World War II was a war that took place between 1939-1945. This war was global and involved a lot of countries some of which include; Germany, Italy, Japan, United States, France and Britain. All these countries developed different tactics in order to be victorious in battle. When the United States entered the war it was behind in military experience and weaponry. Despite this the U.S military still won battles owing to its use of certain factors. They made use of counter-intelligence, technological developments, and developments during the battle for the Atlantic
Many decisions have to be made during a war and this is only achievable with information. Military intelligence is what assists in the preparation of war plans. Also, it gives an opponent a better chance at winning a battle. Additionally, intelligence assists in the creation of strategic tactics that can help on win a battle. According to Kennedy, much later in the war America had improved and increased the number of cryptographers that were able to decipher the naval codes that were used by the Japanese. This made it possible for the commander who was in charge of the pacific submarines to instruct a number of boats to intercept enemy battle ships. The use of intelligence in this case allowed America to surprise the enemy which played a huge role in defeating them. Another form of intelligence used by the Americans was how they deceived the Japanese at Titian. The U.S military staged a huge but fake landing at a certain part of the Titian town. This led the Japanese to focus on this place which made room for marines to come ashore through a less obvious route. A whole U.S military regiment managed to come on land completely undetected within 3 hours 1 . This type of military deception made it possible for the Americans to win this battle.
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The Pearl Harbor attack made people realize that carrier-borne airpower can be very destructive. This led to Americans coming up with similar technology that could be used to attack Japan. The B-29 is an aircraft that is both long range and a super fortress, this type of bomber aircraft was so sophisticated that it could carry large quantities of bombs over many miles at an altitude 30,000feet. This was helpful because it allowed these aircrafts to be inaccessible to aircrafts that belonged to the enemy and anti-aircraft shells 2 . Having such an aircraft made it possible for the U.S military to bomb places that were initially too far to access. P-51s were fighter planes that were used to escort B-29 aircrafts. These were long range aircrafts that had specialized fuel tanks so as to improve fuel consumption and miniaturized radar 3 . Bomber aircrafts were very important and due to this they needed to be escorted to avert any possible attacks, P-51s were designed in order to be good fighter planes.
During the battle of the Atlantic there was need for radar whilst on the Atlantic. The huge radar towers that were used in England to alert them of enemies was difficult to replicate in the mid-Atlantic due to issues of size. A smaller version was very difficult to make for various reasons. Later in the war a 10-centimeter radar was developed which made it possible for it to be put in a vessel. This radar made it possible for U.S military and its allies to spot enemies from miles away. Additionally, the Germans were unable to detect centimetric radar which worked against them 4 . The use of radar made it possible for the U.S military to be prepared for its enemies. Another detection development was Leigh lights, these lights were placed on patrol aircrafts and served as effective searchlights. U-boats are submarines that were used by enemies, Leigh lights would be able to detect U-boats that were attempting to charge their batteries at night 5 . The mid-Atlantic air gap was a place where many convoys were sunk by the enemies. Finally in 1943 scientists and engineers came together and designed aircrafts that could contain enough fuel to escort convoys to their destination 6 . This is how the mid-Atlantic air gap was finally closed. The hedgehog is another invention that greatly assisted in the Atlantic battle. This weapon was a grenade launcher that would fire forward of the ship. Compared to the depth charge it had a lot more advantages, it exploded on contact and did not distort sonar reading 7 . The U.S military and its allies came up with many other detection and improved tactics which greatly helped in winning the Atlantic battle.
Apart from all the mentioned tactics there are many other factors that were helpful in the United States winning battles. One is the help received from allies like Britain and the Soviet Union. Also, the financial support that was gotten from the Americans through war bonds made it possible for them to procure tools for the war. Using these tactics gave the United States a huge advantage over its enemies. Having tactical advantage of ones’ opponent is how battles are won. The way that the United States came together with its allies to develop detection tools was very helpful in giving them an upper hand over enemies.
Bibliography
Kennedy, Paul. Engineers of victory: the problem solvers who turned the tide in the Second World War . Penguin UK, 2013.
1 Kennedy, Paul. Engineers of victory: the problem solvers who turned the tide in the Second World War . Penguin UK, 2013, p. 366
2 Ibid, p.339
3 Ibid, p.407
4 Ibid, p.79
5 Ibid, p.81
6 Ibid, p.73
7 Ibid, p.76