Figure 1.--Many of America's private boarding schools were military schools based on Army organizatiin and staffed by Army veterans. Congress and political leaders did not give the same attentiin to the actual U.S. Army which declimed to the size of the armies of small European nations. Military appropriations were limited during World War I and in the 1930s, the country's focus was on the Depression and needed Relef, not military preparadness. And much of the appropriatiins to be had were to the Navy and Air Force, not yet an indeondent force. President Roosevelt selected Brigadir General George C. Marshall as Army Chief of Staff over some 30 senior generals, one of his most important decisions. Ironically, Marshall assumed his duties the very day that Hitler sent his panzers into Poland (September 1, 1939). It would be Marshall that would have the job of creating a massive American Army virtually from scratch, citizen soldiers with no militart experience. This was very differet from the Axis militaries.

The United States except for the Navy virtually disarmed after World War I and even naval apprriations were limited. As the Germans and Japanese moved towardwar in the 1930s, President Rosevelt's focus was on air and naval forces, hoping to win any future war with technology and industrial might rather than massive land warfare. He wanted to avoid possible casualtes that would inevitably occur in anothger land war. Any major rearmament was complicated by the resistance of the Isolationist and pacifist lobby. Most mericans had come to see American involvemnent in World War I as a terrible mistake never to be repeated again. The U.S. Army at the time of World War II was a small, poorly equipped force. Very little had been spent on developing modrn infantry weapons. TheU.S. Army was about the size of the Swedish Army. Only the fall of France began to change minds in a meningful way (June 1940). The develoing danger caused President Roosevelt to take an enormous political risk. The President in the midst of a contentious reelection campaign proposed the first peace time draft in American history (September 1940). The Isolationists with support of the Republican Party resisted the effort. Had they won, America would have entered World war II virtually without an army--as it had in World war I. Although America wanted no part in another war, the United States was the only country with the industrial and agricutural capacity to fight a global war. The striking power of the Pacific fleet was crippled by the Japanese Pearl Harbor attack which brought America into the War (December 1941). Within 6 months, however, the Navy had restored a balance in the Pacifc and 6 months later as new ships and planes began reaching the fleet, the Japanese had to withdraw the Imperial Fleet from combat in the South Pacific. The United Sates began building an army in 1940 and then expanded the pace after Pearl Harbor. The Marines, naval infantry, played a critical role in the Pacific War. The British were a fortuitous ally, helping restrain poorly conceived operations. And when the U.S. Army first met the Germans in Tunisia (January 1943) they found that they were not only not well preared, but much of their equiment, except artillery and the M-1 rifle, was inferior. Following the German example, the U.S. Army trained pratroopers. And followng the British example commando forces were trained called rangers. The Americans proved, however, to be quick studies, copying the German Blitzkrieg tactics. Here the massive expansion of air power help to overcome German professionalism and armaments. Thanks to Hitler commiting the bulk of the Wehermacht in the East, the Americans and British always fought the Germans at a numerical advantage. And American industry insured that American and allied solders were completely mehcanized and well supplied although not always with the most advanced equipment. A major part of the American war effort was the air war. Ground forces after Tunisia were increasingly well supported with close-air support. American planes drove the Luftwaffe from the skies over northern Europe and strategic bombing reduced the Axis ar ecnomies and cities to huge pilles of rubble and cinders. Air commanders before the War were ficused on strategic bombing. And this did not change even after the Germans denonstrated Blitzkrieg with close air support for ground troops. Only after America entered the War did this develop. The U.S. Navy had begun to develop a carrier air arm, but it is only after Pearl Harbor and the sinking of American battleships that carriers became the major American naval striking force.

U.S. Army

The United States except for the Navy virtually disarmed after World War I and even naval apprriations were limited. As the Germans and Japanese moved towardwar in the 1930s, President Rosevelt's focus was on air and naval forces, hoping to win any future war with technology and industrial might rather than massive land warfare. He wanted to avoid possible casualtes that would inevitably occur in anothger land war. Any major rearmament was complicated by the resistance of the Isolationist and pacifist lobby. Most mericans had come to see American involvemnent in World War I as a terrible mistake never to be repeated again. The U.S. Army at the time of World War II was a small, poorly equipped force. Very little had been spent on developing modrn infantry weapons. TheU.S. Army was about the size of the Swedish Army. Only the fall of France began to change minds in a meningful way (June 1940). The develoing danger caused President Roosevelt to take an enormous political risk. The President in the midst of a contentious reelection campaign proposed the first peace time draft in American history (September 1940). The Isolationists with support of the Republican Party resisted the effort. Had they won, America would have entered World war II virtually without an army--as it had in World war I. The United Sates began building an army in 1940 and then expanded the pace after Pearl Harbor. The Marines, naval infantry, played a critical role in the Pacific War. The British were a fortuitous ally, helping restrain poorly conceived operations. And when the U.S. Army first met the Germans in Tunisia (January 1943) they found that they were not only not well preared, but much of their equiment, except artillery and the M-1 rifle, was inferior. Following the German example, the U.S. Army trained pratroopers. And followng the British example commando forces were trained called rangers. The Americans proved, however, to be quick studies, copying the German Blitzkrieg tactics. Thanks to Hitler commiting the bulk of the Wehermacht in the East, the Americans and British always fought the Germans at a numerical advantage. And American industry insured that American and allied solders were completely mehcanized and well supplied although not always with the most advanced equipment.

U.S. Navy

Although America wanted no part in another war, the United States was the only country with the industrial and agricutural capacity to fight a global war. The Navy would be key to a global war effort. The U.S. Navy did not have the long tradition of the British Poyal Navy, but interestingly the United States was the only country that had any success in individual ship to ship combat against Royal Navy ships. The primary achievement of the U.S, Navy had been its role in blockading the southern Confederacy in the Civil War. The U.S. Navy was not heavily involved in World War I. America entered the War after the major sea battles (especually Jutland) had been fought. The Navy's principal task was getting the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) safely to France to reinforce the Allies on the Western Front. The Navy's Marine Corps was deployed there as infantry with the U.S. Army. The U.S. Navy like the Royal Navy decommisdioned many vessels in the inter-War years as part of the Washington Naval Arms Limitation Treaties. In contrast to the Army, the Congress approved substantial appropriations for naval contruction, especially after Japan failed to accept continued limits on naval construction. Most naval strategists before the War believed that the backbone of the fleet was the big-gun battleships. The United States also buit a fleet of carriers. The U.S. Navy was America's primary military force in 1941. President Roosevelt committed the Navy to an undeclared war against German in the North Atlantic even before America entered the War. He also noved the Pacific Fleet, including the new carriers, from San Diego to Pearl Harbor as a show of force against the Japanese. The American carriers were the primary target of Admiral Yamamoto's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S. Pacific Fleet was the only threat to Japan's desire to seiuze the Southern rResoource it coveted. The Japanese carrier attack devestated Battleship Row, but the carriers were not at Pearl when the Japanese attacked (December 1941). Had there been a climatic battle at sea, given the capacity of the Japanese carriers, the Pacific fleet might have been much more seriously damaged than what occurred at Pearl. With the battleships destroyed or sunk, Thus the Navy was forced to develop new tactics built around carriers. Within 6 months, however, the Navy had restored a balance in the Pacifc and 6 months later as new ships and planes began reaching the fleet, the Japanese had to withdraw the Imperial Fleet from combat in the South Pacific.

U.S. Marine Corps

The Marine Corps is part of the U.S. Navy, but they played such an importnt part in the crole, we re listinfg them separtely. The Pacifiuc War was of course a naval war, but in the vasy straches of the Pacific, bases were needed to provide supploes nd to project air power. And to seize bases an infantry force was needed. The Marines supploed much of this force. Fortunately for the Marines. The battlefields were relatively smallmislands. And the Japanese could neither occupy are supply every island. There were just so mny islands tht could be garrisoned. And the Japanese had great difficukty supplying the islands they did garrison. Most of the Imperial Army was deployed in China throughout the War. The Marine Corps during the inter-War period developed its doctrine of amphibious warfare. The U.S. Marine Corps again played an importan role in World War II, almost entirely in the Pacifiv war launched by the Japanese. It was the First Marine Division that staged Americ's first offensive operation of World War II--the invasion of Guadcabal (August 1942). It was the Marine Corps that was the backbone of the Cetral Pacific campaign that began at Tarawa (1943) and enbded at Okinawa and Iwo Jima (1945). For the first time draftees were assigned to the Mrine Corps.

U.S. Air Forces

The primary American service air force was the U.S. Army Air Corps. Air commanders focused primarily on stratgic bombing, but air dictrine was not well deceloped. Aftr the rise of the NAZIs, the rmy air Corps was conceived primarily to fight a Euopean war with the German Luftwaffe. The massive expansion of air power help to overcome German professionalism and armaments. More but still limited funding became available with the rise of the NAZIs in Europe and President Roosevelt's recognition of the dangers posed. As the possibility of war increased, the President decided to apply technology rather than massed infantry formations as in World War I. Thus funding became somewhat more available. The public and Congress were less atuned to the dangers from Europe. A range of air craft appeared the wave including the legendary Boeing B-17. Advances were also made with fighters, but nothing matched the German ME-109 (1936) or the British Spitfire (1939). The Army Air Corps chiefs were unaware of how badly they had lagged behind, in part because the American public were so opposed to War that coopertion with the British was limited. In addition, Primeminister Chamberlain was more interested in preventing war than preparin for it. Cooperation ith Britain changed dramtically when Chuchill became primeminister. A major part of the American war effort was the air war. American Air Chiefs believed that the heavily armed B-17 could fight its way through to targets in the Reich. This proved to be a serious misjudgement and American air crews suffered dreadful losses after the Around the Clock Campaign was launched with the British (January 1943). Only with the arrival of the P-51 Mustang (an Anglo-American creation) did the Air War swung decisively for the Allies. Ground forces after Tunisia were increasingly well supported with close-air support. Cooperation with Britain payed off with the P-51 Mustang. American planes drove the Luftwaffe from the skies over northern Europe and strategic bombing reduced the Axis war ecnomies and cities to huge pilles of rubble and cinders. In the Pacific after the sezure of the Marianas, the Army Air Corps long-range B-29 brought War to the Japanese Home Islands. Air commanders before the War were ficused on strategic bombing. And this did not change even after the Germans denonstrated Blitzkrieg with close air support for ground troops. Only after America entered the War did this develop. It was, however, in the Pacific that the defincncies in Ameriacan fighters were first exposed. The U.S. Navy had begun to develop a carrier air arm, but it is only after Pearl Harbor and the sinking of American battleships that carriers became the major American naval striking force. The legendary Mitusbishi Zero dominated the skies fo most of 1942 until American industry began to produce more capable aircraft for both the Army Air Corps and Navy. The United States not only had the army Air Corps and Naval Air servive, but the Marines also developed their own air component. It was the Marines that used American air power, such that it was, for the first time in a close-air support role uring World war I. Unfortunately the Army Air Corps paid little attebtion. This had to be reinvented begiining on Guadalcanal. This was a force purely dedidated to close air support. The Marine Corps leadership pressed for this because they could not always depend on the Army Air Corps and Navy. This became apparent fom the vry beginning when he Navy withdrew their task force after landing the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal. This was the beginning of what would become an island-hopping campaign.

U.S. Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard is a part of the Treasury Department with a mission to The mission of the United States Coast Guard is to ensure our Nation's maritime safety, security and stewardship. It is respnsible for a range of coastal activies like navigation and life saving, since World War II, the stewarship role has taken on more imprtance, but since the 9-11 attacks, security has taken on more prominance. While normally an independent service, during war time Coast Guard is transferred to the Navy. This occurred shortly before Pearl Harbor (November 1941). And the Coast Guard during World War II played a vital role. The Navy 's expertise is with large naval vessesls, but the War created a huge need for boats of varying design and puroses. And here it was the Coast Guard that had the expertise in handling small craft. Of course during the War, it was the Navy's large ships, both carriers and big-gun battleships and cruisers that make the headlines and get most of the coverage an as the Coast Guard puts it, their 'service and sacrifice is lost in that shadow'. World War II historians just typically overlook or meerly briefly mention the Coast Guard's role. That role and the Service's responsibolities were immediately expamded upon transfer to the Navy. And that role include operatiins in both the Atalntic and Pacific. Noine other than Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz applauded the performance of Coast Guard men and women, writing in the introduction of Malcolm Willoughby’s The U.S. Coast Guard in World War II, “I know of no instance wherein they did not acquit themselves in the highest traditions of their Service, or prove themselves worthy of their Service motto, ‘Semper Paratus’—‘Always Ready.’”

Created: 12:18 AM 8/11/2014
Last updated: 11:36 PM 11/4/2020