The Turning Point of World War II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Turning Point of World War II - Essay Example Even though the United States was a world power with enormous resources - therefore earning the wariness of the Axis powers - it sat all the way on a different continent. The problem for the Allies was how to leverage these resources to win the war (ibid). The shipping lanes were already rank with the danger of German Uboats making the delivery of supplies and materiel dangerous. The Japanese owned the Pacific waters having built up their naval forces to include a dizzying armada or carriers, battleships, cruisers and destroyers. The pre-emptive strike at Pearl Harbor was meant to totally destroy the American naval force, which was seen by the Japanese as a threat to their Pacific dominance. In the face of the Axis momentum and advantage, America was faced with battle at two fronts, the European and Pacific. They believe that to win the war, victory in Europe against Hitler and Mussolini was imperative before tackling the Japanese(ibid). Therefore it was with this strategy that the Allied forces decided to halt the Axis onslaught. The tide turned in the favor of the Allies inexorably on both fronts during the Russian victory at Stalingrad and the British victory at el-Alamein. In the Pacific, it was the battle of Midway that capped a change of momentum to the Allied forces' favor. The battle at El Alamein - w... If the Germans were successful in broaching those lines, it would have spelled disaster for the Allies, particularly so because it was perilously close to the Suez Canal, a vital shipping link. (Kennedy, et al., 436). The Germans Afrikaa Corps were led by Field Marshall Irwin Rommel, nicknamed the Desert Fox for his daring and cunning in battle. Rommel caught the admiration and esteem of even his Allied foes, and was well-respected as a battle commander. The British forces, led by General Bernard Montgomery, and supplemented by several hundred Sherman tanks pushed back the German forces to Tunisia, 1000 miles away. (ibid) Another major setback for the Germans was their surprising defeat at Stalingrad. Hitler had hoped to sweep through the Russian motherland in a quick and timely fashion. However, Hitler underestimated the Russian winter and the determined resistance by the Russian Red Army. This led to many strategic errors. The German army subsequently had to tie up much resources and time towards conquering Russia. Their defeat was costly, not only in terms of men, supplies, and war materiel, but also strategically. El Alamein was costly because it signified the loss of one of Germany's best generals. Rommel was called back to Germany, and following his implication in an attempted assassination of Hitler, was forced to commit suicide. The Russian and African setbacks pushed back the forces of Hitler at with great casualties. From this point onwards, the Germans were on the defensive, suffering from the effects of having too many objectives and spreading their forces out too thin in the face of a greater opponent (Bailin et al., 762). Midway and the Pacific The Pacific Theater was different from the European theater in the sense that it was