This is a short AAR done to describe my very first full game of HOI. It is done in the format of a Term Paper because, after this past semester, I don't think I know how to write anything else 
Mr. Bowman
AP History
1st Hour
Campaign of Shame: American Involvement in the Second World War
By: Daniel McCollum
The Second World War was a war unlike any other in the history of the world; immensly destructive and long, the conflict would leave Europe drained for decades to come and at the mercy of the two great super powers of the post war period. It also marked the entry of the United States as prominent and permenent figure on the international stage.
And yet, despite the waxing of American power and its successful projection overseas, many Historians correctly view American intervention in the war as, as best, a mistake and, at worst, a horribly bungled and confused affair which greatly shook the nation at the time in which it was being called upon to assume its position as the bulwark of Democracy in the world.
American intervention into the Second World War can correctly be seen as having begun the election of President Wilkie in 1940. Wilkie, who savagly attacked Democratic President Roosevelt for both his isolationistic stance as well as his breaking of the sacred two term limit, narrowly defeated the incumbant with 51 percent of the vote. Although America would not enter the war itself for another 2 years, President Wilkie began a build up of the American military, as well as solidifing its position both at home and across seas.
The Wilkie Presidency would soon become an unpleasent one. Despite his own liberal tendencies, the President was forced by the Republican Majority in the Senate to repeal several key New Deal legislations. Bowing to these pressures, Wilkie agreed to prune away several minor legislations, as well as sign several bills which limited the rights of Labor Unions. The result was two successive National Strikes which temporarily crippled the country and his Administration.
American Entry into the Second War War offcially began on March 20th, 1942 with the sinking of the S.S. Theodore Roosevelt by a German U-Boat. The ship, which had been running patrol of the sea lanes, allowing important cargos to reach Great Britain, went to the bottom of the sea along with all 37 crew members. Calling the attack a "Cowardly attack by a cowardly people", the President asked for, and recieved, a decleration of war by the United States against the Axis nations.
Wilkie immediatly flew to Britain were he met with Winston Churchhill, and Charles DeGaul, and gave American support to their cause of freeing Europe from the Nazi scourge. During this meeting they also agreed to attack Axis Europe through its weak underbelly; was this Nationalist Spain. In August of the same year an army of 20,000 landed upon the beaches of Southern Spain, lead by famed Gernal Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Unfortunatly the Allies had greatly underestimated the strength of Spain as well as the effects that its rugged terrain would have upon an invaders of the Country. The American army moved brazenly East, subduing Gibralter and returning it to the British, before Turning North and attempting to assail Madrid. The Spanish military, however, knowing that they would be unable to win a strait battle, reduced themselves to playing the part of partisans, engenineering small raids, retaking territories conquered by the Allies, and cutting supply lines. Although the Americans were able to capture Madrid. without fuel or supplies, the American advance was forced to retreat and bogged down in Aragon. Reinfocrements would not arrive until Febuary of 1493. By this time it would be far to late.
With the loss of Eisenhower's army, Public opinion turned against President Wilkie. Many American citizens took to wearing red ribbons to honor the memory of the American troops who ahd died so needlessly over seas.
Chances of victory in Spain were fleeting however. The reinforcenments, unwilling to meet the fate of their comrads, seized hold of Granada and the territories dirrectly surroundign the fortress, and dug in until more troops could arrive and the invasion could commence as planned.
The true Invasion of Spain began early in 1944 as reinforcements arrived in Granada and three American armies totaling some 40,000 soldiers all together cautiously pushed forward and began to expand their hold over Southern Spain. By November the Allies had surrounded Madrid, and forced the Nationalists into the North Western corner of Spain.
None of this was able to save the Wilkie administration, however. Public resentment of President had grown in leaps and bounds over the past four years and, it was not a few voters who delivered their ballots on athat cold November Day while still wearing their hallowed red ribbons. Alfred E. Smith and the Democrats rode to an easy victory over the Republicans who seemed unable to cope with the war.
Having lost the election Wilkie slipped into a deep depression and became unwilling to cope with the day to day runnings of the office. While the allies had become bogged down in Spain, the Soviet Union had rebounded and begun to push the Germans back; the red cancer of Communism was now spreading through Poland and would soon reach Germany it self.
The failures of the Wilkie administration continued to play out during the year of the Smith's Presidency. The Nationalists in Spain counter attacked, catching the Allied forces off guard and began to drive them back. Furthermore the supply issues, which had plagued the military during the WIlkie administration continued unabated.
To make matters even worse in April of 1945, Art Finski, a soldier who had lost his leg in the SPanish campaign, shot and killed President Smith while he was speaking in the city of Milwaulkee. His Vice President, Harry Truman became President in the Middle of one of the worst crisies his nation had ever been involved in.
Truman decided that that only way to salvage the Allied presence in the war was to end the involvement in Spain as fast as possible. There were two ways to accomplish this; either to draw out of the Penninsula and attack elsewhere, most likely in France, or to end the Spanish resistence in one swift movement. The President decided upon the later action, unwilling to bare the thought of thousands of American boys having died in vain. In March of 1946 three American secret weapons, known as Nuclear Bombs, were loaded and sent to Spain.
The World entered the Nuclear Age on April 2nd 1946 when Madrid suddenly was consumed by the fires of the unleashed atom. Among the millions of civilians died Franco as well as nearly the entire leadership of the Spanish government. A Second bomb dropped later that day destroyed the main Spanish Army in Mid-Western Spain. Three days later the remains of the government surrendered, and a Republican Govenrment was extablished in the city of Cordoba.
With the collapse of Spain, the Allied troops pushed North into Nazi-held France, a move that was made easier by the utter collapse of the German Eastern Front to the Soviets. The Russians had captured Berlin one month earlier and were advancing to the Rhine.
World War Two officially ended on May 24th with the meeting of Allied and Soviet forces upon the Rhine River which divdes Germany and France.
The USSR left the war controling much of Eastern and Central Europe. Although Western Europe remained Democratic, it had been largly exausted by the war and the mismanaging of the Allied cause. The lessons which were learned by both the Soviets and Americans would be remembered dearly during the Cold War which followed. Most imporatantly for the Americans, they never truly forgot the horrors of the Spanish front and the Nuclear bomb.
Mr. Bowman
AP History
1st Hour
Campaign of Shame: American Involvement in the Second World War
By: Daniel McCollum
The Second World War was a war unlike any other in the history of the world; immensly destructive and long, the conflict would leave Europe drained for decades to come and at the mercy of the two great super powers of the post war period. It also marked the entry of the United States as prominent and permenent figure on the international stage.
And yet, despite the waxing of American power and its successful projection overseas, many Historians correctly view American intervention in the war as, as best, a mistake and, at worst, a horribly bungled and confused affair which greatly shook the nation at the time in which it was being called upon to assume its position as the bulwark of Democracy in the world.
American intervention into the Second World War can correctly be seen as having begun the election of President Wilkie in 1940. Wilkie, who savagly attacked Democratic President Roosevelt for both his isolationistic stance as well as his breaking of the sacred two term limit, narrowly defeated the incumbant with 51 percent of the vote. Although America would not enter the war itself for another 2 years, President Wilkie began a build up of the American military, as well as solidifing its position both at home and across seas.
The Wilkie Presidency would soon become an unpleasent one. Despite his own liberal tendencies, the President was forced by the Republican Majority in the Senate to repeal several key New Deal legislations. Bowing to these pressures, Wilkie agreed to prune away several minor legislations, as well as sign several bills which limited the rights of Labor Unions. The result was two successive National Strikes which temporarily crippled the country and his Administration.
American Entry into the Second War War offcially began on March 20th, 1942 with the sinking of the S.S. Theodore Roosevelt by a German U-Boat. The ship, which had been running patrol of the sea lanes, allowing important cargos to reach Great Britain, went to the bottom of the sea along with all 37 crew members. Calling the attack a "Cowardly attack by a cowardly people", the President asked for, and recieved, a decleration of war by the United States against the Axis nations.
Wilkie immediatly flew to Britain were he met with Winston Churchhill, and Charles DeGaul, and gave American support to their cause of freeing Europe from the Nazi scourge. During this meeting they also agreed to attack Axis Europe through its weak underbelly; was this Nationalist Spain. In August of the same year an army of 20,000 landed upon the beaches of Southern Spain, lead by famed Gernal Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Unfortunatly the Allies had greatly underestimated the strength of Spain as well as the effects that its rugged terrain would have upon an invaders of the Country. The American army moved brazenly East, subduing Gibralter and returning it to the British, before Turning North and attempting to assail Madrid. The Spanish military, however, knowing that they would be unable to win a strait battle, reduced themselves to playing the part of partisans, engenineering small raids, retaking territories conquered by the Allies, and cutting supply lines. Although the Americans were able to capture Madrid. without fuel or supplies, the American advance was forced to retreat and bogged down in Aragon. Reinfocrements would not arrive until Febuary of 1493. By this time it would be far to late.
With the loss of Eisenhower's army, Public opinion turned against President Wilkie. Many American citizens took to wearing red ribbons to honor the memory of the American troops who ahd died so needlessly over seas.
Chances of victory in Spain were fleeting however. The reinforcenments, unwilling to meet the fate of their comrads, seized hold of Granada and the territories dirrectly surroundign the fortress, and dug in until more troops could arrive and the invasion could commence as planned.
The true Invasion of Spain began early in 1944 as reinforcements arrived in Granada and three American armies totaling some 40,000 soldiers all together cautiously pushed forward and began to expand their hold over Southern Spain. By November the Allies had surrounded Madrid, and forced the Nationalists into the North Western corner of Spain.
None of this was able to save the Wilkie administration, however. Public resentment of President had grown in leaps and bounds over the past four years and, it was not a few voters who delivered their ballots on athat cold November Day while still wearing their hallowed red ribbons. Alfred E. Smith and the Democrats rode to an easy victory over the Republicans who seemed unable to cope with the war.
Having lost the election Wilkie slipped into a deep depression and became unwilling to cope with the day to day runnings of the office. While the allies had become bogged down in Spain, the Soviet Union had rebounded and begun to push the Germans back; the red cancer of Communism was now spreading through Poland and would soon reach Germany it self.
The failures of the Wilkie administration continued to play out during the year of the Smith's Presidency. The Nationalists in Spain counter attacked, catching the Allied forces off guard and began to drive them back. Furthermore the supply issues, which had plagued the military during the WIlkie administration continued unabated.
To make matters even worse in April of 1945, Art Finski, a soldier who had lost his leg in the SPanish campaign, shot and killed President Smith while he was speaking in the city of Milwaulkee. His Vice President, Harry Truman became President in the Middle of one of the worst crisies his nation had ever been involved in.
Truman decided that that only way to salvage the Allied presence in the war was to end the involvement in Spain as fast as possible. There were two ways to accomplish this; either to draw out of the Penninsula and attack elsewhere, most likely in France, or to end the Spanish resistence in one swift movement. The President decided upon the later action, unwilling to bare the thought of thousands of American boys having died in vain. In March of 1946 three American secret weapons, known as Nuclear Bombs, were loaded and sent to Spain.
The World entered the Nuclear Age on April 2nd 1946 when Madrid suddenly was consumed by the fires of the unleashed atom. Among the millions of civilians died Franco as well as nearly the entire leadership of the Spanish government. A Second bomb dropped later that day destroyed the main Spanish Army in Mid-Western Spain. Three days later the remains of the government surrendered, and a Republican Govenrment was extablished in the city of Cordoba.
With the collapse of Spain, the Allied troops pushed North into Nazi-held France, a move that was made easier by the utter collapse of the German Eastern Front to the Soviets. The Russians had captured Berlin one month earlier and were advancing to the Rhine.
World War Two officially ended on May 24th with the meeting of Allied and Soviet forces upon the Rhine River which divdes Germany and France.
The USSR left the war controling much of Eastern and Central Europe. Although Western Europe remained Democratic, it had been largly exausted by the war and the mismanaging of the Allied cause. The lessons which were learned by both the Soviets and Americans would be remembered dearly during the Cold War which followed. Most imporatantly for the Americans, they never truly forgot the horrors of the Spanish front and the Nuclear bomb.
