Introduction In February 1941, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel received command of the recently created Afrika Korps. The unit deployed to Libya in order to support the Italian Army that had recently suffered setbacks against the British forces. For the next two years, Rommel’s forces fought across the North African desert against British forces led by Generals Archibald Wavell, Claude Auchinleck, and Bernard Montgomery. The culminating point for this campaign was the two battles of El Alamein, after which the Germans retreated to Tunisia and eventually surrendered. This case study will examine the history, preparation, execution, results, and lessons learned during the Battles of El Alamein and how that defeat helped lead to the overall Axis defeat in World War II (WWII).
History
The fighting on the African continent began before WWII. Italy, in the late 19th century, had colonies in Libya, Eritrea, and Somaliland (now Somalia). In 1935, Bunito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy, wanted to have an Italian East African Empire. To accomplish this, his Italian forces conquered Ethiopia by 1936, forming his empire consisting of Somaliland, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. The British, meanwhile, provided soldiers for the defense of the Suez Canal in Egypt in accordance with the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. With Mussolini declaring war on England and France in June 1940, Britain found itself surrounded by Italian forces.
Mussolini wanted to link the two sections of his
Texas was fighting the Mexican army for their independence in 1835, which leads to fighting in the small fort called the Alamo. The Texans had been defeated at the Alamo, on April 23, 1836, for Texans, the Battle of the Alamo became a symbol of the resistance to oppression and their struggle for independence, which they won later that year. The 1915 movie The Alamo (The Birth of Texas) was the first movie to tell us what happened in the Battle of the Alamo but did a bad job in telling it. There was another film made in 2004 also called the Alamo which did a much better job than the original one in 1915. Both the 1915 and 2004 are good movies but have many scenes and information factually wrong.
On June 6th 1944, the U.S. and allied forces executed an amphibious assault named Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day, along the north-western coastline region of France. The operation covered in this paper will discuss a key battle during the Invasion of Normandy. The Invasion of Normandy was a successful operation focused towards German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. This paper will also cover a brief history and key points of The Battle of Omaha Beach. Critical reasoning and battle analysis will be expressed through what intelligence assets were applied, utilized and available during the time era. The analysis outcome will lead to an expressed alternative ending on The Battle of Omaha Beach. A detailed explanation of how intelligence assets could have been used to change the course of the battle will defend the explained alternative ending discussed. The main points of discussion will include Adolf Hitler’s decision to move most of his tank divisions and infantry units 150 miles north to Calais, the significance of the highly effective group known as the French Resistance and a famous illusionist Jasper Maskelyne.
In the December of 1835, during the Texas Revolution, the Alamo was occupied by two hundred Texan soldiers located near the present day in San Antonio. The Alamo was a church in the middle of San Antonio. William Travis and James Bowie were the commanders who were prepared to defend the Alamo from the Mexicans who wanted it back. Unfortunately, the Texan soldiers were outnumbered to secure the Alamo from General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna by thousands of his soldiers. The battle was only for thirteen days and Santa Anna slaughtered everyone except for a few such as a widowed wife named Susanna Wilkerson Dickinson, her infant daughter Angelina, and the one person who witnessed the final assault and survived named Joe. For the Texans, the battle of the Alamo is an "image of brave resistance and a rallying cry in their battle for freedom." This urged more Texans to join the military and lead the following fight to triumph against Mexico. The battle cry “Remember the Alamo!” within Texas culture was a symbol of “Patriotic sacrifice.”
Did you know that Texas was actually once Mexican territory? You may wonder why Texas is one of the 50 states in America today, and what were the events leading up to the Mexican American war. But why does a simple mission church relate to all of it? The battle of the Alamo was one of the most gruesome battles in American history. Today the Alamo Cenotaph stands 60 feet tall in the heart of San Antonio to honor all of the brave men and women who lost their lives for the freedom of Texas. Today America would be very different if the Mexican American war had not occurred.
A few days after the victory at El Alamein, Operation Torch was launched which further ruined Rommel’s chance of victory in North Africa. The operation saw 120 000 strong Anglo-American troops land in Algeria and Morocco. This was significant in boosting the morale of troops showing that allied forces could co-operate and that allied forces can work together. With the introduction of the American troops came, the new war technology and weaponry, that had previously been in Germany’s favour.
The Meuse-Argonne offensive of World War I began in the fall of 1918. The offensive began in the dawn of 26 September 1918 and concluded on 11 November 1918 after forty-seven days. The massive and bloody offensive pitted the newly formed American Expeditionary Force (AEF) referred to its allies as the “Doughboys” led by General John "Black Jack" Pershing against a heavily fortified German force entrenched between the Meuse River and Argonne Forest located northwest of Verdun in the Alsace-Lorraine region. The battle became the bloodiest and deadliest in the Army’s history. This battle analysis will examine the Meuse-Argonne offensive.
The Battle of the Alamo is one of the most famous battles in American military history, even moreso because it was a horrendous defeat. The people of Texas had declared themselves independent from Mexico. The Mexican Army, under President and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, were determined to bring Texas back into the fold. Santa Anna led the Army on a campaign into Texas territory. The Alamo, originally named Mision San Antonio de Valero, was a church first and foremost. Near the city of San Antonio de Bexar, the Alamo was used as a home for Christian missionaries and the Native Americans they converted. This church was also in a strategic location, protecting as it did the road from Mexico further northeast into what was now the Republic of Texas.
“One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name.” The Battle of the Alamo impacted the history of the United States monumentally. American expansionism led to American settlers heading to Texas and settling there. The expansionists called for the annexing of Texas, which lead to an uproar with the Mexicans, causing the Battle of the Alamo. The abandoned mission is located near the city of San Antonio. The Texans and Mexicans have clashed multiple times, fighting for control over it. The Battle of the Alamo, prior events, and post battle are very important in shaping the history of the United States, Texas, and Mexico.
Tom Fulton Fulton 1 World History P3 Mr. Charf March 11, 2015 The Battle of the Alamo Battles upon battles have been fought between the United States of America and an opposing force, but none were quite like the one that was fought in 1836. The Alamo, a mission compound in San Antonio, Texas, was surprise attacked by General Antonio López de Santa Anna's army. This army consisted of about 1,800 Mexican soldiers. To the Texans defending the Alamo, this army should have easily overcome them.
The major war had already taken place but there is a different type of conflict arising. This battle being of the writers trying to defend if it was fine for the United States to go to war with Mexico. THere are many people arguing for both sides of the story. The battle at the Alamo was what started America’s want for Texas. The United States Believed that it was God’s plan for America to expand to the Pacific ocean already before the Alamo. But only when Mexico was attacking texas did the United States find it the right time to expand their border. The Battle at the Alamo started when Texas began to stop following the rules. This led to the Texas revolution, which led to America’s want for Texas. The United States was justified in going to war with Mexico because, one Mexico Attacked first, Texas won the revolution so Mexico had
The development of the allied military strategy in World War II (WWII) presented challenges for the U.S. and Great Britain as they worked together to defeat the Axis powers. First, this paper will review the environment at the time of WWII when Admiral Stark penned the “Plan Dog” memorandum and MAJ Wedemeyer’s War Defense Team put together the “Victory Plan”. Next, it will look at the advantages and disadvantages of coalition operations with supporting examples. Then, a review of two major meetings between U.S. and Great Britain will identify what strategic decisions were made and the effects they have on the war. Finally, this paper will explore the foundations of strategy (Clausewitz and Sun Tzu) by which the allied forces used and
Richard Overy’s book “Why the Allies Won” is a great read for those who are intrigued by World War II alternate histories. Overy gives unique insights on the large scaled picture regarding how the war went throughout each of his chapters. The book identifies that the resulting Allied victory was not inevitable, and then it points out the factors that contributed to making the Allied victory possible.
Another war started in 1935 which the Ethiopians and Italians fought a second war which was called Second Italo-Ethiopian War . Again they fought for control of ruling a country. This time the Italians came in a lot stronger and had quickly defeated the Ethiopians will all of their weapons. Then around May 5, the Italians had officially announced that they have taken over Ethiopia.
The air battles of North Africa in early 1943 provided testing, refining, and critical adaptation to reach the superiority objective. The combination of strategic and tactical air forces brought a heavy dose of airpower to bear on German and Italian forces. North Africa became the live fire-training center for AAF air doctrine. In the early stages of North Africa, “the air arm was woefully ill-prepared to fight a desert war” . However, the willingness of leadership to quickly adapt to new environments and enemy strategy allowed the now coalition air force to radically change the war in the Mediterranean.
The purpose of this paper is to examine a historical battle utilizing the four steps of battle analysis to provide an alternate outcome. This paper will define the battle, review the settings, describe the actions, and assess the significance of the actions for Operation Ivory Coast. Furthermore, this paper will relate the causes and effects of essential elements critical to the tactical success and mission failure of Operation Ivory Coast. Ultimately, all contributing factors will coalesce into lessons learned from the operation that are still applicable to this day.