2017-18_MC_Catalog

MILITARY CONFLICTS

WOR L D WAR I I

WORLD WAR II WAS A GLOBAL CONFLICT THAT SPLIT THE MAJORITY OF THE WORLD’S NATIONS INTO TWO OPPOSING MILITARY ALLIANCES: THE ALLIES AND THE AXIS POWERS. World War II is deemed to have begun in Europe in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, resulting in the British and French declarations of war. The complexion of the war was changed completely in 1941 by the German invasion of the USSR in June and the Japanese attack on the USA in December. The Germans over-reached themselves in the USSR. In the Pacific the USA began to wrest back the initiative in mid 1942 and in campaigns steadily drove the Imperial Japanese back. In the west the USA first committed its forces in North-West Africa from November 1943, and then with the British and other allies in Italy from July 1943, and in northern and southern France during June and August 1944. In the Pacific, the US campaign reached a turning point in August of 1944 when the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This decision finally brought forth an end to the war, and the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri, in Tokyo Bay.

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TheStartofWorldWarII:TheFloodoftheGermanTide

sensorsrequired.Unfortunately,none wasreadyuntilearlyin1942,butexisting escortsweregivenasmuchnew equipmentaspossibletohelpthemfight backinthemeantime.InMay1941,the firstsurfacewarningradarsetwenttosea inacorvette.AlthoughtheAsdic detectiondevicewasveryeffectivein locatingsubmergedU-boats,ithada weaknessinthatcontactwaslostduring thefinalstagesofadepth-chargeattack. Toremedythis,anewahead-firing weaponhadtobedeveloped,which promisedtoincreasetherateof‘kills’. TheresultingHedgehogwasamultiple spigotmortar,firingsmallcontact-fused bombsinapattern,thefirstshipbeing equippedwithitbytheendof1941. Allthesecountermeasureswere neededasamatterofthegreatest

urgency,for1941wasacriticalyear,with shippinglossesincreasingrapidlyand ever-increasingnumbersofU-boats comingintoservice.Fromatotalof 755,000tonsin1939,shippinglossesrose to3.991milliontons,or1,000ships,in 1940.Anddespiterisingoutputfromthe shipyardsandever-increasingskillin anti-submarinetactics,thetotalroseto 1,300ships,or4.328milliontons,in 1941.Lossesatthisratewere unsustainableoverthelongterm,andin August1941,atthe‘AtlanticCharter’ meeting,theUSAagreedthatits warshipswouldhenceforwardbe permittedtoescortallmerchantships irrespectiveofnationality,while Canadianwarshipswouldsimilarlybe allowedtoescortUSships.TheUSNavy wasalreadyhandingoveritsescorted

ChapterEight THEBATTLEOFTHEATLANTIC 1940–1941

A sthethreatofaGermaninvasionof southernEnglandreceded,theRoyal Navywasabletoconcentrateoncemore ontheproblemoftheAtlanticconvoys. InSeptember1940,theUSAmadean importantdeclarationofsympathyby exchanging50olddestroyersinexchange fora99-yearleaseofBritishbases aroundtheworld.Thesedestroyerswere fitonlyforsecond-lineduties,butmadeit possiblefornewerdestroyerstobe releasedforfleetwork;manyoftheold ‘four-stack’destroyerswerestillinservice attheendofthewar. Coastalescortsandairpatrols provedmoderatelysuccessfulagainstthe U-boats,soforcingthemtoventureinto theWesternApproachesinsearchof targets.HerethenewU-boatbasesinthe BayofBiscaygavetheGermansan importantadvantage,andtheBritish werehard-pressedtoextendcoverto convoysdeeperintheAtlantic.But IcelandhadbeenoccupiedinJuly1940 byBritishandCanadiantroopsto preventapossibleGermanoccupation, andtheislandprovidedairfieldsanda refuellingbasewhichpartlyoffsetthe U-boats’advantage. Throughout1941theUSAwas benevolentinitsneutrality,forPresident FranklinD.RooseveltknewthatUS interestswouldnotbenefitfroma GermanvictoryovertheUK.InMarch 1941,theLend-LeaseActwasenacted, allowingmoreshipsandequipmenttobe provided.InApriltheUSAdeclaredthat itsdefencezone,inwhichUSmerchant shipswereescortedbyUSNavy warships,wouldbeextendedto26°West, regardlessofwhethertheywerecarrying warmatérieltotheUKornot. Theworstproblemformanyconvoy escortswastheirlackofendurance. Destroyersweredesignedforhigh-speed

attack,withslenderhullsunsuitedto NorthAtlanticweather,andtheir turbineswerenoteconomical.Manyof theolderdestroyerswereturnedinto long-rangeescortsbyreplacingoneof theboilerswithadditionalbunkerage, andthefirstofthesewastakeninhand inJanuary1941.Thecorvettes,which werenowcomingintoserviceinlarge numbersfromBritishandCanadian shipyards,hadgoodendurancebut lackedspeed.Thiswasinevitable,forthe designhadbeenframedtomakethebest useofavailablemachinery,butby1941 U-boatshadtakentoattackingconvoys onthesurfaceatnight,andattopspeed werecapableofout-distancingacorvette. Anotherproblemwasthatconvoywork demandedagreatdealofloiteringto investigateasuspectedunderwater contact,orhigh-speeddashestofind stragglersbeforeherdingthembackto theconvoy. Theanswerwasthecreationofa fullyoptimizedNorthAtlanticescort, possessingbothlongenduranceand moderatelyhighspeedandcarryingall theweaponsandsensorsneededforthe anti-submarinetask.Theanswertothe needwasthe‘River’-classfrigate,which hadtwicethepowerofthecorvetteand amplespacefortheweaponsand

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5 VOLUME SET © 2018

Set ISBN ..........978-1-4222-3893-6 Hardcover Set Price ...........$166.35 Hardcover List Price ..............33.27 Multi-User eBook List Price ...42.60

$124.75 (S&L) 24.95 (S&L) 31.95 (S&L)

Full color • Library bound Trim Size: 8 x 9½ • 80 pages Grade Level: 7-12

HBK ISBN E-ISBN Japanese Aggression in the Pacific ........... -3896-7 -7906-9 The Allied Powers Fight Back ........................ -3895-0 -7905-2 The Defeat of the Nazis: The Allied Victory in Europe .................................................. -3897-4 -7907-6 The End of World War II: The Japanese Surrender........................................................-3898-1 -7908-3 The Start of World War II: The Flood of the German Tide.......................................... -3894-3 -7904-5

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