WE need to know our history. We need to always remember that the world as we know it, is here because the Allies defeated the Axis powers in World War II.
We need to remember D-Day and the major turning point it was in the war.
I also had discussions with relatives who served, and who were on the home front. Most have passed on now. But, they impressed on me that it wasn’t always clear that we were going to win World War II.
History tells us that the Axis were at their peak of conquest in November and December of 1942. Japan occupied parts of the Aleutian Islands at that time. A full year after Pearl Harbor, we were nowhere near winning the war.
It’s easy for us now to sit back and say, what a great triumph, history tells us we won World War II, and it was inevitable. The point is, no, it was not inevitable, and it was due to great men such as General Eisenhower, and key events such as D-Day, that led us to victory.
Thanks for the post. Tweeted the link.
I’d disagree as to the peak of Axis power; Japan never recovered from Midway, so 6 months after Pearl Harbor the wisest of them knew they had lost the war (and simply hoped to bargain for a better peace). The Axis had also stalled at Stalingrad a month later, and though it took six months to lose that battle they lost it just the same. IMHO, the Axis was doomed by the summer of 1942; it was just a question of speeding up the end for the Allies.
While the D-Day myth calls it getting a “toe-hold in Europe”, but the fact is that we had one in Italy for nearly a year already - it was just moving too slowly and costing too many casualties. It did, however, ensure that the Atlantic coast would be lightly defended; in comparison to other battles, D-Day saw relatively light casualties.
There was nothing the Axis could do from July 1942 onward that would reverse their losses. They simply didn’t have enough people to deal with the invasions of China and the USSR.