The Second World War in 100 Facts

by Clive Pearson

  38. THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY IS DECISIVE

  After the attack on Pearl Harbour (Fact 32) the Japanese advance across South Asia had seemed relentless. Australia and India were clearly under threat. However, the American Pacific fleet had not been dealt the knockout blow the Japanese had hoped for. Indeed, as the Japanese themselves had feared, within six months the Americans were able to assemble a sizeable naval force capable of taking on their rampant foe.

  By the beginning of May 1942 enemy forces were getting worryingly near to Australia. A Japanese naval force was closing in on Papua New Guinea with the intention of staging a seaborne capture of the main town, Port Moresby. The American Task Force 17 was despatched to intercept the Japanese fleet. It soon became known as the Battle of the Coral Sea and was to be the first sea battle in history in which neither side saw or engaged each other directly. Both opponents launched fighter planes from their respective aircraft carriers with the intention of knocking out the other’s carrier force. In a topsy-turvy conflict there were only a few serious hits, causing the sinking of one Japanese light carrier and the damaging of two of their heavy carriers. As a result the Japanese decided to abandon their planned invasion. The Americans had only lost one carrier. Their opponents, however, were convinced that another carrier, Yorktown, had also been sunk. Although severely damaged, in a remarkable effort American repair teams refitted her and got her back into service within forty-eight hours. This was soon to prove crucial.

  The commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Admiral Yamamoto, believed that with the loss of the Yorktown the Americans would lack air power. He could now afford to take control of Midway Island (within striking distance of Pearl Harbour) and at the same time lure the American fleet into a trap. Japanese intelligence was poor, however, and Yamamoto was unaware that the Americans had broken their codes and were waiting for them. The Japanese attack force contained a massive armada of 165 warships including several carriers. Initially, they put their main effort into attacking Midway unaware of the American presence. Admiral Nagumo, who commanded four carriers, at first kept ninety-three reserve planes fitted with torpedoes ready should the American fleet be sighted. He now made a fatal error. As no Americans were reported he countermanded that even these planes should now to be fitted with incendiary and fragmentation bombs for the attack on Midway. This changeover would take an hour. As luck would have it fifteen minutes later American reconnaissance planes were suddenly sighted. Nagumo pondered what to do and eventually decided to refit the torpedoes. Matters were further confused when returning fighters were allowed to land on the carriers. Disaster soon followed. With the planes sitting prone on the decks surrounded by fuel and explosive ordnance the carriers were dangerously exposed. Waves of American dive bombers swooped in and by the end of the day all four carriers had been sunk.

  It was a decisive blow from which Japan never recovered.

  39. THE JERRY CAN PROVED A WINNER

  The Desert War swung to and fro across North Africa for three years between 1940 and 1943. The arrival of German forces in March 1941 shifted the balance back in favour of Axis forces and by 1942 British forces had retreated back into Egypt. However, it was not all bad news. Whenever the Afrika Korps was forced into a withdrawal, British ‘Tommies’ were always pleased to pick up the ‘Jerry’ (German) cans left behind.

  So what was so special about this fuel can? For British tank crews it was clearly a superior design to the 4-gallon can they had to use. For one thing the German can was robust: it was made of pressed steel with cross-like indentations on the sides for extra strength. Compared with any previous designs it was also user-friendly. At the top of the can there was an arrangement of three parallel handles. This was extremely practical as it allowed for two people to carry the can at the same time and it could be easily passed to another person. In addition, the top had a secure cam lever release mechanism, which was also leakproof and allowed for smooth pouring.

  The British 4-gallon cans, on the other hand, were known as ‘flimsies’ as they were liable to develop punctures and leak, especially when driven over rough desert terrain. After one journey they often had to be disposed of.

  The Jerry can design, however, is still used in many armies to this day. Clearly a winner!

  40. PQ17 WAS THE CONVOY FROM HELL

  As mentioned before the British ran convoys across the North Sea to Russian Arctic ports via the North Cape of Norway (Fact 30). These convoys were particularly vulnerable to attack in summertime. This was because along the Norwegian coast the Germans had a vast array of planes, U-boats and capital ships (including the fearsome battleship Tirpitz) whose sole intention was to annihilate these very convoys.

  One unfortunate convoy was PQ 17, which set sail from Iceland on 27 June 1942. It contained thirty-six merchant ships and a large close escort of six destroyers and fifteen other vessels. In addition, another large force under Admiral John Tovey containing two battleships and various cruisers would provide protection but only as far as Bear Island near the North Cape. It was feared these important vessels would be too vulnerable beyond this point. From 2 July the enemy attacks started and Admiral Tovey soon withdrew. The close escort continued to offer support but this too was withdrawn when the admiralty received news that the Tirpitz had left the Altenfiord where it was lurking.

  Immediately the disastrous order was given to ‘scatter’ the convoy. Ironically, unknown to the British the Tirpitz had soon returned to port. Alas for the convoy it was now completely at the mercy of German dive-bombers and U-boats. By the time the convoy reached port in Russia only eleven ships had survived. Lost at sea were 430 tanks, 210 aircraft and 3,350 other vehicles. It had been a calamity.

  41. THE AMERICANS HAVE A ‘GOOD WAR’

  America’s experience of the war was certainly different from many other combatant nations. For many peoples the war brought massive destruction, economic devastation and huge losses of soldiers and civilians. In addition, many suffered the hardship and suffering of enemy occupation. Not only did the USA avoid all of these, she even emerged from the war as a world superpower.

  Ironically, the war brought relief from suffering for many in America. The Great Depression of the 1930s had brought harrowing times in the form of massive unemployment. Despite the frantic efforts of President Roosevelt to ease the situation, by 1940 the unemployment level still remained at around 8 million. However, once the American economy was completely mobilised for the war effort, full employment soon followed.

  Economic production actually doubled during the war and the size of the economy grew likewise. This had an impact for ordinary Americans who saw their personal incomes rise by as much as 200 per cent. Although the government imposed controls on prices and wages there was little rationing and the lights never went out. Civilian consumption rose by more than 20 per cent. It is no wonder that many Americans welcomed the war. They had never had it so good.

  There was also a general increase in social mobility. Many women were drafted into the munitions industry and into other ‘men only’ occupations – by 1944 they represented 36 per cent of the workforce. Large numbers of agricultural workers as well as African-Americans moved to the cities. Many young men who left their home districts for the first time saw new horizons either in the big cities or in the army.

  Of course the war was not kind to everybody. For African-Americans the picture was rather mixed. Whereas they won the right to equality of treatment in the workplace, there were still severe racial tensions. For example, in 1943 a race riot in Detroit saw 100,000 people on the streets, which left thirty-four dead. In the army, segregation meant separate units for blacks and whites. However, many commentators see the war years as a positive turning point in the civil rights movement.

  For the Japanese-Americans the war was, to put it mildly, rather unpleasant. After the attack on Pearl Harbour President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the internment of 120,000 Japanese-Americans (two-thirds of whom were bo
rn in America) living on the west coast. They were given notice of a mere seventy-two hours before they were moved to isolated camps, where they lived in barrack-like cabins surrounded by barbed wire. It was not until two years later that they were finally allowed back home.

  For those military personnel who died in the war (around 405,000) it was clearly not a good outcome, but even this figure represented a tiny fraction of the population. For the vast majority of Americans the war had clearly been beneficial.

  42. LEND-LEASE WAS AN AMERICAN LIFELINE THAT HELPED ALL THE ALLIES

  One of the most amazing facts of the war is that America managed to fight a war on two fronts (Europe and the Pacific) and at the same time keep her allies supplied with immense quantities of tanks, vehicles and all manner of other wartime requisites. These deliveries represented a salvation for Britain and the Soviet Union who were the two main beneficiaries. (In total thirty-eight countries received help.) Not only did it permit these countries to survive, but it also enabled them to decisively turn the tide against their fearsome enemies.

  When President Roosevelt proclaimed in December 1940 that America would become the ‘arsenal of democracy’, he was clearly signalling that his country would come to the aid of those countries fighting fascism. By the beginning of 1941 Roosevelt was becoming increasingly concerned about Britain’s ability to prosecute the war. His proposal was to let Britain have the resources she needed for her defence without expecting any immediate payment. The problem was that America was not in the war and there was strong opposition from isolationists to the very notion of getting involved. Nevertheless, on 11 March 1941 the Lend-Lease Act was passed by congress. Roosevelt, rather disingenuously, compared it to a situation where you were merely lending your neighbour a hose when his house was on fire. Afterwards, it would be returned when the fire had been put out. However, nobody was seriously expecting Britain to return any battered or burnt-out tanks!

  All American goods destined for Britain had to be transported across the Atlantic Ocean through the gauntlet of German U-boats. The British remained under strict rationing at this time, so to begin with the priority was food rather than tanks and planes, although these too were supplied. The first deliveries contained dried eggs, evaporated milk and spam. America provided enormous quantities of war material and in the end Britain and her empire had the lion’s share, receiving $31 billion of the $50 billion spent under the scheme. It was an important lifeline.

  For the Soviet Union, too, American help proved vital. Supplies arrived via Vladivostok, the Persian Gulf or the British Arctic convoys. Although the USSR produced prodigious quantities of planes and tanks herself, she was seriously lacking in many basics including food. The statistics are remarkable; for example, America provided the Soviets with more than half a million vehicles (including 200,000 Studebaker trucks on which the Russians placed their frightening Katyusha rockets), 380,000 field telephones, 956,000 miles of telephone wire and nearly 15 million pairs of boots. The omnipresent spam also found its way there in large quantities. And all this to a communist regime to which most Americans were bitterly opposed!

  After the war Stalin publically played down the importance of Lend-Lease. Privately, however, he admitted that the Soviet Union could not have won the war without it. In the end Russia did repay her debt in 1990 while Britain was only able to pay hers off in 2006.

  43. IN BRITAIN EVERYBODY IS MOBILISED FOR THE WAR EFFORT

  The approaching defeat of France in June 1940 meant that Britain would soon be alone in Europe. It was imperative that Britain should husband all her resources to the utmost. Her very survival depended on it. Not only was the U-boat war in the Atlantic threatening vital supplies, but she would need to summon all her manpower to increase armaments production, meet the needs of her armed forces and at the same time ensure farming continued its food output.

  Britain’s transformation to total war was indeed remarkable. The entire population was mobilised, meaning as many as 4.5 million men were placed under arms. Women, too, were conscripted and 500,000 were put into uniform. For the war effort a total of 16 million men and 7 million women were mobilised, giving a total of 22 million. The remaining 10 million people were housewives, children, invalids and so forth.

  In September 1939 the government had announced that it was taking all necessary powers to mobilise its citizens. However, during the ‘Phoney War’ the effort was rather half-hearted. But with the defeat on the Continent in 1940 all this changed. In May 1940 the Emergency Powers Act was passed, which gave unprecedented powers of control over British citizens and their property. All work was divided into essential and non-essential and where possible everybody was directed into the former. Identity cards were introduced for rationing and to tighten control over the public.

  The National Service No. 2 Act of December 1941 brought in conscription for women. Some would be ‘directed’ to industry while others were ‘conscripted’ into the auxiliary services. Women were categorised as ‘mobile’ or ‘immobile’. Mobile ones were single and could be moved around the country whereas immobile ones were married perhaps with children and had to work nearer to home. Some young women were conscripted to work in the Women’s Land Army and were expected to wear a radical uniform of fawn corduroy breeches or khaki-coloured dungarees, green jerseys and strong brogues or gumboots. In total by July 1943 there were 87,000 women working in this capacity. Sometimes the conditions were grim and the work could be tough with long hours on isolated farms. These women had to deal with any task given them, including muck spreading and rat-catching!

  The real threat of invasion in 1940 also led to the creation of the Home Guard. This was composed of those too old or too young to serve in the regular armed forces. Poor planning meant that initially for the 1.5 million volunteers there was a distinct lack of weaponry. Many were reduced to wielding pikes and truncheons. And it is true that some elderly volunteers really had fought in the colonial war in the Sudan in 1898.

  In the precarious position that Britain found herself in the early stages of the war it was absolutely vital that the population was mobilised as efficiently as possible. Churchill’s government was awarded dictatorial powers over its citizens, but everybody knew it was necessary for survival.

  44. THE BRITISH WARTIME DIET WAS NOT SO BAD

  Rationing was a necessity in Britain because of her position as an industrialised nation and as a net importer of goods; for example, 70 per cent of her cheese and sugar and 80 per cent of her fruit was imported. Not only was the government keen to reduce unnecessary expenditure, but there was a problem of actually importing foodstuffs across the U-boat-infested Atlantic.

  The first rationed goods were butter, sugar and ham. Later on, from time to time, meats and cheese were restricted as well as margarine, cooking fats, eggs and milk. Bread was not rationed but to save waste more was extracted from the wheat and it had a different colour and texture. This was termed the ‘National Loaf’ and in essence was the first wholewheat bread. It turned out to be very unpopular. At the end of the war people demanded their white bread back!

  People were also encouraged to grow more food in back gardens, allotments and national parks.

  Nevertheless, despite all the restrictions the diet of ordinary people did get better. The unhealthy pre-war diet was improved and supplemented by a better eating regime; for example, sugars and fats were reduced and vitamins were added to flour and margarine. Children got extra milk, fruit juice and cod liver oil. The health of young people improved and this was especially so for working-class children. In addition people ate more of their own fresh vegetables that they grew themselves. And then there was the National Loaf! There were certainly some positives.

  45. OPERATION BLUE STARTS OFF WELL

  After the bitter winter of 1941–42 and the German retreat before Moscow the front had stabilised. Hitler decided that the main offensive of 1942 would not be directed against Moscow as everybody, including his own generals, expected but towards
the south. Operation Blue, as it was codenamed, would be divided into two parts: Army Group B would drive east and take Stalingrad to cover Army Group A, which would continue south-eastwards and capture the oil wells of Baku in the Caucasus. The aim was to deny the Soviet Union its resource base and to seize these for herself.

  The offensive was launched on 28 June and from the beginning it went well. The morale of Soviet forces was already low due to the massive defeats in the previous year and in the spring. It is believed that the Soviet Union lost an estimated 1,400,000 men in the first six months of 1942 alone. German commanders were then easily able to achieve their initial objectives with more straightforward victories. Within a month the northern army group was within striking distance of Stalingrad while the southern group had crossed the River Don and was poised to move on the Caucasus.

  These advances sent shock waves through the Soviet people and establishment. Discipline was breaking down in the Russian armies and men abandoned their equipment rather than face the ‘invincible’ Germans. Stalin tried to restore order by issuing his famous decree entitled ‘Not a Step Back’, which set out more severe punishments for cowardice in the field. Nevertheless, the Nazi advance continued unabated. As before, the reason for these endless defeats lay with Stalin himself, who remained intent on continuously launching reckless, ill-prepared counter-offensives against a superior enemy. These constant defeats could only provoke demoralisation.

  In the south Army Group A made good headway across the open steppe and by the end of August had reached the Caucasus Mountains. However, they found their way barred through the passes by Soviet infantry units. A section of the army group drove eastwards towards the oil centres of Groznyi and Maikop, but eventually ground to a halt due to increasing Soviet resistance, supply problems and inclement weather. The German spearhead never reached the oil wells or the Caspian Sea. By the end of the year Hitler ordered the army group to pull back.