1942 - Ebb Tide

During 1942 the Axis powers (Germany and Japan anyway) seemed to be winning WWII. Yes, America had entered the war and was cranking up the most powerful war machine on earth, but we needed time. Mr. Churchill suffered defeat after defeat. Mr. Stalin namesake (Stalingrad) seemed on the verge of loss, and General Rommel was whipping everyone the Allies put against him.

But with the advantage of hindsight we can pick out cracks in that facade. In June, with Japan thinking they could lure the remaining American fleet into a hopeless defense of Midway, we were ready.

If we look back to the civil war, we see a dismal series of Lincoln's defeats, until our "careworn" President found his General. (U. S. Grant) In a similar way, 1942 can be said to be the year the Allied political leaders (FDR, Stalln, and Churchill) found their Generals (and Admiral). Most important, Stalin found Generals Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, Aleksandr Mikhailovich Vasilevsky, and Nikolay Nikolayevich Voronov. They orchestrated the massive counter attack which (again in hindsight) turned the tide against Germany on the Eastern Front (Russia). Mr. Churchill found "his Monty" and Montgomery was just the General he needed. Monty ignored Churchill's demands for immediate action and carefully built a sufficient force to counter the desert "fox." And to fill the full house, FDR's team selected Admiral Nimitz for the Pacific, and "Ike" to head the USA effort in Europe. And like Grant, General Eisenhower knew how to win. Working with Churchill, they rejected premature attacks directly across the channel or in Norway, and seized upon North Africa.

To briefly mention the "cracks" in the crumbling picture of Axis victory, we have Midway which turned the tide in the Pacfic, Stalingrad which turned the tide in the Eastern Front, and The Second Battle of El Alamein, where Monty repulsed Rommel in North Africa. One other action must be mentioned, Battle of Guadalcanal which was the first major land offensive against the Empire of the Sun. The Japanese soldiers were fierce fighters and had outfought their foes time and again. However, here they met and not for the first time the US Marines, who proved to be just as tough, just as fierce, and valiant as the Japanese.

 

Yes, all the "turning point" actions (especially Stalingrad) came at a horrific cost in in the coin of the realm - the lives of our defenders. I knew a WWII pilot who flew in combat in WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam, and I always felt like standing up when he entered the room. Rather than the missions, he always wanted me to know he had flown over 700 "traps."