199: Building the Anglo-American Alliance: The US Enters the European Theater

“When do we get a whack at those Germans?”

This is the story of America’s entry into the European Theater. After Pearl Harbor, American foot soldiers and generals alike are eager to get in on the action in Europe, but first, they have to cross the embattled Atlantic—easier said than done with German U-boats on the prowl, sinking both military and merchant vessels in what they call an “American turkey shoot.” After stubborn U.S. Navy Admiral Ernest King finally adopts a workable convoy system, the boys are on their way to the UK, but it’s their next destination that’s really hotly debated.

U.S. Chief of Staff George C. Marshall advocates for a direct assault on France in 1942, (a plan supported by a desperate Stalin), but Churchill and co. favor a Mediterranean approach, coming up through the “soft underbelly” of Europe and avoiding turning the English Channel into “a river of blood.” And yet, whatever the high command decides, newly trained American troops will soon arrive in Ireland under the command of Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower, an organizationally brilliant and formerly frustrated desk jockey, now commander of all U.S. forces in Europe. ____

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