On December 7, 1941, while the German armies were freezing in front of Moscow, Japan suddenly attacking the American naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States were furious and prepared for war. Four days after the bombing, Hitler declared war on the United States. President Roosevelt looked to Congress for immediate enlargement of the armed forces.
In Washington all worked quickly to create a headquarters that could direct a distant war effort. In March the War Department General Staff was reorganized and the Army divided into three major commands: the Air Forces, Ground Forces, and Service Forces. Thirty-seven army divisions were in some state of training, but only one was fully trained, equipped, and deployable by January 1942.
American industry had to support the nation's Allies as well as its own military growth. Britain needed large amounts of equipment; and lend-lease aid, including tens of thousands of trucks and other vehicles and equipment, played an important part in mechanizing the Soviet Army. The first U.S. troops arrived in the British Isles in January 1942, but nearly a year passed before they went into action against the Axis. Meanwhile, air power provided virtually the only means for the Allies to strike at Germany. The Royal Air Force began its air offensive against Germany in May 1942, and on 4 July the first American crews participated in air raids against the Continent.
The United States enters the war
On December 7, 1941, while the German armies were freezing in front of Moscow, Japan suddenly attacking the American naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States were furious and prepared for war. Four days after the bombing, Hitler declared war on the United States. President Roosevelt looked to Congress for immediate enlargement of the armed forces.
In Washington all worked quickly to create a headquarters that could direct a distant war effort. In March the War Department General Staff was reorganized and the Army divided into three major commands: the Air Forces, Ground Forces, and Service Forces. Thirty-seven army divisions were in some state of training, but only one was fully trained, equipped, and deployable by January 1942.
American industry had to support the nation's Allies as well as its own military growth. Britain needed large amounts of equipment; and lend-lease aid, including tens of thousands of trucks and other vehicles and equipment, played an important part in mechanizing the Soviet Army.
The first U.S. troops arrived in the British Isles in January 1942, but nearly a year passed before they went into action against the Axis. Meanwhile, air power provided virtually the only means for the Allies to strike at Germany. The Royal Air Force began its air offensive against Germany in May 1942, and on 4 July the first American crews participated in air raids against the Continent.