The Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942 was intended to draw Axis forces away from the Eastern Front, thus relieving pressure on the hard-pressed Soviet Union. The operation was a compromise between U.S. and British planners as the latter felt that the American-advocated landing in northern Europe was premature and would lead to disaster at this stage of the war.
Operations of the Eastern Task Force (also arriving from Britain) were aided by an anti-Vichy coup that took place in Algiers on 8 November. Thus, the level of French opposition at the landing beaches was low or non-existent. The only serious fighting took part in the port, where U.S. Army Rangers were landed to prevent the French from destroying facilities and scuttling ships. Resistance had been overcome by the evening of 10 November, when the city was surrendered to the U.S. and British forces.
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Why We Fight is a series of seven propaganda films produced by the US Department of War from 1942 to 1945, during World War II. It was originally written for American soldiers to help them understand why the United States was involved in the war, but US President Franklin Roosevelt ordered distribution for public viewing.
Produced from 1942 to 1945, the seven installments range from 40 to 76 minutes in length, and all are available for free on DVD or online since they have always been public domain material by the US government. All are directed by Frank Capra and narrated by Walter Huston alongside radio actors Elliott Lewis, Harry von Zell, film actor Lloyd Nolan and others. The score is performed by the Army Air Force Orchestra.[12]
After World War I, methods used to gain support from troops and civilians needed to change. Giving speeches to soldier recruits and to the US public was no longer effective. Film became the medium of choice to persuade US soldiers and recruits on why fighting was necessary.[14] As Kathleen German stated, "this was the first massive attempt to influence opinion in the U.S. military" through film.[15] Film was also chosen because it combined the senses of sight and hearing, which gives it an advantage over radio or print.[16] Capra, who had no experience in documentary films, was chosen because "of his commitment to American ideals" and because of the popularity of some of his earlier feature films. He was thought "to understand the heart and soul of American audiences".[14] Once the documentary series was completed, it was said to contain the "Capra touch".[17]
As of 12 February 1942, a guerrilla detachment reportedly commanded by Medvedev, had carried out about 50 raids behind enemy lines during the last four months. Among their declared accomplishments against the Nazis are:
To prepare individuals to fulfill the requirements set forth in this oath, the Soviets have planned a training program including the following subjects: Map reading, first aid, sanitation, patrolling, sniping, use of weapons; how to negotiate terrain; street fighting; woodcraftsmanship; and how to develop the important personal qualities of quietness, confidence, alertness, control, and attention to detail. Some Russian guerrillas have received such training; others are receiving it; still others are operating without special training.
In 1940, anticipating the spread of the war in Europe to the Pacific Theater, the U.S. military began construction of forward-operating bases in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. By 1943, American troops were stationed throughout this remote, 1,200-mile-long archipelago. From airfields at Adak, Dutch Harbor, and Fort Glenn, U.S. pilots flew patrol bombers, fighter-bombers, and observation aircraft on combat and reconnaissance missions over the Aleutians.On June 3 and 4, 1942, six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese pilots bombed Fort Mears and the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base on Amaknak Island. Three days later, Japanese soldiers invaded Kiska Island, 600 miles west of Dutch Harbor, and Attu Island, 800 miles west of Dutch Harbor. American forces recaptured Attu in June of 1943, at the price of many American and Japanese lives, and the Japanese army abandoned Kiska one month later. U.S. troops remained in the Aleutians until the end of the war in 1945. In 1985 and 1986, the federal government designated Adak Naval Operating Base, Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, Fort Glenn, and the battlefields on Attu and Kiska islands as National Historic Landmarks in recognition of their significant contributions to the defense of the nation during World War II.
Known to historians as the "Forgotten War," the Aleutian Campaign began on June 3rd, 1942 when Japanese planes bombed Unalaska and Amaknak Islands. Tens of thousands of troops mobilized to the Aleutians to defend the backdoor to the United States as the Japanese Northern Garrison occupied the western islands of Attu and Kiska.
This recasting of the war from the German perspective has been largely based on individual memoirs, diaries and interviews, many of which emerged long after the war ended. However, it was generally assumed that, because of the totalitarian nature of the Nazi military, no comparable records existed that could reveal what those who were actually doing the fighting and killing, the German soldiers, thought and felt about the war and their role in it.
Learn about over 1,000 camps and ghettos in Volumes I-III of this encyclopedia, which are available as a free PDF download. This reference provides text, photographs, charts, maps, and extensive indexes.
The context is important. Every country engaged in World War I tried to control public perception. To avoid hurting morale, even in the nonlethal first wave the press in countries fighting in the war did not mention the outbreak. (But Spain was not at war and its press wrote about it, so the pandemic became known as the Spanish flu).
The influenza pandemic of 1918 was exceptional in both breadth and depth. Outbreaks of the disease swept not only North America and Europe, but also spread as far as the Alaskan wilderness and the most remote islands of the Pacific. It has been estimated that one-third of the world's population may have been clinically infected during the pandemic (Frost, 1920; Burnet and Clark, 1942). The disease was also exceptionally severe, with mortality rates among the infected of more than 2.5 percent, compared to less than 0.1 percent in other influenza epidemics (Marks and Beatty, 1976; Rosenau and Last, 1980). Total mortality attributable to the 1918 pandemic was probably around 40 million (Crosby, 1989; Johnson and Mueller, 2002; Patterson and Pyle, 1991). 2ff7e9595c
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