, 1996.
For Werrell, victory in Europe in 1944 made possible the shift of American strategic air power toward the Pacific and Japan. The arrival of the B-29 “Superfortress” with its long range and heavy payload, as well as the capture of the Marianas accelerated the bombing campaign against Japan. Werrell deals with practical matters like low-level compared to high-level raids as well as the firebombing tactics against Japanese urban centers. He also focuses on Curtis LeMay, who orchestrated the systematic and destructive raids in the last months of the Pacific War.
Expanded Bibliography
Alexander, Joseph A. Utmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1995.
Bérubé, Allan. Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two. New York: Penguin, 1990.
Blumenson, Martin. Bloody River: The Real Tragedy of the Rapido. Reprint. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1998.
Callahan, Raymond. Burma, 1941–1945. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1979.
Campbell, D’Ann. Women at War with America: Private Lives in a Patriotic Era. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986.
D’Este, Carlo. Patton: A Genius for War. Reprint. Harper Perennial, 1996.
Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome. New York: Harper Perennial, 2008.
Doubler, Michael. Closing with the Enemy: How GIs Fought the War in Europe, 1944–1945. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995.
Dower, John. War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War. New York: Pantheon, 1997.
Gantter, Raymond. Roll Me Over: An Infantryman’s World War II. New York: Ballantine Books, 2007.
Gray, J. Glenn. The Warriors: Reflections of Men in Battle. Reprint. Lincoln, NE: Bison Books, 1998.
Hamner, Christopher. Enduring Battle: American Soldiers in Three Wars, 1776–1945. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2011.
Jarvis, Christina S. The Male Body at War: American Masculinity during World War II. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2010.
Kindsvatter, Peter. American Soldiers: Ground Combat in the World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas Press, 2003.
Larrabee, Eric. Commander in Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants, and Their War. New York: Harper and Row, 1987.
Lewis, Adrian R. Omaha Beach: A Flawed Victory. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.
Linderman, Gerald. The World within War: America’s Combat Experience in World War II. New York: Free Press, 1997.
MacDonald, Charles B. Company Commander. New York: Ballantine Books, 1966.
Mansoor, Peter. The G.I. Offensive in Europe: The Triumph of American Infantry Divisions, 1941–1945. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 2002.
MacGregor, Morris J. Integration of the Army Forces, 1940–1965. Washington: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1981.
Marshall, S. L. A. Men Against Fire: The Problem of Command. Reprint. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000.
McManus, John F. Grunts: Inside the American Infantry Combat Experience, World War II through Iraq. New York: NAL, 2011.
September Hope: The American Side of a Bridge Too Far. New York: Penguin, 2012.
Murray, Williamson, and Allan R. Millett. A War To Be Won: Fighting the Second World War. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard, 2001.
Ohl, James Kennedy. Supplying the Troops: Brehon Somervell and American Logistics in World War II. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1994.
Polenberg, Richard. War and Society: The United States, 1941–1945. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1972.
Porch, Douglas. The Path to Victory: The Mediterranean Theater in World War II. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004.
Prange, Gordon W., with Daniel M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon. At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor. New York: Penguin, 1981.
Roeder, George, Jr. The Censored War: American Visual Experience during World War Two. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.
Rush, Robert Sterling. Hell in Hürtgen Forest: The Ordeal and Triumph of an American Infantry Regiment. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2004.
Sandler, Stanley. Segregated Skies: All-Black Combat Squadrons of WW II. Washington: Smithsonian, 1998.
Schaffer, Ronald. Wings of Judgment: American Bombing in World War II. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.
Schrijvers, Peter. Bloody Pacific: American Soldiers at War with Japan. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
Showalter, Dennis. Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century. New York: Berkley, 2006.
Sledge, E. B. With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa. Reprint. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Smith, Kevin. Conflict over Convoys: Anglo-American Logistics Diplomacy in the Second World War. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Symonds, Craig. The Battle of Midway. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Syrett, David. Defeat of the German U-Boats: The Battle of the Atlantic. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1994.
Terkel, Studs. The Good War: An Oral History of World War II. Reprint. New York: New Press, 1997.
Treadwell, Mattie E. The Women’s Army Corps. Washington: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1954.
Ulbrich, David J. Preparing for Victory: Thomas Holcomb and the Making of the Modern Marine Corps 1936–1943. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2011.
Urwin, Gregory J. W. Facing Fearful Odds: The Siege of Wake Island. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997.
Victory in Defeat: The Wake Island Defenders in Captivity, 1941–1945.Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2010.
Wilt, Alan F. The French Riviera Campaign of August 1944. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1981.
Annotated Weblinks
Site: Naval History, Battle of the Atlantic – Its Development: Part 2 of 2, 1943-1945
URL: http://www.naval-history.net/WW2CampaignsAtlanticDev2.htm
Description: This link will take you to Naval History’sanalysis of the Battle of the Atlantic, from 1943 to 1945. More than just having a narrative of the Battle of the Atlantic, this website provides tonnage lost numbers, divided by month. If interested, Naval History also has a section on the Battle of the Atlantic from 1939 to 1942.
Site: Northwestern University, Digital Library, World War II Posters
URL:http://digital.library.northwestern.edu/otcgi/digilib/llscgi60.exe?QUERY=jpeg®ION=M8561Z&db=0&SIZE=10&SORTBY=M260C
Description: Much like World War I, posters in World War II became an art form. This link will take you to Northwestern University’s digital library of World War II posters.
Site: Hyperwar, U.S. Navy in World War II
URL: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/index.html#ops
Description: Arguably one of the best resources on official primary source documents from the Navy, this link is essential if you are researching a topic regarding the U.S. Navy in World War II.
Site: Pacific War Animated
URL: http://www.pacificwaranimated.com/
Description: A great resource, Pacific War Animated is an interactive website that uses animation technology to make World War II more than just maps and narrative. Try using this website while reading the textbook. If you like what the creators of Pacific War Animated have done, be sure to follow their tab for the ever-expanding World War II in Europe page.
Site: American-Divisions, Operation OVERLORD Order
URL: http://www.american-divisions.com/doc.asp?documentid=136&pagenumber=1
Description: Follow this link to read a scanned copy of the original OVERLORD operational plan from General Dwight Eisenhower’s Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force.
Site: American D-Day
URL: http://www.americandday.org/
Description: This link will take you to one of the more comprehensive websites dedicated to the 6 June 1944 Normandy invasion, otherwise known as D-Day. The website has everything from short histories of the invasion, oral histories, photos, documents, a bibliography, and multiple links.
Site: Life Magazine, Before and After D-Day: Life in England and France, 1944
URL: http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/04/world/d-day-life/index.html
Description: Follow this link to see vivid color photos from Life photograph Frank Scherschel, taken in England and France in spring and summer 1944.
Site: Ball State University, 376th Heavy Bombardment Group Oral Histories
URL: http://libx.bsu.edu/cdm4/collection.php?CISOROOT=/376OrHis
Description: The 376th Heavy Bombardment Group Oral History Project was undertaken to preserve the memories of the airmen and grounds crewmen for their families, students, and scholars. The 376th was the first B-24 Liberator group to be based in the European Theater of Operations, and took part in operations over North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and the famed low-level assault on the Ploesti oil refineries. Hosted by Ball State University’s Digital Media Repository, videotaped and transcribed oral histories with fifty-six veterans can be accessed through this link.
Site: Ball State University, Cantigny First Division Oral Histories
URL: http://libx.bsu.edu/cdm4/collection.php?CISOROOT=/CtgnyOrHis
Description: The Cantigny First Division Oral Histories has been a three-phase project that has sought to interview veterans of the U.S. Army’s First Infantry Division, otherwise known as the “Big Red One.” Not confined to just veterans who served in World War II, the project has interviewed veterans and soldiers up to the Global War on Terror. The interviews include not only high-quality video but also transcripts.
Site: Ball State University/WIPB-TV, Echoes of War: Stories from the Big Red One
URL: http://www.bsu.edu/wipb/echoesofwar/
Description: The site includes links to two live, interactive television documentaries that aired in 2007. Several 1st Infantry Division, National Guard, and Navy veterans were interviewed by historians about their experience between 1942 and 1945 in Europe. They also fielded questions from the audience. In addition to the two award-winning documentaries, the web page has extra features such as video gallery, veteran profiles, and high teaching materials.
Site: Ohio University, Cornelius Ryan of World War II Papers
URL: http://www.library.ohiou.edu/archives/mss/mss020.html
Description: Cornelius Ryan, the famous popular military historian who published The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far, and The Last Battle, left his papers to Ohio University before his death. Much of his books were built upon interviews with important World War II figures, as well as from hundreds of surveys from average soldiers, and therefore his papers are a treasure trove for researchers. Follow this link to see detailed box and folder lists to the collection.
Site: Library of Congress, World War II Military Situation Maps
URL: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/maps/wwii/
Description: The Library of Congress’s World War II Military Situation Maps collection consists of 416 printed maps and 115 reports that show American troop movements in the European Theater of Operations, beginning on 6 June 1944 and ending on 26 July 1945.
Site: American Aircraft of World War II
URL: http://www.daveswarbirds.com/usplanes/
Description: This link will take you to a reference site that provides photos, data and brief histories of all American aircraft of World War II, including rare prototypes that were never put into production.
Site: ArmyAirForces.com of World War II
URL: https://www.army.mil/aviation/airforces/
Description: If you need help researching any aspect of the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, be sure to start at this helpful website.
Site: National World War II Museum
URL: http://nationalww2museum.org/
Description: Formerly the National D-Day Museum, the National World War II Museum has expanded greatly in the recent past. Follow this link to plan a visit to the New Orleans museum, discover what is housed in their archives, or watch oral histories.
Site: Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb
URL: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/index.php
Description: The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library has compiled nearly 600 pages of primary source documents that involve President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, all available at this link.
Site: National Archives, Featured Documents: Japan Surrenders
URL:http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/japanese_surrender_document/
Description: Follow this link to see the official Instrument of Surrender that Japanese officials signed on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945.