In the middle years of the Second World War, the United States had entered the war on the side of the Allies. The nation’s soldiers who partook in naval, land and air operations performed atrociously initially. However, as the United States continued to get pounded in the deserts of North Africa, the beaches of the Pacific islands, or in the atmosphere in Europe. It looked as though America was finished, until something changed. This paper is designed to analyze the reform in the United States and its role in narrowing a gap between the Allied and Axis’s versions of warfare.
Traditionally, the United States had never had a standing army prior to the Second World War due its history of remaining neutral in global affairs, unless provoked. Initially, the United States had opted to remain neutral in the global conflict that was igniting in Europe via the lightning of the German Army’s Blitzkrieg. Not to mention the Japanese scourge that had invaded a great chunk of Manchuria, China, and various other Pacific Islands in an attempt to dominate this “Sino-Space”.
In lieu of everything occurring in Europe and the Pacific, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) had managed to gradually build the U.S. Armed Forces up to speed. Through one of his programs that arose from the New Deal in the 1930’s, FDR had commissioned the creation of military barracks, military supplies and air bases. Along with this, he even implemented military life in the form of the Civilian Conservation Corp. This program was under the direct command of the military, and through this command the civilians (.25 million in total) that it employed were exposed to military life.
Though the men were exposed to military life outside of war, once they were in the fight things were different. In the first instance where American troops in North Africa face off with members of Gen. Rommel’s African Corps things look grim. The troops dispersed at the sight of the German Panzers, some kept fleeing for miles. It’s this display that make the European Allies nervous of the might of the Americans. The British feel so insure about allowing Americans lead the charge that they offer to take the reins, but the Americans refuse. In the Pacific, the Japanese have the advantage due to the shattered moral from the events of Pearl Harbor and the series of defeats after.
It’s these humiliating defeats in both the European and the Pacific front that makes the United States adapt and stand out from the other combatants in the war. The first of the series of changes that are enacted is the command structure for the military. Unlike the German and Japanese military, the commanders don’t command from the battlefield, but from a command post. In some instances the commanders would be stationed miles away, in some instances in Washington D.C. for protection. The thought behind this tactic was that the commander would serve well as a mediator. The main idea that sprung from this was logistics, and that is enabling the U.S. military to give commands and better coordinate objectives and strike the Axis powers.
The second phase of this adaption to new military tactics involves the equipment used. The United States, prior to entering the war was engulfed in an Economic Depression that was the worst that anyone had ever seen. Factories that laid dormant had sprung back to life due to the Americans joining the Allies, and to a lesser extent when the Lend-Lease Act was passed. Once the American’s joined the fray they announced their quotas for the year, and it was jaw-dropping. FDR announced that there were to be 120,000 tanks, 60,000 planes and other variants of equipment. It was not known if the newly awoken “Sleeping Giant” could indeed produce this much equipment, but the thought of it being possible was terrifying to the Axis.
The third phase was the advanced training that the American troops received. Despite the difficulties of transitioning from having no standing army, the U.S. managed to adapt and train approximately 14 million civilians. The training was further bolstered by individuals who had served on a variety of fronts. By taking soldiers from the combat and returning them to train the newly enlisted recruits, American soldiers were far better trained than those of any other nation. Along with the training from veterans, the newly enlisted recruits were being scouted by the higher command for any traits that stand out. After basic training they were then transferred to one of the branches where the Armed Forces believed that their unique skills could better serve. The best example of this would be the enlisted men who were of Navajo descent, as they would serve as the American military’s ace code-talkers. As their language had no written code, only spoken, so it was created to serve as code for the War in the Pacific.
The fourth is operation skills, and this is seen with the ways that the American military can improve itself. The America’s do this by attempting everything possible, by blending the traditional infantry with mechanized units and aviation. In contrast, the Axis powers never adapt, as they are drunk on success. The Americans however, get demolished during the first weeks of involvement and learn. It’s similar to a boxer who’s on a losing streak, eventually he’ll know the moves of his opponents and be better able to strike for the knockout. Later in the war, the Americans would attempt and succeed in an amphibious landing on the beaches of Normandy. In the Pacific the American Navy would coordinate with the Army to enact several successful invasions of Pacific Islands, a method that Douglas MacArthur would dub, “Island Hopping”. Through this, and the addition of naval aircraft carriers, both land, sea and air would be dominated by the American military.
World War I saw the introduction of 20th century tech with 19th century battle tactics. The Second World War saw the introduction of 20th century tactics mixed with 20th century tech. America’s industry jumped and what resulted from this was the vast quantities and quality of the equipment. This included the introduction of a series of airplanes that served in the war; the B-24 Liberator, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-29 Super-Fortress, P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-51 Mustang. All of these works of aviation contributed to the American’s domination in the air. As for the land, there was the M3, M5, M24 Chaffee, M22 Locust, M3 Medium Tank, M4 Sherman, M26 Pershing and the M18 Hellcat. All of these were key to the type of warfare that the American’s had developed, mechanized armaments and aviation working in synch with infantry. Thus making the fifth phase the improved weaponry.
During the events of Pearl Harbor, FDR felt that it would be better to keep the photographs of the attack a secret as it would cause a loss in moral. The Federal Government did attempt to censor any information that would be demoralizing, such as the photos of fallen soldiers. That was in 1944 that the first dead soldier was displayed to the people back home. The photo could not show the face, limbs had to be attached and not be so desecrated that it would cause a panic. Aside from those examples, there were several pieces of media that displayed a patriotic side to the war, most famous of all was the creation of Captain America and his debut comic. Debuting in 1941, the comic showed a man dressed in a very patriotic red, white and blue outfit promptly punching Hitler. Along with this, there were many other ways of resonating a patriotic duty, aside from the service in the military and that was through war bonds. This makes the sixth phase of the American Way of war Censorship/Morale.
All of these phases resulted in a military that was far more unique than anything before or since. The American military was able to achieve domination in every field of the war. This was a result of adapting to the changes that the First World War had instilled in the soldiers thoughts. Such as the idea of trench warfare, which was used in a limited amount during WW2. However, through the seven phases of the American change in warfare it arose a powerhouse. As previously stated, the Axis did not improve their methods of warfare. Along with this, both nations had a limited amount of resources, industry, manpower and logistics. With the improvements that America made, the Axis’s days were limited.
