1942: World War II

Global Character of the Conflict.

The year 1942 saw the global war unfold itself in all its world-wide compass. The declarations of war by Japan and Germany and her satellites in December 1941 had forced the United States into war. In spite of the fact that the global intentions of the Fascist aggressor nations had been clearly manifest and even openly avowed, the United States was not sufficiently prepared. The result was that Japan could gain by its attack such an initial advantage against the American navy and air force at Pearl Harbor and in the Philippine Islands that she could launch her campaign of conquest for the first part of 1942 almost without any serious counter-challenge. The British, hard pressed by numerically superior enemies across the Channel and in the Near East, could not spare sufficient equipment to hold their Far-Eastern possessions. Thus the war began under unfavorable circumstances for the Allied nations. Yet this picture changed in the course of the year.

By the end of 1942 three factors, at least two of which came to many as a surprise, made themselves more and more felt: the growing mobilization of the technological, economic, and manpower resources of the United States of America — a most impressive achievement; the magnificent power of endurance and resilience of the Soviet armies and industry; and finally the surprising strength of Great Britain, which, though most savagely bombed from the air and beset by submarines on the seas, had been able to reach a peak of production especially in airplanes, which put it, at least in quality of its forces and matériel, at the top. By the end of 1942 it had become clear that the relative strength of the United Nations was growing, while that of the Axis was declining, a situation which in all probability will not only go on but become more and more pronounced and accelerated in the years to come. The only member of the United Nations in which improvement in conditions was not marked was China. Her situation had deteriorated. Responsible for that circumstance was the Japanese conquest of Burma, the backdoor to China and containing the starting point of the famous Burma Road over which China got the supplies from the United States and Great Britain, that enabled her to supply her army, at least partially, with the essential heavy equipment. The closing of the Burma Road rendered the military and economic position of China most difficult. In view of the need of equipment in Australia and India, the United States was unable to furnish China with any considerable number of military and transport planes to ease the situation. It was only the indomitable courage of the Chinese that made it possible for them to keep in the war and even to gain some advantages over the Japanese by local offensives. The British offensive from India against the Burmese Port of Akyab at the end of December, 1942, increased the hope that a full scale offensive would be launched early in 1943 against the Japanese in Burma.