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WWII was the largest conflict in human history, claiming more lives with new technology. There was fighting from Asia to Europe, Africa to the Pacific. It took a combined effort on all of these fronts of the war to bring Nazi Germany to it's knees. Germany began it's campaign on Poland on September 9th, 1939. Great Britain and France were forced to declare war, with the Soviet Union joining in June, 1941. The early years of the war went well for Germany, taking France and consolidating the European continent. Hitler later went on to take most of North Africa. America entered the war on December 7, 1941, on the losing side. The Battle of the Coral Sea proved America's Air Force (or Army Air Corp) was inadequate to fight the Japanese, and our army was no match for the German Panzer. However, the Nazi war machine soon faltered, and swift action by the Allies soon took full advantage of this.
 * Doctrine:**

The deciding factors of the war came with production. United States, Britain, and Soviet Union were all capable of mass producing tanks, weapons, and planes. Germany greatly lagged in this area- while their panzer tank was far superior in quality, quantity never reached the same numbers as the Allies. The panzer may have been an elite fighting force, it's numbers were less than a tenth of the American Sherman. Another deciding factor was involvement. America entered the war, fighting zealously. Germany was also fighting a two fronted war, along with every almost other major nation in the war. America was attacking in the Pacific and in Europe, Soviets in Poland and Germany, then later against Japan. Germany was crushed between the Soviet Union and Britain and America. Finally, a third advantage for the Allies nailed the final nail in the coffin- manpower. Russia's vast expanses could muster an impressive one million -man army, and Britain was fighting with seasoned veterans. French Resistance was toppling Germany from within, and America supplied fresh and determined volunteers. Germany was starving, war-weary, desperate, and on the verge of collapse.

These weaknesses were exemplified in the battles of Stalingrad, D-Day, and the Battle of the Bulge. At Stalingrad, Both sides had over one million men. In Operation Barbosa, the Chief goal was the oil rich Caucasus- a treasure trove of gasoline for the fuel-starved Germany. Hitler then decided to attack the bustling city of Stalingrad along the Volgograd River, for the slightest reason: it had "Stalin" in the name. Tactically, it may have been smart to attack a huge city along your flank, in reality, the German troops could not prolong a siege. Stalin ordered that the city not be abandoned, so that //when// the Germans took control and killed everyone, he could spur on his other troops. It would have been the Soviet equivalent of the __Alamo__. After days of heavy bombardment, German troops entered the city. Here, Soviet General Zhukov's strategy would come into full effect. Because of the river, The German tanks could not encircle and starve out the city. The narrow streets also kept Panzer divisions out. Zhukov kept his men within a street of the German positions: too close for artillery to hit without nailing their own side. As a result, vicious, hand-to-hand skirmishes became the norm. Not only did the close fighting lead to death, but death came long distance in the second part of Zhukov's plan. Sniper's racked up hundreds of kills-the highest sniper tally was achieved by "Zikan" with an incredible 224 kills. The Germans, being unable to continue siege, eventually fell back. A fierce counter-attack ensued. In less than a month, Field Marshall Von Paulus and his 6th army were completely surrounded. Hitler's orders were clear and concise; no surrender, no retreat-you must fight to the last man, the last bullet. Von Paulus could not let his remaining me to be slaughtered. He air evacuated his men, unsuccessfully. There are stories of soldiers clinging to the wings of planes, only to fall back to earth when their fingers froze. The Soviets had no mercy, with less than a fifth of the German army returning to the Reich.The Soviets seized the initiative, and were soon marching onward to Germany itself.

The Japanese made America look easy to defeat. They already had the upper hand after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Battle of the Coral Sea proved devastating for the U.S. Air Corp. The war, indeed, seemed absolutely hopeless. All that changed on June 3th, 1942. As history as proven time and time again, war can hinge on single battles, even single moments. The shifting moment in WWII against the Japanese was the cracking of their codes. U.S. code crackers first broke their code, then intercepted a plan for a surprise attack on Midway. From that point on, America knew where the Japanese were, crucial information. Admiral Nimitz devised a counter attack involving six cruisers, nine destroyers, the //Yorktown//, the //Hornet//, and the "Big E"- the //Enterprise//. The Japanese fleet included the flagship //Akagi//, the //Kaga//, the //Soryu//, the //Hiryu//, and fifteen support ships.The U.S. had great importance on the aircraft carrier, while the Japanese merely saw them as support for the battleship. This led to too few Japanese planes able to bomb the U.S. positions. At 12:30 on June 3rd, the first air attack launched. The Americans immediately had the upper hand. No Japanese bomber scored any major hits, however, the U.S was having the same luck. In a few seconds, that all changed. The flagship //Akagi// was hit by American B-17 bombers, right in the torpedo storage room. The resulting explosion crippled the carrier. The //Kaga// and //Soryu// eventually suffered the same fate as their sister. The //Hiryu// was also hit, and, with her dying breath, fired and hit the USS //Yorktown//. A Japanese sub eventually finished her off. Even with the loss of the //Yorktown//, Midway was an absolute stunning victory for America. From this point on, Japan was on the defensive, and never again had the power it had once commanded. With half it's fleet out of commission, Japan was no longer a threat.

Of all the battles in WWII history, the most memorable and significant would be D-Day. Thanks to superb Allied misinformation, the German's seasoned veterans were stationed close to Calais or Dunkirk. The real invasion was two pronged, by air and by sea. On June 5th, 1945, Allied paratroops landed all across the French countryside. Confused and disoriented, they quickly found their bearings and seized Pegasus Bridge. This bridge was vital to German reinforcements attacking the beach head, and by blocking it off, thousands of lives were saved. It was here, as well, that the first Allied casualty had been tallied-Lieutenant Danny Brotheridge of the 6th Airborne Division. The bravery of the paratroopers assisted in the beach landings- It was up to the marines now. The British were responsible for Sword and Gold beaches while the Canadians held onto Juno. The other two beaches, Omaha and Utah, fell under American liability. The first French town to be liberated was the quaint city of St. Mere-Eglise. Here, the city was taken at a heavy cost to the American 82nd Airborne Division. To honor their sacrifice, an effigy of Private John Steele, one of the fallen liberators, hangs by an authentic parachute on the church steeple. Eventually Cherbourg, Benouville, and Paris falls into Allied hands. D-day was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany, and after an unsuccessful counter-attack in the Ardennes Forest, The time was up on Hitler's Third Reich.

World War Two had the possibility to be an incredible disaster for the Allies. With the help from strategic mastery and German mishaps, the war was eventually won.