THE SPREADING HOLOCAUST

this was the Europe of 1941 the Nazi blitzkrieg had overwhelmed France Holland Belgium Denmark Norway and Luxembourg Russian armies were in desperate retreat the german air force was raining death and destruction on angel combined Italian and German forces were medicine Egypt their objective to defeat an opposing British Army and dominate all North Africa in Asia Japanese air and ground forces were driving forward in their bloody conquest of China only one of the world's major powers was still not at war the United States it was a Sunday afternoon in December 1941 and the Statue of Liberty towered serenely over New York Harbor as if she were the last symbol of freedom left to the crumbling free world afternoon in New York early morning in Hawaii and another great harbor where American warships were at dockside or wrote a tanker planes with cold engine stood idle at nearby Hickam Field when suddenly without warning you you well yeah is that I the immediate Japanese military objective was to knock out united states naval and air power in the pacific at a single stroke they reasoned that we were committed to eventual entrance in the war in europe convinced that we were incapable of fighting a two-front war the Japanese were right in their calculations to the extent that Roosevelt and Churchill were to agree that the defeat of Hitler the most powerful of our enemies must have priority over an offensive against Japan they followed sound principles of warfare to concentrate the greatest mass of power against the major objective but it would be nearly a year before we could muster train and movin Army overseas to attack the strongest of the aggressors the first American troops to go into action and engage the enemy were those already in the Philippines under General Douglas MacArthur whose forces would fight not only that first battle but after more than three long years of combat the final land battle against the last of the aggressors three days after Pearl Harbor Japanese troops landed on lasagnes north coast the following days still another Japanese landing was made on Luzon East Coast on the 21st of december the main japanese invasion force hit the eastern shore of the land I engulfed troops came pouring ashore from 80 transports the Japanese onslaught gave General MacArthur only one choice fight a delaying action try to regroup his horses it was a monumental task the Japanese had struck swiftly suddenly devastatingly they pressed forward unchecked to save Manila from wars destruction General MacArthur declared it an open City ignoring such humanitarian consideration the Japanese bombed Manila on the last day of 1941 MacArthur withdrew to the mountainous terrain of the Bataan Peninsula for Bataan and Corregidor commanded Manila Bay the objective was to delay the enemy's entrance to the bay MacArthur and his battling bastards of Bataan as the troops in grim humor called themselves knew they were fighting a losing battle but they fought gaining precious time for us to recover from the disaster at Pearl Harbor and build up our forces there were other prime targets marked by the Japanese in December 1941 they took Hong Kong and invaded Malaya they bombed the British Singapore and its great naval base the British fought back but it was the same losing fight that our troops were waging in baton on New Year's Day 1942 the siege of Bataan began superior japanese forces pounded our beleaguered troops for three long and agonizing months on februari 22nd 1942 President Roosevelt ordered General MacArthur to leave the Philippines and proceed to Australia as supreme Allied commander in the southwest Pacific MacArthur turned over his command to general Jonathan Wainwright mcarthur made the first leg of his journey to Australia by PT boat through enemy and bested waters and then by plane from Mindanao patan fell on the 9th of april nineteen forty-two thousands of captured American and Filipino prisoners of war began their infamous death march hundreds were to die felled by exhaustion and by the bayonets of their captors to those self designated battling bastards of Bataan who starved and fought on the nation owes a debt it can never repay theirs was a heroism seldom matched corregidor remained our last foothold what once had seemed an impregnable rock fortress now awaited its inevitable doom the fortunes of the United States and its allies were at their lowest ebb but the Japanese were soon to learn that their homeland was vulnerable to surprise attack April eighteenth 1942 16 b-25 bombers led by lieutenant colonel james Doolittle prepared to take off from the deck of the aircraft carrier Hornet their target Tokyo and four other major Japanese cities with carefully selected military targets it was only nine days after the fall of the time never before had such a carrier-based operation been attempted the psychological effects of the raid on Tokyo were even greater than the material damage inflicted it raised the morale of all Americans it shocked the enemy into realization that we had the will and the wherewithal to carry the war to the heart of his own homeland three weeks later United States Navy planes of a carrier task force struck the Japanese fleet a damaging blow in the Coral Sea the first naval battle in history to be fought entirely with carrier-based aircraft while the Navy was starting to make a comeback general Wainwright surrendered Corregidor a proud old soldier who had fought in World War one and who now at the age of 59 was surrendering his sword without cause for shame for he and his men had fought in the finest tradition of the American fighting man our stubborn defense of Corregidor had put the japanese conquest for months behind schedule and sent general hama back to japan relieved of his command in January of 1942 President Roosevelt had addressed Congress and the nation to set new and immediate production goals first to increase our production rate of our planes so rapidly that in this year 1942 we shall produce sixty thousand planes 10,000 10,000 by the way more than the goal that we set a year and a half ago this includes 45,000 combat planes farmers dive bombers the suit claims the rate of increase will be maintained continued so that next year 1943 we shall produce a hundred and twenty-five thousand aeroplanes including a hundred thousand combat planes second to increase our production rate of tanks so rapidly that in this year 1942 we shall produce 45,000 tanks and to continue that increase so that next year 1943 we shall produce 75,000 tanks third to increase our production rate of anti-aircraft guns so rapidly that in this year 1942 we shall produce 20,000 of them and to continue that increase so that next year 1943 we shall produce 35,000 anti-aircraft guns and forth to increase our production rate of merchant ships so rapidly that in this year 1942 we shall build eight million deadweight tons as compared with a 1941 completed production of 1,100,000 immense forces were mobilizing millions of Americans were in training the infantry Airborne Infantry field artillery anti-aircraft artillery Armored Cavalry army air corps pilots by the thousands woman power as well as man power the vitality of all America was surging up to full time American labor and management performed miracles planes and tanks guns ammunition tens of thousands of items rolled off the lines to supply not only ourselves but our fighting allows on the homefront 1942 was a momentous year great plans and stratagems were being laid and coordinated supplies by the millions of puns poured overseas Nazi submarines took a heavy toll but enough ships got through to help sustain our beleaguered allies in the air the tables were starting to turn 1000 Royal Air Force planes in a single massive saturation raid smashed Cologne Germany in the Pacific our naval aircraft inflicted the first decisive defeat on a large Japanese fleet winning the Battle of Midway you it was an hour of triumph there would be others but they would be slow in coming our top military leaders were now taking the high places reserved for them by destiny General Douglas MacArthur commander in the southwest Pacific and Admiral Chester Nimitz you general dwight d eisenhower was coordinating momentous plans with the allied combined staff in the European theater of operations general Leslie McNair commanding general of all American ground forces General Omar Bradley Commandant of the infantry school soon to be given a pop field command general Henry HAP Arnold commanding Army Air Forces general breann somerville moved up to chief of the services of supply with the stupendous task of logistical support for what would finally be an army of many millions deployed throughout the world the first of our troops began arriving at overseas staging areas in North Ireland England Australia on bloody Guadalcanal army troops relieved battle scarred and weary Marines to continue the fight for the Solomon Islands United States was demonstrating not only a will to fight but the capability of fighting a two-front war against great odds on far-flung battlefronts half a world apart on the eighth of November 1942 American amphibious forces struck the shores of North Africa we were to use an appropriate American phrase in business the business of an all-out fight against powerful aggressors who had reached out to conquer the world we had come thousands of miles but not for conquest in 1942 the commander of our ground forces general Leslie McNair said it best the United States is stretching out its arms to encircle the globe not in conquest but in protection even with our powerful alive the task is vast and calls for our utmost all-out effort our armed forces were in circling the earth in a mighty crusade for freedom nothing like it has happened in all the history of man it was the dynamic outpouring of a great nation's energy blood and resources to protect not only itself but to liberate freedom-loving people everywhere we had come a long way but the end of the road was far from within sight we had only just begun to fight you you