World War II The Allied Counteroffensive

This book covers a period of time through personal letters , eyewitness accounts , photographs and mainly New York Times articles . It is the second novel in a series that critically looks at the events that start with the Battle of the Midway and ends with the nuclear bombings of Japan . Like most historians it is through the perception of many that helps to build a fact of what really happened in those troubled times . Giving the reader a way of understanding what it was like at that stage of history . In reading the personal

letters and of the eyewitness accounts one could almost see the horrors of what the were trying to convey . Along with giving a feeling of empathy for those involved . These documents and this book make the story real for anyone who is not familiar with WWII

Brinkley timelines what he thinks are the main objectives of the Allied Counteroffensive . He begins with the Battle of Midway that began in June 1942 . Then the landing at Guadalcanal in August of 1942 eight months to the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor , this was the wars first U .S . offensive . In the first six months of the battle communication that was looked at look as if there was a real prospect of defeat . The New York Times printed an editorial that read the shadows of a great conflict settle heavily over the Solomon 's , all that can be perceived is the magnitude of the stakes at issue . On this same date American finances were at the lowest they could be

Then again New York Times gave its readers another blow to their self esteem by printing , Guadalcanal , the name that will not die out of the memories of this generation . It will endure with honor . But Guadalcanal was the decisive event not only in the Pacific war but for Americans and American participation in WWII . It is now seen as the turning point in the Pacific wars

Keeping American interested in the war was a principal Franklin Roosevelt felt very strongly about . He felt morale was important and used the war in Europe to keep American eyes and interest focused on the war . In November 1942 The Torch landings in Morocco and Algeria were mounted . And with the counterattack at Stalingrad shaking up Germany 's military leadership Americans were all pulling for the continued winning efforts of the solders . Then President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill had a ten day conference in Casablanca that the president called for the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers . This conference was the most important of the four held by the two leaders during this war . This conference was to create a plan of crushing the offensive against the Axis

The next thing the author shows is how the Axis was divided into two parts . The first invasion began on July 10th in the small town of Syracuse in the southeastern section of Sicily . Many of the Italian soldiers surrendered...