Military difficulties

Narrator:

Within the context of the overall question, early 1942 reflected a picture of overall domination in every theatre by the Axis powers. Militarily wise, by early 1942, Nazi Germany posed a formidable obstacle in Europe. Despite failing to defeat the RAF in the Battle of Britain, Nazi Germany succeeded in depriving Britain of her closest European ally France, and her armies totaling 145 divisions were now on the move in Russia, her U-Boats, at a peak strength of 300 vessels in August 1942 and accounting for 1.5 million tons of shipping alone in 1941, were still an existing threat to Allied convoys of vital war materials to Britain and the USSR, and seemingly together with Italy, Nazi Germany was controlling much of Central Europe. In the Pacific, following her surprise attack which crippled the US fleet in Pearl Harbor, Japan had rapidly taken Southeast Asia in a matter of months with only 11 divisions against at least on paper, strong Allied opposition, as reflected in the blog entries of Giles and Wade. With her formidable naval strength comprising an array of battleships such as the Yamato, 10 aircraft carriers like the Akagi, 39 cruisers, 100 destroyers, 63 submarines supported by 3000 planes, Japan was now readying to strengthen her presence and protect her captured territories beginning first with the capture of US- held Midway which Japan believed would break lingering US power and presence in the Pacific, forcing her to sue for peace.