ABSTRACT
The Allied landings on North Africa, Sicily, and Italy in 1942 and 1943 served as preludes to D-Day on June 6, 1944. This invasion of Normandy was the largest amphibious assault in history as well as one of the greatest gambles. Subsequent operations to defeat German ground forces took another eleven months, including the massive Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. On the other side of world, two irresistible American offensive campaigns continued in the Central Pacifi c under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and in the Southwest Pacifi c under General Douglas MacArthur. These would eventually bring American forces to the shores of the Japanese home islands by the summer of 1945. Combined arms operations using air, ground, or naval assets characterized American fi ghting in the Pacifi c and Europe.
