1942 Tide turning in World War II in Europe, World War II in the Pacific in 1942

1942 Tide turning in World War II in Europe

As we saw in the last video, in 1942 we start to see the tide turn in the Pacific. Just as a reminder - In December of 1941, you have the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which brings the United States into World War II. And as we get into 1942, you have the Doolittle Raid on the mainland of Japan, which is a psychological victory for America and the allies. Then you have the Battle of Coral Sea and then Midway. Midway, in particular, was a huge success for the American Navy, followed by Guadalcanal, after which the U.S. is able to go on the offensive against the Japanese. We see a significant turning of the tide in 1942 in the Pacific.

And it also turns out to be the case in Europe that we see a turning of the tide in 1942. Just as Guadalcanal is occurring, you might remember that in 1941 Hitler and the Nazis decided they want to attack the Soviet Union, probably not a good idea, they going to stretch themselves thin, but they do so anyway. The Siege of Leningrad starts in 1941, and then in 1942 by August, they are able to reach Stalingrad. Stalingrad, now called Volgograd, is a major series of battles in World War II. Movies are made about Stalingrad, incredibly bloody. If you look at the pictures of the city of Stalingrad after the battles there, the city is essentially in ruins. But the battles in Stalingrad start in August of 1942 and they continue for several months, going up to February of 1943. This marks the turning point for Hitler. He’s getting bogged down in Leningrad, he’s getting bogged down in Stalingrad, eventually gets defeated in Stalingrad in early 1943. And his armies are really spread thin. Stalingrad is a hugely important event or series of events in World War II.

Then in October, we’ve been talking about this back and forth, in North Africa and some people are: "Why are they even worried about North Africa?" And I should have mentioned this earlier, but we have to remember that there is somewhat strategic here called the Suez Canal. Why is the Suez Canal strategic? It connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. You don't have to go all the way around Africa to go from Europe to the Indian Ocean. It’s an incredibly strategic passage or way to travel by sea between -- I guess for the world -- but especially between Europe and Asia. You can imagine, the British were very keen on protecting the Suez Canal and the axis would have loved to get control of the Suez Canal.

As we go into October, the British are able to defeat or start to defeat the axis and then push them back. This eventually leads to the British being able to go all the way to Tunisia. This is the final back-and-forth blow that starts to secure victory for the allies in North Africa. And at the same time that this is commencing in October, you have other allied forces starting to arrive in Morocco and Algeria. Forces from the U.S. are arriving in Morocco, and forces from the U.K., from Great Britain, are arriving in Algeria. This is going to give the allies control of North Africa, from which they can now mount assaults onto the European mainland, which we will see in the next series of videos. Definitely, the tide is turning, and the allies are starting to be able to go on the offensive both in the Pacific and the European Theater.

World War II in the Pacific in 1942

We are now entering into 1942. And just as a reminder - It’s been a little over two years since the beginning of WW II in Europe when the Nazis invaded Poland. And even before that, as early as 1937, you’ve had all-out war between the Chinese and the Japanese. And even before that, you’ve had conflicts since the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. So Asia has been in conflict for some time. But as we go into 1942, the United States has just entered into World War II.

In December 1941, Japan goes on a major offensive, tries to knock out the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, attacks Wake Island, attacks Guam, attacks Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaya. Then shortly thereafter goes after other possessions, Burma, goes after the Dutch-East Indies in its quest for natural resources. And so you can imagine as we go into 1942, the Americans are eager to retaliate.

The first notable action in 1942 is the Doolittle Raid, named after Colonel Doolittle, who is the architect of this raid. The idea is not so much as a strategic victory but more of a psychological one. If the U.S. could somehow attack the mainland of Japan, bomb the mainland of Japan, it would be a huge morale booster for the Americans, and it might cause the Japanese people to question their own leadership.

And so the idea is to send a carrier within bomber range roughly 1000 miles off the coast of Japan, and then send 16 B-25 bombers to bomb the mainland. And they are actually able to do this. 15 of the bombers, since they can’t land back onto the carrier, they land in China, and one of them gets diverted to Russia or the Soviet Union. Out of the 80 crewmen, all planes get lost but out of the 80 crewmen, three are killed in action, eight are captured, and three are killed in captivity by the Japanese. But for the most part, it’s a hugely successful operation. Only months after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. is able to attack the Japanese mainland. Once again, more of a psychological victory than a strategic one, but a major psychological accomplishment from the ally point of view.

Then you can fast forward to May, where you have the first major naval engagement between the Japanese and the American navy. And that happens at the Battle of Coral Sea, which occurs roughly over there. This is significant because the U.S. loses more than the Japanese do, but it is able to cripple the Japanese navy enough that as they go into the next major offensive, they don’t have quite the firepower that they need. And that next major offensive happens in June at Midway.

In June, you have the Battle of Midway. This is a Japanese offensive. Their goal is to further knock out the United States. But it ends up going the other way. And this is considered a big deal. This is the first Japanese naval loss since the Battle of Shimonoseki Straits in 1863. You have a U.S. victory here. Many historians consider this one of the most significant naval battles.

Then that takes us to August where you have the Battle of Guadalcanal. This is a big deal because between Midway and Guadalcanal in 1942, this is the turning point. And after this point, Midway, the Japanese were on the offensive here, the Japanese tried to get the U.S. out of Guadalcanal in August. But in both of those, the U.S. is able to defeat the Japanese at Midway, they are able to fend them off at Guadalcanal. This is the turning point where the U.S. is able to go on the offensive.

1942 is a very big deal. It’s only months after Pearl Harbor, months after the U.S. enters the war, but it’s able to start turning the tide and start to go on the offensive against the Japanese in the Pacific. And what we’ll see in the next video is 1942 also marks the turning of the tide in Europe.