DK - World War II Map by Map

70 GERMANY TRIUMPHANT 1939–1941

GREECE

LIBERIA

POLAND

ROMANIA

N O R W A Y

ICELAND

FRANCE

UNITED

KINGDOM

USSR

UNITED STATES

OF AMERICA

CENTRAL

AMERICA

EGYPT

IRAN

INDIA

ETHIOPIA

IRAQ

SAUDI

ARABIA

TURKEY

C A

N A D A

S

O

U

T

H

A M E R I C A

A T

L A

N

T

I

C

O C

E

A

N

I N D I A N

O C E A N

P A C I

F I C

O C E A

N AUS

TR

A

L

IA

E U R O P E

A F R I C A

C

H

I N

A

Siberia

DUTCH EAST INDIES

A R C T I C^ O C E A N

Panama Canal

Petropavlovsk

Nikolayevsk

Vladivostok

Beijing

Chongqing

Novosibirsk

Archangel

Leningrad

Murmansk

Moscow

Stalingrad

London

Liverpool

Baku Tashkent

Tabriz

Algiers

Cairo

Dakar

Takoradi

Recife

Georgetown

Miami

New York

Seattle St. John’s

Anchorage

San Francisco

Los Angeles

Lagos

Khartoum

Rasht Bandar Shah

Bushehr

Dinjan

Melbourne

Auckland

Perth

Kunming

Calcutta

Bombay

Savannah Baltimore

Jacksonville

Wilmington

Panama

City

Houston

New

Orleans

Brunswick

Providence Paris

Mobile

South

Portland

Antigua

St. Lucia

Trinidad

Exuma

Jamaica

Portland

Richmond

Vancouver

Sausalito

60

320

1700

Ascension

Island

Spitsbergen

(Nor)

PACIFIC

OCEAN

To^

USSR

To^ USSR

To^ Aus

tralia

Fr

om

U

Fr SA

om

U

SA

To Australia

From

USA

From USA

Following neutrality legislation in 1937, US companies could not

export military goods to warring nations. However, President

Roosevelt was committed to helping the fight against Fascism by

all means short of war, and this sentiment underpinned policies

such as the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement, in which the US

transferred destroyers to the British in exchange for land for US

military bases. Lend-Lease was another such policy, under which

the US could loan war matériel to the Allies. Roosevelt justified its

implementation with a simple analogy—if a neighbor’s house

was on fire it was simply common sense to lend him a garden hose.

Lend-Lease unlocked a wealth of supplies for the Allies, ranging

from ordnance, oil, aircraft, tanks, and ships to tooth powder and

salt cellars. The policy helped to save Britain, which was running

desperately short of food and fuel in 1941. At first, the recipients

were Britain and the Commonwealth countries, but within a year,

Lend-Lease was providing aid to the Soviet Union and China. From

1942, it became increasingly significant as the war extended to the

Pacific following the events of Pearl Harbor (see pp.110–111). By

the end of the war, over $49 billion of American aid had been

transported around the world to 40 countries.

US ISOLATIONISM IN WORLD WAR II

“We defend and we build a way of life, not for

America alone, but for all mankind.”

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, MAY 1940

The US was determined to stay

neutral in 1939. The country had

suffered significant casualties in

World War I, and debts owed by

the Allies had caused resentment.

There was little desire to become

embroiled in another “foreign

affair.” However, knowing that

the war threatened America’s

security, President Roosevelt

worked to weaken the Neutrality

Acts of the 1930s. With Lend-

Lease, he hoped America could

arm the fight for democracy while

avoiding direct conflict.

LEND-LEASE

The Lend-Lease Act, passed by the US Congress in

March 1941, provided assistance to Britain’s war effort

while allowing the US to maintain its neutrality. The

policy ensured a flow of food, fuel, and matériel to

Allied forces that the Axis powers could not match.

Sep 1941–1945 Liberty

Ships are produced for use

by the US, Soviet Union,

and Britain to transport

Lend-Lease supplies.

1942 More than 50

percent of USSR

Lend-Lease aid goes via

the Alaskan Highway.

May 1943 Canada establishes

its Mutual Aid program,

providing Britain and the

Commonwealth with $2

billion worth of matériel.

SUPPLYING THE ALLIES

The millions of dollars of aid provided by the US through Lend-Lease

reached across the world, providing the Allies with an enormous

economic and logistical advantage over the Axis powers.

KEY

RECIPIENTS OF LEND-LEASE AID

Britain/Commonwealth:

$31.385 billion

USSR: $10.982 billion

France/empire: $3.224 billion

Central/South America:

$501 million

China: $1.627 billion

Others: <$0.5–250 million each

1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946

2

3

4

5

1

TIMELINE

THE OIL ADVANTAGE

AUGUST 1941–1945

Throughout the war, access to oil was a major

concern for Germany; its tanks frequently

ran out of fuel and its industries struggled from

a lack of oil. When the British occupied Iran in

August–September 1941, they not only secured

the Persian corridor to the USSR, but also

gained control of the region’s substantial oil fields.

Meanwhile, America’s vast supplies of oil fueled

wartime production and Allied transportation.

5

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

signing the Lend-Lease Act

Annual oil production

(million barrels)

Other major

60 sources of oil

1942 Lend-Lease comes under

scrutiny in the US when US forces

ask that war matériel production is

prioritized for them.

US_070-071_lend_lease.indd 70 20/03/19 12:45 PM