While the USA was initially isolationst, they still contributed to the war effort

In the 1930s, the USA was decidedly isolationist regarding Europe despite escalating tensions in Europe and the Far East

This was made even clearer with the passing of the Neutrality Act that same year

However, Roosevelt also warned the public in the USA that they would be troubled by Germany, Italy and Japan eventually.

Even though he did not want war, Roosevelt feared the possibility of American military involvement in the war.

As such, this led to the defeat of Germany as Roosevelt began to prepare the USA for possibility of war.

Even though USA was not directly involved in the war, they helped the allies passively.

One contribution to the war effort by USA was their policies

On 21 September 1939, Roosevelt persuaded Congress to allow Britain and France to buy arms from the USA on a “cash and carry” basis

This was to ensure America helped the allies while remaining neutral

However, in March 1941, he persuaded Congress to pass the Lend-Lease Act, in response to Churchill’s call for help as Britain resources were running out by the end of 1940.

This allowed USA to sell weapons, food, and equipment to Allied countries.

These countries need not immediately pay for the goods, and can pay for them at a later date. Additionally, these payments need not be made in cash, and the recipients of aid did not have to provide their own transportation

This clearly signalled the end of American neutrality and played a huge role in helping the Allies win the war.

This was also extended to the Soviet Union when it was invaded by Germany in June 1941.

By the end of the war in 1945, Congress had spent almost 50 Billion US dollars on the Lend-Lease programme.

Another way the USA indirectly helped the allies in the war was through the “Arsenal of democracy”, as the USA should actively support democratic nations such as Britain in their fight against the Axis Powers

This provided a continuous supply of free resources from America to the Allied countries, hence helping them to keep on fighting in the war.

After France fell in June 1940, Britain was the only major Allied country in Europe that had not fallen to Germany. Hence, Roosevelt persuaded Congress to grant more aid to Britain, giving “all aid short of war”

This led to an agreement between USA and Britain, where the USA gave Britain 50 old destroyers in return for eight naval bases in the Caribbean, southeast of the USA

He also held secret dialogues with Churchill on how the USA could best support Britain.

In response, Germany and Italy joined with Japan in the Tripartite Pact in September 1940.

Roosevelt also sought to expand and re-equip the American Army and Navy, and to step up rearmament

He also planned to have ten million men in arms, half of which would be ready for overseas duty by 1943.

Roosevelt also argued against a false sense of security and pride that isolationism brought, and argued for increased involvement in the war.

This helped the Allies as now the USA was providing more help to Britain, in order for them to continue fighting in the war. Also, this rapid rearmament allowed America to plan for war if war happened

When German military submarines fired on American ships in late 1941, the American Navy provided escort roles for all Allied conveys at sea.

Also, Roosevelt imposed economic sanctions on the Axis Powers to deprive them of resources needed for their war effort, such as restricting supplies of important materials like iron to Japan from 1940 onwards.

This reduced Axis attacks in European seas, hence allowing more resources to flow safely into Britain.

This resulted in the Allied powers recieving more resources to continue the war effort, prolonging their defeat.

One way the USA contributed to the defeat of Germany was their formal entry into WW2

One way that USA got formally involved in the war is the contribution of vast resources and manpower

The production and contribution of vast resources by the USA was an important factor for Allied victory in the war.

The USA was the world’s largest producer of goods at that time. It was able to convert its factories for military production at a faster rate than that of the Axis powers. In total, the USA spent 84.5 billion dollars in the war.

The USA, after their formal entry into the war, was able to send large numbers of American military personnel, such as soldiers and intelligence officers, to aid Allied military campaigns. Over 11 million USA soldiers participated in the war

This helped the Allies win the war as not only did the USA help solve the Allied problems of military shortages, but also boosted the industrial capacity to produce military equipment.

One way the USA got formally involved in the war was through collaborating with Allies on military strategies.

America helped the allies gain control of the air and sea

From 1943 to 1944, the Air Force regularly bombed German cities, vital industries, rail links and synthetic oil plants.

This resulted in hindering German production of war materials, forcing Germany to focus production on anti-aircraft guns rather than tanks, hence reducing their ability to fight the war.

America also produced longer ranged aircraft that could attack both U-boats and German planes, which sank the U-boats attacking the British convoys.

The USA also produced warships, as well as producing vital equipment such as better anti-submarine weapons, radio communications and radar.

As a result, Germany recalled its U boats in May 1943, which caused the USA and Britan to achieve effective control of the Atlantic, and allowed Britain to maintain its war effort with sufficient supplies

Additionally, the USA also organised shipping in convoys in order to protect the cargo ships to ensure they could reach Britain to maintain its war effort.

Firstly, the USA prioritised building up their Air Force first, focusing on long-range bombing of vital enemy infrastructure and developing new techniques that improved radar technology and aided accuracy of target bombing.

One of Germany’s weaknesses and miscalculations was their ineffective command structure.

Apart from Hitler, no one else had the power to make decisions or had access to all information.

Hitler also insisted on making all the military decisions, and often went against the advice of his experienced generals.

These decisions were often mistakes, such as his decision to invade the Soviet Union and declaring war on the USA

This resulted in Germany making many costly mistakes during the war, and hence causing them to eventually lose it.

One of Germany’s weaknesses was the inappropriate use of military funds.

During World War 2, every country was on full war status, which meant that everyone was mobilised, including women, and factories were running 24/7

However, in Germany, there was no women working in factories until 1943, their factories only operated from 8am to 5pm, and they only used starving slave labourers in factories

As a result, they were unable to keep up with other countries with armament, and hence lost out on resources in the long run.

Hitler was also obsessed with Wonder Weapons that he believed would help win the war.

Hence, Germany spent a lot of resources to develop new weapons of little use, such as B-1 rockets and Jet Fighters.

As a result, Germany lost valuable resources that could have been used to make more useful weapons and help Germany withstand Allied attacks.

As a result, Germany did not have sufficient resources to construct proven equipment, hence they were unable to withstand Allied attacks

One of Germany’s weaknesses was their heavy reliance on petroleum

Germany had a very limited supply of natural petroleum reserves on its own, which was a problem as petroleum was needed to power its war machine.

To compensate for that, the Germans invented synthetic oil by liquefying coal, which Germany had in abundance. This synthetic oil was then used as a substitute for natural oil.

Germany also seized the oil fields of Nazi occupied countries such as Austria and Romania for its own use.

However, from 1943 onwards, German synthetic oil plants and oil fields were subjected to heavy Allied aerial bombing led by the USA.

Additionally, the oilfields in Romania, the chief source of Germany’s oil imports, were put out of operation by the Soviet Red Army and the American Air Force in August 1944.

As a result, Germany’s war machine almost came to a halt as their vehicles could not function or move without enough oil, hence becoming unusable.

One of Germany’s greatest mistakes was fighting a war on two fronts.

Hitler’s greatest mistake was probably his decision to commit to a war on two fronts, which prevented him from concentrating his forces on one battle.

While still at war with Britain on the Western Front, Hitler chose to invade the Soviet Union, opening up the Eastern Front.

Then, while he seemed to be gaining the upper hand against the Soviets, he declared war on the USA

Hitler believed that the USA was primarily occupied with fighting Japan in the Pacific, but instead, Roosevelt concentrated his troops and efforts in North Africa and Europe.

This caused Germany to lose the war as Germany’s resources and troops were split to fight the many fronts, hence Germany did not have the resources to defeat all of them at the same time.

Besides the contributions of the USA, Allied Resistance also played a role in defeating Germany.

One aspect of Allied resistance was the reorganisation of the Soviet Union

Throughout World War 2, Soviet Union and the Red Army not only bore the brunt of German attack during World War 2, but also defeated 80% of the German armed forces on the Eastern Front.

On 22 June, 1941, Germany broke the terms of the Nazi Soviet Non-Aggression Pact and invaded the Soviet Union.

In response, the Soviet Union formed a military alliance with Britain on 12 July 1941, formally entering the war on the side of the Allies.

However, the Soviets were unprepared for the German tatics and invasion, as within three months, Soviet Union’s air and tank forces were almost destroyed and Soviet casualties numbered four million.

Despite that, the Soviet Union eventually gained the upper hand as tactical errors on the German side.

Strong resistance from Soviet troops, and bitter Russian winters in 1941-1942 gave the Soviet Union time to reorganise its army and rebuild its economy and military production.

With the American Land Lease aid from 1942 onwards, it helped turned the tide against the Germans in 1943.

This helped the Allies win the war as the Soviet Union helped to defeat a high number of the German armed forces, resulting in less forces to defend Germany or attack other countries.

One aspect of Allied resistance was the British resistance to German Invasion.

When France fell in June 1940, Britain was the only Allied country left fighting in the War.

Hitler didn’t originally plan to fight a war with Britain, and hoped that the British would be compelled to discuss peace terms with the Germans

However, Churchill made it clear he planned to fight the Germans to the finish, and prepared the British people for war.

In 1940, The Battle of Britain commenced, where the German airforce, Luffwaffe, successfully weakened the British Royal Airforce, as well bombing British airfields and infrastructure, as well as shipping and coastal headlines.

However, Hitler’s tactical changes lessened the effectiveness of the German military bombings, which gave the RAF enough time to recover.

The German bombings also only strengthened the morale and resolve of the British to fight on.

Britain’s unwillingness to give in to Germany meant that Germany had to consistently fight them on the Western Front, hence when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, he ended up fighting a two front war.

Another aspect of the Allied Resistance was the Resistance movements.

Resistance movements in Nazi-occupied European countries provided vital information and behind-the-lines support to the Allies.

It may be argued that the Allies may not have enjoyed as much success as they did without the support and information from the resistance

Resistance was also actively encouraged and supported by the British and Soviet governments

This helped the Allies win the war as they had vital information on German tatics and locations from the Resistance, hence they were able to plan and act accordingly.