The True Size of the American Land Army in WW2

It is the 8th of December, 1941. Yesterday, Japan launched their surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. Now, America must join the Second World War. So how come a nation with such a large population has so few forces ready for deployment? This episode of Nalegia, how big was the American land army in World War II, and how far did they have to go to support the Allied powers? The opinion of the American president, Delano Roosevelt, was generally shifted in favor of the Allies. He pushed Congress to make several changes in the years leading up to America joining the war. Among these was the conscription of all healthy men between 21 and 35 years of age into military service. Over a million men joined the army in 1940. Another was the Land Lease Agreement, signed in spring of 1941. It allowed Roosevelt to begin shipments of military materials to Britain. Weapons, tanks, clothes, and food were sent across the U-boat infested waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the Allied powers. It may have seemed like harmless trade, but the Land Lease Agreement gave Roosevelt a reason to increase America's own military production. The resulting boost to the U.S. economy helped the U.S. out of the Great Depression and improve morale in the West. In turn, this caused an increase in enlistment rates, which would skyrocket in the next few years. Records from July of 1941 estimate that the American army had a strength of 174,000 soldiers. If you include the 1.2 million men forcefully drafted into the military, then we can see that the U.S. had about the 17th largest army in the world. The American army was at its largest in March of 1945, and most recruits went on to serve in the ground forces. Reorganization of America's army began in 1942. Previously, the army had been divided into the classical combat arms of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, of which there were two types, field artillery and coast artillery. Instead, these combat arms were combined to form the army ground forces of the U.S. Lt. Gen. Leslie J. McNair formed four new combat arms, airborne, armor, anti-aircraft, and tank destroyer. These were of more importance than ever before since the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe were using modern weapons and vehicles in their blitzkrieg or lightning war tactics. 1942 was a year of aerial desperation. Since the Luftwaffe had gained almost unchallenged superiority in the skies, anti-aircraft weapons were of unmatchable importance. It would remain this way until Allied forces managed to gain more aerial control. This explains a lot about the developments in the American military in the years leading up to America joining the war. Up until then, many infantry divisions had been dormant and were reactivated in pre-war years. In 1940, for example, the 7th, 8th, and 9th infantry divisions had to be reformed. Even so, the U.S. military expanded drastically during the war. Out of 16 million personnel, 70% of the American military served in these units. They could act almost entirely independently if needed, meaning they could be responsible for smaller operations and maneuvers. Since the M4 Sherman had just entered production, many tanks were ready for deployment in Europe. But America was still supplying Britain with the flawed M3. The M4 was the second most produced armored vehicle during World War II, and played a crucial role in the armored divisions. Consisting mainly of infantry troops, the U.S. Army was grouped together with the Air Force. The Navy remained a separate section. During the war, the Army ground forces, the infantry, and armored divisions, like we spoke about, numbered about 4,400,000 soldiers, and the Army Services Force supplied these men with engineers, specialists, medics, and military police. By spring of 1942, America was well prepared for war. Certain changes had been made to the equipment of the ground forces, often to make production cheaper and to cut down on shipping costs, since over 90% of enlisted soldiers were engaged in overseas operations. Whilst American troops were being shipped to the European continent, there were numerous fights and island battles in the Pacific theater. From the 8th of December 1941 to the 6th of May 1942, the Japanese carried out their Bataan campaign, attempting to capture an important peninsula in the Philippines. General Douglas MacArthur, commanding the United States Army forces in the Far East, held out for several months. The Japanese and 14th Imperial Army starved and exhausted American and Filipino troops at Bataan, and dominated the area with powerful artillery barrages and naval landings. Eventually MacArthur decided it wasn't worth it, and surrendered to Japan on the 9th of April. America's Marines and Filipino allies had failed to hold on to Bataan, but this wasn't the only loss the United States suffered in the early stages of the war. Just two days after Pearl Harbor, the island of Guam had fallen to the Japanese. Meanwhile, Wake Island had to endure the relentless bombing and deployment of Japanese task forces, and American soldiers surrendered on the 23rd of December 1941. Typically, an American soldier would remain in combat until he was injured, at which point he would be replaced with a healthy, fresh soldier. Unlike the European allies, there was no routine placement for troops, meaning that survivors would remain in service until they were wounded or died. Most of the land combatants in these island battles were Marines, who were trained to fight both on land and at sea. At the time, Japan and America would carry out naval attacks around the islands. So what was happening with the American soldiers in the European theater? In November 1942, transports carrying American and British soldiers entered the Mediterranean Sea and approached North Africa, hailing the start of Operation Torch. On the 8th, the Three Pinscher attack began, and the allies began attacking North African territory, held by Vichy France. There were numerous setbacks due to weather and strong enemy resistance, but the operation ended with the surrender of the region. Although Germany imposed a tight naval blockade in the seas around Europe, USA was still able to transport troops to the front lines. For the first couple of years, the ground forces remained mainly European. But as the American troops arrived and began service, the tide gradually turned. In September of 1943, the allies launched their invasion of Italy, and the American Fifth Army stepped onto dry land at Salerno on the 9th. Furthermore, the Germans organized panzer attacks, making it difficult for the American beachhead to connect with the British. Perhaps the most notable example of American participation in World War II was in the 1944 D-Day landings. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the Normandy landings saw Allied forces face horrendous mental and physical conditions as they attempted to force their way into the north of the occupied France. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Armored Divisions began their service in Normandy on the 6th of June, when they were deployed from amphibious landing crafts. What follows is the diary extract from an American soldier who fought on the beaches of Normandy. A long line of flares hangs over Cherbourg, or I suppose it is Cherbourg, and a few anti-aircraft tracer shots go up in the air above the immediate frontline. Funny to imagine that the Germans run around their guns. I would like to know what they're thinking. The whole channel between us and Cherbourg is filled with little ships, which all quietly and efficiently sail towards France, the British, Canadian, and American fighting forces on the war path. I heard that our CO has also landed, therefore our infantry must be there by now. God bless them, and good luck to them. I do not believe that I can now write for very long. We can now see the French coast, and very soon we will have to play our part. I must go now and look for the landing markings with my binoculars to ascertain our landing points. So my darling, on we go. I know that you are with me. Come on to Bannermans. Au revoir. God bless. I love you. Now that American infantry and armored divisions had made it into France, they pressed powerfully forwards and gained ground, forcing the Germans back. Meanwhile, America was preparing their forces to recapture the Pacific Islands they had lost at the start of the war. Guam was recaptured in 1944, and Wake Island surrendered in 1945. The Bataan Peninsula was also attacked by American forces in the battle for the recapture of Bataan, which lasted from the 31st of January to the 21st of February. America ultimately forced Japan to surrender when they dropped their revolutionary new weapon, the atomic bomb, on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There were over 300,000 casualties from the army alone. In the Pacific, just over 111,000 combatants from the United States were killed or missing, and another 253,000 were wounded. According to Pacific War Encyclopedia, 21,580 men were taken as prisoners of war. The U.S. ground forces were crucial to the Allied victory in the Second World War.