American Military Experience during World War II

American Military Experience during World War II
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Introduction
World War II has been identified as a significant event of the 20th century that affected the entire globe. During the war, millions of people lost their lives, many others were left homeless and became refugees, and nations were grappling with economic losses resulting from destroyed infrastructures and significant capital expenditures. WWII was primarily between the Allies and Axis powers, yet their effects were global. America joined WWII after a series of events by the Axis powers that threatened its sovereignty and peace. It is estimated that between 62 and 78 million people, both military and civilians, were casualties of WWII. In Europe alone, 39 million deaths were recorded, with more than ten million civilians killed by the Nazi regime for political or racial regions. The American casualties were believed to be around 400,000 across Europe and Asia (Kesternich et al., 2014). The large numbers of deaths were facilitated by various military campaigns during WWII pushed by the superpowers.
American Involvement in WWII
In Europe, Nazi Germany pushed its expansion plans and conquered various nations as they took control over their lands. Japan was also following suit in Asia as it expanded its empire over China and other neighboring regions. The actions of Nazi Germany and Japan did not directly affect America, so they stayed out of the war but continued to prepare in case the war reached their doorstep. However, as the expansion of the Axis powers continued, there was a conflict of interest with America as they took over regions they had shown interest in. Japan and America got into disputes over the control of China, where Japan had reached its expansion plans, resulting in a brief encounter in a battle. The relationship between the two countries soured over the next few years and led to the Pearl Harbor Attack by Japan in 1941, which forced America into war. However, other series of events had led to the decision to join WWII, including the continued expansion of Germany across Europe and the attack of its marine vessels by Germany. The U.S.’s declaration of war on Japan led to Germany and Italy declaring war on America, resulting in America joining the Allied Forces. WWII went on until 1945, when the Axis powers were defeated (Taylor, 2009).
North African Military Campaign
The Second World War reached North Africa under what is known as the North African Campaign. The campaign began in June 1940 and continued until May 1943. Various battles were fought in different fronts between the Allied Force and the Axis powers during the campaign period. The objective of the North Africa campaign was to improve the naval control of the Mediterranean Sea that would be important in invading Sothern Europe to fight off the German forces. As WWII proceeded in Europe, the Nazi forces pressured Soviet troops as they continued with their expansion program. The Soviet Union had asked the British and United States to begin operations in Europe against the Nazi forces and relieve the pressure on Soviet troops. Despite Americans being ready to join...