In September 1939, the ideological affinity between the USA and Britain was

unquestionable, yet large swathes of the US public, media and politicians were
deeply isolationist. With hindsight, many people resented Americas involvement in
the First World War. The desire to avoid foreign entanglements and focus on
domestic issues was widespread.
When war broke out in Europe, US President Franklin Roosevelt recognised that
the conflict threatened US security, and looked for ways to help the European
democracies without direct involvement in the war. This necessity increased in June
1940, when the Fall of France left Britain as the only democracy standing between
Nazi Germany and America. In 1939, the Fourth Neutrality Act authorised the US to
trade arms with belligerents provided that the countries paid in cash and collected
them. In March 1941, Roosevelt moved further towards making the US the arsenal
of democracy with the Lend-Lease Act, which permitted the lending, leasing,
selling, or bartering of arms, ammunition and food to any country whose defence
the President deems vital to the defence of the US.
The US was sucked further towards the conflict when its navy and air force began
to escort British convoys which transported Lend-Lease material across the
Atlantic, protecting them from German submarines. Roosevelts announcement of a
shoot on sight policy in September 1941 following an attack on the USS Greer
enraged isolationist senators; they alleged that Roosevelt was deliberately
provoking skirmishes with the Germans. Meanwhile, Churchill repeatedly attempted
to convince Roosevelt to enter the war. At the August 1941 Atlantic Conference, the
two leaders composed a charter for the post-war world; Roosevelt tackled the
thorny issue of the British Empire, promoting the recognition of the right of all
peoples to choose the government under which they will live.
Churchill did not have to wait long. After the bombing of the US Pacific fleet at
Pearl Harbor in December 1941, only one congressman opposed the declaration of
war; the vote in the senate was unanimous. Hitlers declaration of war on the US,
which came four days later, was actually a blessing in disguise for Roosevelt; it
enabled him to legitimately pursue a Germany first strategy. The United States
entered the war in the west with Operation Torch on 8 November 1942, after their
Soviet allies had pushed for a second front against the Germans. General Dwight
Eisenhower, that was the Supreme Allied Commander of Allied forces in Europe
and North Africa, commanded the assault on North Africa, and Major General
George Patton,that was an US general serving under Eisenhower during the WWII,
struck at Casablanca. Allied troops slowly cornered German forces in North Africa,
who surrendered in Tunisia in May 1943.
By the beginning of 1943, the opening of a second front was a pressing and
divisive issue. Although both leaders recognised the urgent need to relieve the
pressure on Russia on the Eastern Front, Churchill favoured an attack through Italy
the soft underbelly of the Axis while Roosevelt pushed for an assault on
France. At the Casablanca conference in January 1943, Churchill effectively won
the argument. It was decided that operations in the Mediterranean would continue
once victory was achieved in North Africa. The success of Operation Husky, the
invasion of Sicily launched in July 1943, allowed the Allies to invade the Italian
mainland, capturing Rome on 4 June 1944.
The Imperial Japanese Navy had the advantage, taking the Philippines as well as
British and Dutch possessions, and threatening Australia but in June 1942, its main

carriers were sunk during the Battle of Midway, and the Americans seized the
initiative. The Pacific War became one of island hopping, so as to move air
basescloser and closer to Japan. The Army, based in Australia under General
Douglas MacArthur, steadily advanced across New Guinea to the Philippines, with
plans to invade the Japanese home islands in late 1945. With its merchant fleet
sunk by American submarines, Japan ran short of aviation gasoline and fuel oil, as
the U.S. Navy in June 1944 captured islands within bombing range of the Japanese
home islands.Strategic bombing directed by General Curtis Lemay destroyed all the
major Japanese cities, as the U.S. captured Okinawa after heavy losses in spring
1945.
In April 1945 Harry S. Truman became the 33rd President of the United States
upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He served as commander in Chief of the
United States military during the final months of World War II. Under his command,
the U.S. dropped two atomic bombsthe first to be used in warfareon Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, Japan, effectively ending the war.