THE IMPACT OF THE WAR

World War II was a long and hard military strategy that pitted the Allied countries of USSR, Great Britain, and the US against the Axis countries of Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany. The devastation from the war was overwhelming. Estimates claim that over three-fourths of the world population was involved in the war in some way. 110 million people were selected for military service with half of these recruits coming either from Germany, USSR, or the US. Over 70 million people were killed during World War II. Of this number, approximately 20 million were soldiers and about 40 million were civilians. Statistics estimate that approximately 12 million Jews died in concentration camps. The Allied bombings of Germany caused about 600,000 deaths. It was a war that took almost five years of fighting before the end of the war was over.

OUR FAMILY CONNECTIONS TO WW II

For both my husband and me, we have had family members who were enlisted in the war. My father was a Private in the Army Air Corps and served as a mechanic working on vehicles that had to be kept in good working order. He enlisted in 1941. My father’s brother served as a chauffeur in the military service and enlisted in 1942. My uncle served in the Air Corps and flew one mission to Ingolstadt. [I will devote another whole article later on about these veterans, their experiences and contributions.]

The main emphasis for this article is on my husband’s father who served in Europe and was in the middle of the action. He has given me a wealth of information about the war and several new insights into exactly how difficult missions could be. Although he passed away in 1989 we have many memories of him and the life he left behind.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RHINE RIVER

With the main focus of World War II being the elimination of Nazism, one of the most important parts of the coalition was to gain access to the Rhine River. The Rhine is probably one of the most important and if not the most important river in Europe. It stretches 820 miles long and was an important waterway because supplies could be easily brought in to the heavy industrialized area. It has been important as an international waterway since 1815.

The Rhine River that went through Bonn, Dusseldorf, and Cologne was the area where manufacturing was literally booming. Several military buildings dotted the area during the war and many of them were on the German side of the river. For the Allies gaining access to the river was the way to assure a decisive win over Germany. The area was also one that had many medieval castles. Since many of the castles were on the top of a hill it made a good vantage point for observing any troops that invaded the area.

COUNTRIES IN THE TOUR OF DUTY

NEAR AND AROUND NORMANDY

The main objective for his unit was to work methodically from country to country to slowly gain access to Germany by crossing over the Rhine River. Belgium, Netherlands, and France were important areas where fighting occurred and victories came slowly one at a time. Many of the battles in these areas continued for as long as five months.

SWITZERLAND

Although Switzerland borders on Germany, the need to maintain autonomy and independence was very important to the Swiss. After WW I the country was in a recession and food was scarce. Because of the proximity to Germany, the country had to decide whether or not to keep up its trade and financial obligations with other countries in the area. The second choice was to completely surrender to the Germans and join with them in their military policies against the Allies. Switzerland chose to keep as much independence as possible.

LIECHTENSTEIN

Liechtenstein is a small country located between Switzerland and Austria. The western part of the country borders on the Rhine River. The country is a constitutional monarchy like Britain and the ruling prince abdicated the throne in 1938 because his wife was a wealthy Jewish woman from Austria. The country kept a neutral position during the war.