Fighting For The Right

The United States and Britain declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Germany, which had joined Italy and Japan in signing the Tripartite Pact to form the Axis Powers military alliance in September 1940, reciprocated on December 11, 1941 by declaring war on the U.S., thereby plunging the United States into the war on two fronts.

American troops began to arrive in Europe in late January 1942, but were not immediately engaged in combat. The first American air attack in Europe took place in August, and "Operation Torch," the U.S. invasion of North Africa, an attempt to assist the British in driving back German and Italian forces and secure control of the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean, followed in November.

After defeating the German "Afrika Korps" under field marshall Erwin Rommel, in Africa in the spring of 1943, the Allied forces crossed the Mediterranean, fighting their way through Sicily and landing on the Italian coast by September. Minnesotans fighting with the 34th Infantry "Red Bulls" Division and the First Battalion of U.S. Army Rangers, many of whom had come out of the 34th, were among the first American troops sent to Europe, and were instrumental in both North African and Italian campaigns. The battles of both campaigns, fought in difficult terrain, cost the Allies many casualties, but served the purpose of keeping German forces engaged away from the coast of France, helping to clear the way for the D-Day Invasion on the beaches of Normandy the following June.

The Normandy Invasion, codenamed "Operation Overlord," was the largest seaborne invasion in history. On D-Day more than 120,000 Allied troops landed in France. Many Minnesotans played a part in the invasion on Omaha and Utah beaches and the surrounding area. They served with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the Second and Fifth Ranger Battalions, and other divisions in the First Army under General Omar N. Bradley. Those that survived the landing had a hard fight against German artillery to get beyond the beaches, finally breaking out in late July.

In September 1944, members of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions joined a British Airborne Division in an attempt to secure the bridges over the Rhine River necessary to the incursion of Allied forced into Germany. The ensuing Battle of Arnhem, or "Operation Market Garden," was ultimately a failure, and in December the Germans launched a brutal final offensive in the forests of the Ardennes in eastern Belgium and Luxembourg - the Battle of the Bulge.

The Allies made their way toward Berlin and a meeting with the Russian forces coming from the east, liberating prisoners of war held in concentration and labor camps along the way. German resistance lessened until the surrender came on May 7, 1945.

Citations:

• Tripartite Pact. Wikipedia.org, 2007.
• European Timeline, World War II 60th Anniversary Committee, 2005.
• Avery, Steve, Editor, Wars and Battles: North African Campaign, 1940-1943. U-S-History.com, 2002-2005.
• North Africa Campaign. MSN Encarta, 2007.
• Erwin Rommel. Wikipedia.org, 2007.
• Minnesota National Guard 1941-1945. Minnesota National Guard, 2007.
• 34th Infantry Division Association. 2007.
• World War II Army Rangers. 2002-2008.
• Italian Campaign (World War II). Wikipedia.org, 2007.
• D-Day Invasion. MSN Encarta, 2007.
• The Battle of Normandy. Wikipedia.org, 2007.
• The Main Phases of the Battle of Normandy. Normandie Mémoire, 2007.
• First U.S. Army History. First Army, 2007.
• Omar Bradley. Wikipedia.org, 2007.
• Italy: Introduction to the Italian Campaign. World War II History Info, 2001-2004.
• Animated Map: The Battle of Arnhem. BBC, 2007.
• Cross, Robin The Battle of the Bulge. BBC, 2005.