As Minister of the Interior, Göring had control of the police, and as such ordered that regular uniformed police could not interfere with any member of the Nazi Brownshirts. This cart blanch was the beginning of the Gestapo rule. Brownshirts could abuse Jews or anyone else at will without consequence.

Shortly after affording the SA this freedom of movement, Göring installed many members to the Berlin police department. Now the Brownshirts could terrorize and arrest. Jails became over crowed, requiring the use of outdoor jails. These outdoor jails were the beginning of the concentration camps.
On April 26, 1933 Göring created the secret police. He gave the name Geheime Staats Polizei (Secret State Police) to the group. The term acronym Gestapo is a derivative of Geheime Staats Polizei. Like the Brownshirts of the police department, the Gestapo instilled fear in anyone who opposed the Nazi party.

Gestapo leadership changed hands in April 1934. Heinrich Himmler took command on April 20, 1934. On February 10, 1936 the Gestapo Law was passed, placing the Gestapo fully above any branch of government or law enforcement. Any individual could be arrested, interrogated, and executed without any of the customary legal procedures.
Common citizens became informants to the Gestapo in order to save their own lives. One never knew if their neighbor might be a Gestapo informant. This placed neighbor against neighbor and instilled a constant state of distrust and fear. If one were foolish enough to speak out against the Nazi party or tell an anti-Nazi joke, he or she could expect to be arrested, interrogated and executed that very night.

Word spread of Gestapo’s interrogation techniques, the least of which included near drowning in a tub of ice water. Whether a German was a Nazi supporter or not in their private thoughts; all Germans became Nazi supporters in the public eye in order to save their life. The reign of terror was under way.

The ABC Staff Agreement first discussed the United States involvement in the conflict, “short of war” or short of declaring war. The agreement discussed the lend-lease policy in the Atlantic and deterring the Japanese in the Pacific. The ABC Staff Agreement then further discussed what would be the collaboration between the US and Britain, should the United States enter into war.

The primary focus of the agreement was Hitler and Germany. Believing that Hitler was the principle Axis power, war efforts were focused on Europe and the Atlantic theaters. Therefore the United States Naval forces were deployed to the Atlantic to aid where possible, “short of war”, in order to defeat Germany as early as possible. At that time Japan was warring only with China and posed less of a threat. Allied forces hoped to have discussions with Japan and deter her from actively supporting Germany.

Under the ABC-1 Staff Agreement further meetings were agreed upon. These meetings would be held between the United States and Great Britain in London and DC until the United States entered the war. When the US entered the war communications would continue through a group that would be known as “the Supreme War Council” (the group was later re- named “the Combined Chiefs of Staff).

The agreement further discussed strategic planning. The two countries would enforce the blockade against the Axis; support air attacks on Germany; eliminate Italy from the war through naval efforts; encourage other neutral countries to resist Axis coercion; concentrate forces in the British Isles; capture Mediterranean bases to protect Europe from invasion; and begin psychological warfare.

By March 27, 1941, the basic plan of war for the Allied forces had been determined. It hinged on the United States entering the war. However, at that time, the United States did not guarantee she would enter into the war effort.

Rear Admiral John H. Hoover was Commander of the Caribbean Sea Frontier. He had less to work with than the other sea frontier commanders. In Aruba he had only one Dutch motor whaleboat, three coast defense guns and a few Army Air Force medium bombers to defend the valuable oil industry. On Feb 16, 1942 a German U-boat shelled a shore refinery. That same day six ships were sunk.

The United States had acquired the right to build military bases in Trinidad in the destroyer-naval base deal of September 1940. Construction began in May of 1941, but by the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, Trinidad was still primarily undefended. Trinidad had two converted yachts, two yard-patrol craft, four Catalinas and one utility transport with which to defend herself. The first U-boat attack off Trinidad occurred during the night between February 18 and 19.

Due to the United States lack of preparedness for war, the German U-boat operators had become bold and brass. On February 18, in the Gulf of Paria, a U-boat surfaced and pulled out of the harbor with running lights on after torpedoing two ships.

During the Caribbean Offensive the Allies lost 114 ships to German U-boat attacks. Thirty-One ships were lost in February and March, 41 ships were lost in April and May, and 42 ships were lost in June and July.

Kudos must be given to Allied rescue operations in the area, rescuing hundreds of survivors from torpedoed ships. Many rescue yachts and planes would drop off survivors, refuel and be off again looking for more victims. Shore crews worked around the clock repairing rescue vehicles. Many men worked until they were forced to rest by their superior officers.

The 90th Infantry had been ordered to take the “Island of Seves”. The area was not truly an island but a swamp land surrounded by rivers. The Germans fought fiercely and American casualties were great. It seemed there was no way to recover the wounded and departed under such heavy artillery. Chaplain Edgar H Stohler, Pastor James M Hamilton and Father Joseph J Esser decided to take it upon themselves to begin a rescue mission.

The three men ventured into “No man’s land” under heavy machine gun and artillery fire to rescue American wounded. They were armed only with a Red Cross flag. The area was difficult to traverse not only because of the heavy fire but also the ground conditions. At times they were up to their knees in mud. As they came upon a wounded man, the military Chaplains would call for a litter and the wounded man would be carried to safety.

The Germans appeared to respect the three men’s courage; Fighting around them would cease. It was reported that at one point a German paratrooper manning a machine gun post, pointed out to Pastor Hamilton a wounded man he had overlooked. It was likely the paratrooper was the one who wounded the American.

During the rescue efforts, a German officer approached the three men. The Chaplains asked if a cease fire could be arranged to aid in their rescue efforts. The officer reported back to German Major von der Heydte. Von der Heydte known for his compassion allowed a three hour cease fire for the recovery of wounded soldiers. Fighting stopped on both sides with one exception; an American bombing attack that could not be recalled forced rescuers on both sides into bunkers for a short time.
According to an interview after the incident, Stohler believed they were able to rescue 76 wounded soldiers. Chaplain Edgar H Stohler received the Silver Star for his efforts.

Recruiters visited the Navajo reservation. Thirty men enlisted excited to serve their country. These men had to speak both English and Navajo fluently. Some who were too young lied about their age to have the opportunity to serve their country. Others who were too old did the same. Of the thirty men who originally enlisted one dropped out, leaving 29 original code talkers.

These men attended basic training, learning a way of life completely foreign to them. They persisted, knowing they could play an important role in the history of their country. After basic training these 29 men developed the unbreakable code. Using Navajo words to describe military terms, (i.e. sparrow hawk for dive bomber) the code talkers developed a list of 411 terms. In addition, so that any word could be transmitted without mistake, they developed a code for the alphabet. Each letter was represented by a corresponding Navajo word. Letters that were used most commonly were given three words to prevent decoding by sheer repetition. For example the letter A was represented by Wol-La Chee meaning Ant, Be-La-Sana meaning Apple and Tse-Nill meaning Axe. Prior to use in the field the code was tested on Navajo who did not know the new language. None could break it.

Upon completion of this initial task, 27 men entered battle with the new code memorized, while 2 remained behind to train more Navajo code talkers. Skeptical at first, field commanders were amazed at the speed and accuracy with which the code talkers could relay messages. What once took up to hours to achieve, now took minutes. In fact during the battle for Iwo Jima more that 800 vital messages were sent via code talkers.

Navajo code talkers served in WWII from 1942 until 1945. In total 420 Navajo marines were trained as code talkers. It has been said that without the code talkers the war may have lasted much longer. Indeed the Japanese never broke the code. The Navajo code talkers returned home without the fanfare of heroes. No one knew of their contribution to the war efforts because the code was considered classified information until 1968.

Within the military deception has a very specific purpose; to provide the enemy with misinformation which causes the enemy to take a particular action. This allows the military to take an entirely different action with little resistance. In the case of Plan Bodyguard, Allied forces intended to convince Hitler that Normandy was actually a diversion for greater attacks on Norway, Northern France, and the Balkans.

Plan Bodyguard was divided into two main operations; Operation Fortitude and Operation Zeppelin. Operation Fortitude was further divided onto three sub divisions; Fortitude North, Fortitude South and Fortitude South II. The plan required all operations were executed in perfect synchronicity.
Fortitude North threatened an invasion of Norway by British, American and Russian forces. Due to Hitler’s belief in this operation 150,000 German troops were stationed in Norway awaiting battle; successfully eliminating them from the battle at Normandy.

Fortitude South played on Hitler’s belief that if Allied forces were to come to France’s aid they would travel through the English Channel at the shortest possible route, Pas de Calais ( The Straits of Dover). Knowing this, the Allied forces created the fictitious First U. S. Army Group (FUSAG) code named “Quicksilver”. The fictitious group consisted of “one million men” including; dummy landing craft, dummy paratroopers, light and sound schemes. Fortitude South II was a communication ruse to support Fortitude South. Both operations succeeded. Eighteen divisions of the 15th German Army were stationed near the Straits of Dover to prepare for the great battle.

Operation Zeppelin diverted German forces to the Balkans, creating unrest and playing on Hitler’s feelings of vulnerability in the area. Consequently, Hitler sent several divisions from the Atlantic Wall to Hungary.

The success of the ruse was fantastic. Hitler was so convinced of an attack at the Straits of Dover that the German forces stationed there were not diverted for a week after the Allied landing at the beaches of Normandy. Without Plan Bodyguard, the Normandy invasion may be a very different memory.

The first plan of attack of the Germans against the United States was called Paukenschlag, which means “Roll of the drum” or Operation Drumbeat. Paukenschlag, orchestrated by U-boat commander Dönitz, was to be a surprise and swift attack on the Eastern Sea coast of the Americas. Due to other military events few U-boats were available for the mission. Six German U-boats were initially available for the mission.

On Jan 12, 1942 the British Steamer Cyclops was sunk by German U-123, 300 miles off Cape Cod and so began the Paukenschlag. The SS Norness and the British tanker Coimbra were sunk off Cape Hatteras on January fourteenth and January fifteenth respectively. The killings continued and in all 13 vessels were sunk between New York and Hatteras in approximately 2 weeks.

Though technically the Paukenschlag ended on Feb 6, 1942, the U-boat attacks did not. German submarines continued to attack and sink Allied vessels all along the eastern seaboard. The Tanker, O.A. Knudsen was attacked off the coast of the Bahamas, three times in twelve hours. The tanker Gulftrade was sunk only two miles off Barnegat. The Tanker Tiger was torpedoed off Cape Henry, while trying to rescue a pilot. The Tolten, a Chilean freighter, was sunk only 30 miles off Ambrose Channel, New York.

It is believed that some of the success of the German attacks is due to their ability to interpret coded messages between the British and the US. Another aspect that led to the successful attacks against the US seacoast was United States citizens themselves. US coastal cities initially refused to darken their harbors, giving ample lighting to night time shores. This allowed U-boats to lie at periscope depth and launch torpedoes toward a vessel silhouetted by shore lights. Seamen were killed due to our own selfishness. Finally on April 18, 1942 waterfront lights were ordered out. The U-boat massacre on the eastern coast of the Americas continued until July 1942.

Believing that he would attend the University of Missouri, he was advised and took the entrance exam to West Point. Placing first in his region he enrolled at West Point in 1911. He would gradute in 1915 in a class that would contain 59 future generals, along with fellow five-star general Dwight Eisenhower, in the class that was called, “The class the stars fell on”. He would not see any action in Europe during the First World War but would maintain posts stateside and marry on December 28, 1916. Between the two wars he would teach mathematics at West Point and would eventually become the first member of his graduating class to attain the rank of General.

Bradley was referred to by many as “the soldiers general” due to his curteousness and politeness. He plan and execute many important operations during the war in Europe and would also be criticized, such as his criticism of storming Omaha Beach before a heavier naval bombardment could occur believing it added an element of surprise. This premature move is cited as cause for the great number of casualties incurred on Omaha Beach.

After the war, Bradley held many important positions such as the head of the Veterans Administration in which he oversaw many improvements to the health care system and the G.I. Bill. He also held the position of the Joints Chief of Staff, the last man in the 20th century to attain the rank of General of the Army, and was the first Chairman of the Nato Committee.

General Omar Nelson Bradley would pass away on April 8, 1981. Not the flashiest of the five-star generals, Bradley is considered a great strategist and thinker and was highly regarded by military and civilian personnel.

“Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than about peace, more about killing than we know about living.”

In addition to being a logistical base, Truk was the home base for the Japanese Royal navy since before the beginning of WWII. Also, it was a major support for various other Japanese garrisons on other islands in the south pacific.

At the beginning of WWII, Truk was considered invincible and impervious to allied assault, but thanks to the growth in US naval carrier forces, by February of 1944, that was no longer the case. A week prior to the operation, the Japanese navy had removed many of their ships to Palau bay, but many battleships and merchant vessels still remained.

The allied forces, led by Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher, consisted of 54 ships(including 9 carriers), 10 submarines, and 598 planes. Fighting began when Japanese aircraft attacked in the afternoon on the 16th of February. Save for a single bomb hitting the Iowa, no major damage was incurred until the actual operation which began the next day.

The operation consisted primarily of air strikes, surface ship actions, and submarine attacks over the course of two days. The American forces managed to inflict major damage to the Japanese forces present, including the destruction of 270 aircraft that had been used by the Japanese to disrupt American shipping.

Because of the staggering amount of damage the American forces had done to the Japanese forces at Truk, Admiral Mineichi Koga ordered naval aircraft from both Palau and Rabaul to transfer to Truk, which were later attacked by American carriers two months later.

The American forces managed to complete the operation with very few losses, which consisted of 11 men, and just over 20 aircraft. The Carrier Intrepid suffered enough damage to cause it to be sent back to Pearl Harbor and San Francisco for repairs that would take four months to complete.

American victory at Truk resulted in Truk’s isolation for the remainder of the war. Cut off as it was from Japan, the remaining Japanese forces ran low on food and were facing starvation before the Japanese would finally surrender in August of 1945. This resulted in further victories in the Marshall islands as the Allied forces moved ever closer to Japan.

The ABC Staff Agreement first discussed the United States involvement in the conflict, “short of war” or short of declaring war. The agreement discussed the lend-lease policy in the Atlantic and deterring the Japanese in the Pacific. The ABC Staff Agreement then further discussed what would be the collaboration between the US and Britain, should the United States enter into war.

The primary focus of the agreement was Hitler and Germany. Believing that Hitler was the principle Axis power, war efforts were focused on Europe and the Atlantic theaters. Therefore the United States Naval forces were deployed to the Atlantic to aid where possible, “short of war”, in order to defeat Germany as early as possible. At that time Japan was warring only with China and posed less of a threat. Allied forces hoped to have discussions with Japan and deter her from actively supporting Germany.

Under the ABC-1 Staff Agreement further meetings were agreed upon. These meetings would be held between the United States and Great Britain in London and DC until the United States entered the war. When the US entered the war communications would continue through a group that would be known as “the Supreme War Council” (the group was later re- named “the Combined Chiefs of Staff).

The agreement further discussed strategic planning. The two countries would enforce the blockade against the Axis; support air attacks on Germany; eliminate Italy from the war through naval efforts; encourage other neutral countries to resist Axis coercion; concentrate forces in the British Isles; capture Mediterranean bases to protect Europe from invasion; and begin psychological warfare.

By March 27, 1941, the basic plan of war for the Allied forces had been determined. It hinged on the United States entering the war. However, at that time, the United States did not guarantee she would enter into the war effort.