Essay Exam Two
World War II
World WarII was very different in comparison to World War I. It presented differentchallenges for the Americans that were not presented during the First WorldWar. This was the first time that two capable and determined enemy nationsfaced America simultaneously. The two enemies Nazi Germany and Japan at thistime were not nations to be looked down upon. Nazi Germany had the potentialtechnological capability to launch devastating attacks on the Americanmainland. The Empire of Japan had gained more territory and gained control in ashorter time than the Romans, Mongols, or the Muslim empires. Contrary WorldWar I when America had entered the war at the last minute and …show more content…
The Treaty of Versailles included Woodrow Wilson’sfourteen points and a set of points that Germany had to abide to at all times.These rules stated that Germany had to take full blame for starting the war,had to pay for all of the damage stated by the war, had to reduce Germany’sarmy to a hundred thousand men with no air force. Germany also lost anabundance of land due to this treaty such as Alsace Lorraine, Malmedy, andNorth Schleswig. This was the cause that soon ignited Germany into beginningWorld War II. A man in Germany known as Hitler began to claim that he couldchange everything. He provided a new form of government and leadership thatwould lead Germany to the victory they deserved from World War I and turn thetables around to their favor. The war itself first began on September of 1939when Hitler invaded Poland which broke the Treaty of Versailles. By 1940,Germany had defeated French and British forces in France and had taken fulloccupation of France. Japan formed an alliance with Germany and on December 7th1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and bordering islands in the United …show more content…
Three days following the assault, theUnited States declared war on Japan which was followed by Japan’s alliesGermany and Italy declaring war on the United States as well. As soon as theUnited States had entered the war, the tides had turned against Nazi Germanyand Japan. The war between these nations remained strong until December of 1943when Roosevelt and Churchill appointed General Eisenhower to command aninvasion on Germany. The plan which became known as Operation Overlord,involved more than 1.6 million American soldiers as well as British, Canadians,Poles, and Free French. The plan was to set a phony “army” that was poised toattack the Pasde-Calais, which was exactly where Hitler had expected the Alliesto strike. The real invasion however was more than two hundred miles away, onthe beaches of Normandy. Even before the attack, there were positive feelingsthat the Americans would win. The Allies possessed overwhelming air and seasuperiority, a large number of fresh troops, and the element of surprise. Theywere able to read German secret enigma codes, which provided the Allies withcrucial intelligence that helped to form the basis for the attack. On June 6th1944, the famous day known as D-Day, the Allied forces attacked Omaha Beach.Fighting on this beach was very gruesome. Hundreds of men frowned in theferocious Channel water; and