War in the Pacific and in Europe

In the Pacific, in 1942 Japan scored victories over the U.S. at Bataan and Corregidor, in the Philippines (April-May). The U.S. began bombing raids over Tokyo (April), and the U.S. Navy stopped Japanese advances in the Battle of the Coral Sea (May). In the Battle of Midway Island (June), the U.S. won a major victory, downing nearly 300 Japanese planes and sinking several Japanese ships. In 1943, the U.S. won another major victory at Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Islands (November), turning the tide of the war in the Pacific against Japan. In late 1943 and 1944, American and Allied forces advanced steadily toward Japan. In the Battle of Leyte Gulf, in the Philippines (December 1944), the U.S. decisively defeated the Japanese fleet. In 1945, the U.S. conducted a massive bombing campaign against the Japanese homeland. The U.S. also captured the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, but only after overcoming tremendous resistance by Japanese soldiers.

In 1942 and 1943, American troops began to see action against the Axis forces in Europe. Beginning in 1942, American planes joined in bombing missions against German targets. In 1943, American troops joined the fight to liberate Italy. Mussolini's government soon collapsed, but German troops moved into Italy, and fighting between Americans and Germans for control of Italy lasted for months. American forces liberated Rome in June 1944. Mussolini was captured and killed by Italians in 1945.

American forces became heavily involved in the fighting in Europe beginning with the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944. Allied armies under the command of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower launched an invasion of Normandy, in northern France, from bases in England. This invasion (code named Overlord) was the largest military operation in history, involving more 175,000 troops, 11,000 aircraft, 4,000 landing craft, and 600 ships. By early July 1944, more than one million Allied troops had landed in Normandy. In late August, Paris was liberated from the Nazis. In September, Allied troops invaded Germany.

After Allied troops landed in France, Germany was confronted with a two-front war against the USSR in the east and Britain and the U.S. in the west. In November 1942, the USSR began its counteroffensive against the Nazi armies. Two weeks after D-Day, the USSR launched an enormous offensive against Germany in the east.

In early 1945, Allied forces from the west and Soviet armies from the east advanced steadily toward Berlin.