World War II Facts?

Question

I am a WWII fanatic (yes, a little weird), so I'm always looking for things I don't know yet. If you can tell me the most fascinating WWII fact you know and I think it's the most interesting then I'll give you the Best Answer. Oh, and they have to be 100% true!! And this is NOT a homework question I'm trying to leech out of you guys.

To people like Brian, I've already looked at those sites and they have the general idea but I want some facts we've never seen. And also, WWII didn't only take place in Europe...it's a WORLD war.

To people like Brian, I've already looked at those sites and they have the general idea but I want some facts we've never seen. And also, WWII didn't only take place in Europe...it's a WORLD war. Meaning it also took place in Japan and etc.

Answer 1

The United States Army ran whorehouses for the troops stationed in West Africa that were protecting the Firestone rubber plantations from the Germans. The venereal disease rate became so high among the troops that the U.S. Army decided to regulate sex and opened whorehouses where the girls got regular medical exams. The disease rate dropped dramaticaly because of it.
It may not be the most fascinating fact but it is the most unusual one I've heard.

Answer 2

It's not well known, but Japan actually captured and occupied parts of the United States other than South Pacific Islands like Guam and Iwo Jima.

Japanese seizure of Attu, Kiska, and Agattu of the Aleutian Islands in June 1942 was strategically unimportant, but the occupied islands did provide the Japanese with a base for raiding Alaska and limiting air and sea operations in the North Pacific.

At the time of the seizure, the United States did not have available ships, planes, and troops to recapture the islands, but advanced airfields were established on Adak and Amchitka, in August 1942, from which American bombers attacked Kiska and Attu.

Plans were made in the spring of 1943 to recapture Kiska and Attu. The operation was under the overall command of Vice Admiral Thomas E. Kinkaid, Commander, North Pacific. Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell commanded the assault force, and Maj. Gen. Albert E. Brown (who was replaced during the operations by Maj. Gen. Eugene M. Landrum) commanded the Army forces making the landing.

It was eventually decided to bypass Kiska, and landings were made on Attu on May 11, 1943. Air and naval units supported the operation. The Japanese on Attu defended their position desperately, but they were destroyed almost to a man, and the fighting ended by May 30.

Answer 3

Okay, here's a 100% true story that was told to me when I was much younger. In 1944 at Stalag Luft III, a German POW Camp, a group of prisoners tried to escape. I was told this story by a man with whom I go to church who flew with the RAF bombers and was shot down over Nazi Germany. While in the POW camp the men were fed what was called "German Black Bread" which was bread made with flour AND sawdust (because sawdust is a lot cheaper than flour!). When I asked him how he could eat that he simply responded "you've never been hungry, have you?". The men dug three tunnels underneath one of their barracks, working for many days and nights with Nazi guards close by. They named the tunnels Tom, Dick, and Harry. On the night of the "escape" they drew straws to see who would get to go (there were a lot of men!), but the man who told me the story didn't get to go. It was probably for the better, though, as only three men escaped and of those only one made it safely back to Britain. The event was adapted into a book and later a great movie starring Steve McQueen! Check it out.

Answer 4

Operation Dead Meat - In an attempt to fool the Germans into thinking that the D-Day invasion would take place in the southern coast of France, the Allies planted fake plans & invasion details on a corpse dressed in American uniform & left it in the Meditarranean where the Spaniards would pick it up & report their find to the Germans.

Umbrage - angered by dcotored reports that Chinese forces under General Joeseph "Vinegar" Stilwell's command had captured Mogaung in Burma. "Mad" Mike Calvert sent a report saying that his forces had sucessfully captured Umbrage, a make-believe town to confuse Stilwell's staff as Calvert & his command where the ones who had captured Mogaung.

Answer 5

America in the mid-1940's underwent rationing to save resources for the armed forces. The rationing coupons for gasoline were apportioned on an as-needed basis, with farmers and rachers getting the right to purchase greater amounts of gasoline than an urban family. Sugar was another heavily rationed item and a special Victory spoon was sold to "help" people cut down on their sugar consumption. It had a V shaped cutout in the middle to allow about half the sugar in a normal teaspoon drift back into the sugarbowl. I remember my mother having one of these in her silverware but never knew its purpose until recently. I remember her talking about stockings being unavailable and having to use leg makeup to simulate stockings. Rationing meant having to have not only enough money to purchase the groceries but also the right number of points in your monthly coupon book.
For all that, we didn't have it hard in the US compared with the people in Europe. My parents sent food and clothing to a family in Holland and rationing in England was so tight that a huge black market in meat and dairy products sprang up and existed through 1954 when rationing in England ceased.

Answer 6

The Allies took their own harbours with them when they invaded France,called Mulberries. Churchill did a huge amount of work in bed. FDR loved having him to stay as they could drink alcohol more freely Hitler was under no treaty obligation to declare war on the USA and totally ignored Ribbentrops one moment of wisdom when he urged him not to do so- the Axis Treaty only specified action if one of the 3 powers was attacked by an outside power. One of Churchills main hobbies was brick-laying One of the biggest battles ,the Battle of Moscow has barely been recorded. Numbers of war criminals were taken to the US to assist with rocket-building programmes

Answer 7

OK here is some facts about WW ll

it took place in Europe
it began in 1939
the US entered in 1942
it ended in 1945


if you want to know more information about word war 2 check the website out.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II

Answer 8

That the most dangerous U.S service was the merchant marine based on the chance of being killed versus any other branch of service
.