Williams County World War II Memorial

Williams County World War II Memorial. . , The Imperial Japanese Navy sought a decisive blow to the U. S. Navy at the Battle of Midway. However, U.S. Navy codebreakers cracked the Japanese code and revealed their plans to attack between the 4th and 7th of June 1942. The naval battle was described by Military historian John Keegan as "the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare. "There were seven aircraft carriers involved in the battle and all four of Japan's large aircraft carriers,. part of the six-carrier force that had attacked Pearl Harbor and a heavy cruiser were sunk, while the US. lost only the carrier Yorktown and a destroyer. As part of a larger plan the Japanese Imperial Army invaded the Alaskan Islands of Attu and Kiska. Responding to the invasion. U.S. and Canadian forces pushed the Japanese forces out by August 1943. , Seeking to relieve pressure on our Russian Allies, the United States and Great Britton opened a second front against the Axis by invading North Africa in Operation Torch between the 8th and the 16th of November 1942. This was the first offensive operation in the European Theater and the largest amphibious invasion in history prior to the D-Day Normandy Invasion. The plan called for three task forces, Western, Center and Eastern, to land between Safi in French Morocco and Algiers in Algeria. Operation Torch ultimately led to the defeat of Vichy French, Italian and German forces in Africa giving U.S. forces valuable experience and led to the invasions of Sicily and Italy.