Atlantic Theatres, Essay Example

The Battle of the Atlantic was the turning point for the ally’s campaign at sea during World War 2.  It was important because this was the vital supply line to Britain, in order to maintain the war with Germany. Churchill remained worried that that the German U-Boat threat would sink all of the convoy merchant vessels and thereby terminate the supply lines to Britain.  The US did not enter the war until after the declaration of war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941.  For the first three years of the war the convoys were escorted by Canadian and British warships. The turning point came when the British warships were equipped with Radar and Sonar (Asdic) which made the detection and destruction of submarines easier. In addition the capture of the German enigma coding machine provided the allies with vital intelligence on the location of the U-Boats. “The British were largely able to master the surface threat posed by Germany, sinking the pocket battleship Graf Spee in December 1939 and the battleship Bismarck in 1941” (Sheffield, 2010)

The US entered the war in Europe in 1941. It began immediate direct assistance in the North African campaign. In May 1942 they started to re-equip the army with much needed Sherman tanks and ground support. Operation Torch was a joint US/British/Commonwealth (allies) attempt to isolate the German and Italian forces. The US army was involved with the capture of Tunisia and later with General Patton the invasion of Sicily and Italy. “The U.S. II Corps, now under the command of Maj. Gen. George S. Patton, attacked in coordination with an assault on the German line by Montgomery’s troops.” (WW2 History, 2010)
The main architects of the Invasion of Europe were General C Marshall (Chief of Staff) and General Dwight D Eisenhower (Supreme Commander Allied Forces). Marshall was a brilliant military strategist and was later described by Churchill as the Architect of Victory in Europe. The two together provided the main inspiration behind the Normandy (D-Day) landings.  The US Air force considerably bolstered the RAF after the Battle of Britain bringing Mustang fighter planes and the B52 Flying Fortress. Owing to the ability to drop precision bombs at high altitudes the B52’s took on the important job of bombing Germany in the daytime whilst the Lancaster’s of the RAF took on the night time operations. The air force was instrumental in taking the war directly to Germany and the destruction of its Cities & industrial complexes. “The U.S. Eighth Air Force started bombing Germany heavily in 1943” (Acepilots.com, 2010).

Works Cited

Acepilots.com. (2010). Aces of the Eighth Air Force in World War Two. Retrieved 11 11, 2010, from Acepilots.com: http://www.acepilots.com/usaaf_eto_aces.html

Sheffield, G. (2010, 9 8). Battle of the Atlantic. Retrieved 11 10, 2010, from BBC World History: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_atlantic_01.shtml

WW2 History. (2010). Brief History of WW2. Retrieved 11 11, 2010, from The North African Campaign: http://www.worldwariihistory.info/WWII/North-Africa.html