World War II Fighting in North Africa and Italy

In June 1940, as World War II fighting was winding down in France, the pace of operations quickened in the Mediterranean. The area was vital for Britain, which needed to maintain access to the Suez Canal in order to remain in close contact with the rest of its empire. Following Italys declaration of war on Britain and France, Italian troops quickly seized British Somaliland in the Horn of Africa and laid siege to the island of Malta. They also began a series of probing attacks from Libya into British-held Egypt. That fall, British forces went on the offensive against the Italians. On Nov. 12, 1940, aircraft flying from HMS Illustrious struck the Italian naval base at Taranto, sinking a battleship and damaging two others. During the attack, the British only lost two aircraft. In North Africa, General Archibald Wavell launched a major attack in December, Operation Compass, which drove the Italians out of Egypt and captured over 100,000 prisoners. The following month, Wavell dispatched troops south and cleared the Italians from the Horn of Africa. Germany Intervenes Concerned by Italian leader Benito Mussolinis lack of progress in Africa and the Balkans, Adolf Hitler authorized German troops to enter the region to assist their ally in February 1941. Despite a naval victory over the Italians at the Battle of Cape Matapan (March 27–29, 1941), the British position in the region was weakening. With British troops sent north from Africa to aid Greece, Wavell was unable to stop a new German offensive in North Africa and was driven back out of Libya by General Erwin Rommel. By the end of May, both Greece and Crete had also fallen to German forces. British Pushes in North Africa On June 15, Wavell sought to regain the momentum in North Africa and launched Operation Battleaxe. Designed to push the German Afrika Korps out of Eastern Cyrenaica and relieve the besieged British troops at Tobruk, the operation was a total failure as Wavells attacks were broken on the German defenses. Angered by Wavells lack of success, Prime Minister Winston Churchill removed him and assigned General Claude Auchinleck to command the region. In late November, Auchinleck commenced Operation Crusader which was able to break Rommels lines and pushed the Germans back to El Agheila, allowing Tobruk to be relieved. The Battle of the Atlantic: Early Years As in World War I, Germany initiated a maritime war against Britain using U-boats (submarines) shortly after hostilities began in 1939. Following the sinking of the liner Athenia on Sep. 3, 1939, the Royal Navy implemented a convoy system for merchant shipping. The situation worsened in mid-1940, with the surrender of France. Operating from the French coast, U-boats were able to cruise further into the Atlantic, while the Royal Navy was stretched thin due to defending its home waters while also fighting in the Mediterranean. Operating in groups known as wolf packs,, U-boats began to inflict heavy casualties on British convoys. To ease the strain on the Royal Navy, Winston Churchill concluded the Destroyers for Bases Agreement with U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt in September 1940. In exchange for fifty old destroyers, Churchill provided the U.S. with ninety-nine year leases on military bases in British territories. This arrangement was further supplemented by the Lend-Lease Program the following March. Under Lend-Lease, the U.S. provided vast amounts of military equipment and supplies to the Allies. In May 1941, British fortunes brightened with the capture of a German Enigma encoding machine. This permitted the British to break the German naval codes which allowed them to steer convoys around the wolf packs. Later that month, the Royal Navy scored a victory when it sank the German battleship Bismarck after a prolonged chase. The United States Joins the Fight The United States entered World War II on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Four days later, Nazi Germany followed suit and declared war on the United States. In late December, U.S. and British leaders met in Washington, D.C., at the Arcadia Conference, to discuss the overall strategy for defeating the Axis. It was agreed that the Allies initial focus would be the defeat of Germany as the Nazis presented the greatest threat to Britain and the Soviet Union. While Allied forces were engaged in Europe, a holding action would be conducted against the Japanese. The Battle of the Atlantic: Later Years With the U.S. entry into the war, the German U-boats were afforded a wealth of new targets. During the first half of 1942, as the Americans slowly adopted anti-submarine precautions and convoys, the German skippers enjoyed a happy time which saw them sink 609 merchant ships at a cost of only 22 U-boats. Over the next year and half, both sides developed new technologies in attempts to gain an edge over their adversary. The tide began to turn in the Allies favor in the spring of 1943, with the high point coming that May. Known as Black May by the Germans, the month saw the Allies sink 25 percent of the U-boat fleet, while suffering much reduced merchant shipping losses. Using improved anti-submarine tactics and weapons, along with long-range aircraft and mass-produced Liberty cargo ships, the Allies were able win the Battle of the Atlantic and ensure that men and supplies continued to reach Britain. Second Battle of El Alamein With the Japanese declaration of war on Britain in December 1941, Auchinleck was forced to transfer some of his forces east for the defense of Burma and India. Taking advantage of Auchinlecks weakness, Rommel launched  a massive offensive  that overran the British position in the Western Desert and pressed deep into Egypt until it was halted at El Alamein. Upset by Auchinlecks defeat, Churchill sacked him in favor of  General Sir Harold Alexander. Taking command, Alexander gave control of his ground forces to  Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery. To regain the lost territory, Montgomery opened the Second Battle of El Alamein on Oct. 23, 1942. Assaulting the German lines, Montgomerys 8th Army was finally able to break through after twelve days of fighting. The battle cost Rommel almost all of his armor and forced him to retreat back towards Tunisia. The Americans Arrive On Nov. 8, 1942, five days after Montgomerys victory in Egypt, U.S. forces stormed ashore in Morocco and Algeria as part of  Operation Torch. While U.S. commanders had favored a direct assault on mainland Europe, the British suggested an attack on North Africa as a way to reduce pressure on the Soviets. Moving through minimal resistance by Vichy French forces, U.S. troops consolidated their position and began heading east to attack Rommels rear. Fighting on two fronts, Rommel assumed a defensive position in Tunisia. American forces first encountered the Germans at the  Battle of Kasserine Pass  (Feb. 19–25, 1943) where Major General Lloyd Fredendalls II Corps was routed. After the defeat, U.S. forces initiated massive changes which including unit reorganization and changes in command. The most notable of these was  Lieutenant General George S. Patton  replacing Fredendall. Victory in North Africa Despite the victory at Kasserine, the German situation continued to worsen. On Mar. 9, 1943, Rommel departed Africa, citing health reasons, and turned over command to General Hans-Jà ¼rgen von Arnim. Later that month, Montgomery broke through the Mareth Line in southern Tunisia, further tightening the noose. Under the coordination of U.S.  General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the combined British and American forces pressed the remaining German and Italian troops, while  Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham  ensured that they could not escape by sea. Following the fall of Tunis, the Axis forces in North Africa surrendered on May 13, 1943, and 275,000 German and Italian soldiers were  taken  prisoner. Operation Husky: The Invasion of Sicily As the fighting in North Africa was concluding, the Allied leadership determined that it would not be possible to stage a cross-Channel invasion during 1943. In lieu of an attack on France, it was decided to  invade Sicily  with the goals of eliminating the island as an Axis base and encouraging the fall of Mussolinis government. The principle forces for the assault were the U.S. 7th Army under Lt. Gen. George S. Patton and the British Eighth Army under Gen. Bernard Montgomery, with Eisenhower and Alexander in overall command. On the night of July 9/10, Allied airborne units began landing, while the main ground forces came ashore three hours later on the southeast and southwest coasts of the island. The Allied advance initially suffered from a lack of coordination between U.S. and British forces as Montgomery pushed northeast towards the strategic port of Messina and Patton pushed north and west. The campaign saw tensions rise between Patton and Montgomery as the independent-minded American felt the British were stealing the show. Ignoring Alexanders orders, Patton drove north and captured Palermo, before turning east and beating Montgomery to Messina by a few hours. The campaign had the desired effect as the capture of Palermo had helped spur Mussolinis overthrow in Rome. Into Italy With Sicily secured, Allied forces prepared to attack what Churchill referred to as the underbelly of Europe. On Sep. 3, 1943, Montgomerys 8th Army came ashore in Calabria. As a result of these landings, the new Italian government led by Pietro Badoglio surrendered to the Allies on Sep. 8. Though the Italians had been defeated, the German forces in Italy dug in to defend the country. The day after Italys capitulation, the main  Allied landings occurred at Salerno. Fighting their way ashore against heavy opposition, American and British forces quickly took the city Between Sep. 12–14, the Germans launched a series of counterattacks with the goal of destroying the beachhead before it could link up with the 8th Army. These were repulsed and the German commander General Heinrich von Vietinghoff withdrew his forces to a defensive line to the north. Pressing North Linking up with 8th Army, the forces at Salerno turned north and captured Naples and Foggia. Moving up the peninsula, the Allied advance began to slow due to harsh, mountainous terrain that was ideally suited for defense. In October, the German commander in Italy, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring convinced Hitler that every inch of Italy should be defended to keep the Allies away from Germany. To conduct this defensive campaign, Kesselring constructed numerous lines of fortifications across Italy. The most formidable of these was the Winter (Gustav) Line which stopped the U.S. 5th Armys advance at the end of 1943. In an attempt to turn the Germans out of the Winter Line, Allied forces  landed further north at Anzio  in January 1944. Unfortunately for the Allies, the forces that came ashore were quickly contained by the Germans and were unable to  break out of the beachhead. Breakout and the Fall of Rome Through the spring of 1944,  four major offensives  were launched along the Winter Line near the town of Cassino. The final assault commenced on May 11 and finally broke through the German defenses as well as the Adolf Hitler/Dora Line to their rear. Advancing north, U.S. General Mark Clarks 5th  Army  and Montgomerys 8th Army pressed the retreating Germans, while the forces at Anzio were finally able to break out of their beachhead. On June 4, 1944, U.S. forces entered Rome as the Germans fell back to the Trasimene Line north of the city. The capture of Rome was quickly overshadowed by the Allied landings in Normandy two days later. The Final Campaigns With the opening of a new front in France, Italy became a secondary theater of the war. In August, many of the most experienced Allied troops in Italy were withdrawn to take part in the  Operation Dragoon  landings in southern France. After the fall of Rome, Allied forces continued north and were able to breach the Trasimene Line and capture Florence. This last push brought them up against Kesselrings last major defensive position, the Gothic Line. Built just south of Bologna, the Gothic Line ran along the tops of the Apennine Mountains and presented a formidable obstacle. The Allies attacked the line for much of the fall, and while they were able to penetrate it in places, no decisive breakthrough could be achieved. Both sides saw changes in leadership as they prepared for the spring campaigns. For the Allies, Clark was promoted to command of all Allied troops in Italy, while on the German side, Kesselring was replaced with von Vietinghoff. Beginning on April 6, Clarks forces assaulted the German defenses, breaking through in several places. Sweeping onto the Lombardy Plain, Allied forces advanced steadily against weakening German resistance. The situation hopeless, von Vietinghoff dispatched emissaries to Clarks headquarters to discuss terms of surrender. On April 29, the two commanders signed the instrument of surrender which took effect on May 2, 1945, ending the fighting in Italy.

Essay on Different Viewpoints of Business Ethics - 1997 Words

Introduction The purpose of this short paper is to compare and contrast three different peer-reviewed journal articles and one online periodical. First, the paper provides a brief introduction of the four articles. Second, the paper compares and contrasts the four articles. Finally, the author presents his views on the topic of social responsibility and business ethics before concluding the paper. Four Articles All four articles center their focus on business ethics. Of the four articles, three are scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles and one, by Friedman, is an online periodical. The first article is â€Å"To be ethical or not to be: An international code of ethics for leadership† by Aja Alahmad. This article first states the†¦show more content†¦This periodical looks at business ethics from the viewpoint of economics. First the periodical clarifies who is responsible for social responsibility. Then the periodical details political questions regarding business ethics in principle level and consequence level. Like Drucker, Friedman is against the very idea of business ethics. He attacks corporate executives who use business ethics as â€Å"cloak† to hide their unfounded and unjustified actions. Finally, the paper reaches the conclusion by stating that the social responsibility of business is â€Å"to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud (Friedman, 1970). The fourth and last article is â€Å"The relevance of responsibility to ethical business decisions† by Patrick E. Murphy. This scholarly article first introduces moral responsibility. Second, the article lists six different types of responsibility and illustrates them with examples. 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Life Is Beautiful Movie free essay sample

Toribio Part A All of the qoutations pretty much tells the same message. But for me Rabbi Barry H Blocks qoutation most strongly captures the essense of the film. As i read the qoutation hope and laughter can bring light into even the darkest corner affect me,it is because our country is in the list of poorest countries in the world. We need to work everyday under the sun just to buy food for our families. One thing that i am proud of being filipino is you cant really tell if we have a problem because we are always smiling. One thing that makes every filipino happy is a karaoke machine,there is no family who doesnt have one. I remember when I was still in the Philippines we sing for forever until we get the 100% score and we even sing until dawn. Thats why were proud of Jessica Sanchez 2nd runner up of American Idol because she get to show other people what filipinos got. We will write a custom essay sample on Life Is Beautiful Movie or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Even if people dont have any food or money in there we have our neighbours who shares what they have,that is love and were still smile and laugh even though deep inside were not. I focused more on the word laughter because it is really the best medicine. This response is more on emotional that intelectual because i experienced it before. Part B The three aspects of the film that illustrate the healing effect of story on human life are the direction,the funny scenes and the music. The way Roberto Benigni directed the film he is showing that life is not about laughter only. At first I didnt expect the film to have a lonely part, in life you dont know what is going to happen next and what to expect. One funny scene that i love is when Dora is been stung by a wasp and Guido asked her if she is stung in other places. The music of the movie is so calming and everytime I hear it I feel like Im in a disco or a dance ball in the 90s.