American Theater (1939-1945)

American Theater

American servicemen inspecting a shell crater after the Japanese attack on Fort Stevens, Oregon

Date	1939–1945
Location	Americas, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean
Result	Allied victory, Axis objectives failed or did not affect the outcome of the conflict.

Belligerents

Allies:

United States

Canada

United Kingdom

Newfoundland

Brazil

Axis:

Germany

Japan

Italy

The American Theater describes a series of mostly minor areas of operations during World War II. This was mainly due to both North and South America's geographical separation from the central theaters of conflict in Europe and Asia. Thus, any threat by the Axis Powers to invade the mainland United States or other areas was considered negligible, allowing for American resources to be deployed in overseas theaters.

This article includes attacks on continental territory, extending 200 miles (320 km) into the ocean, which is today under the sovereignty of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and several other smaller states. The best known events in North America during World War II were the Aleutian Islands Campaign, the Battle of the St. Lawrence, and the attacks on Newfoundland.

The first naval battle during the war was fought on December 13, 1939 off the Atlantic coast of South America. The German "pocket battleship" Admiral Graf Spee (acting as a commerce raider) encountered one of the British naval units searching for her. Composed of three Royal Navy cruisers, the HMS Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles, the unit was patrolling off the River Plate estuary of Argentina and Uruguay. In a bloody engagement, the Graf Spee successfully repulsed the British attacks. Captain Hans Langsdorff then brought his damaged ship to shelter in neutral Uruguay for repairs. However, British intelligence successfully deceived Langsdorff into believing that a much superior British force had now gathered to wait for him, and he scuttled his ship at Montevideo to save his crew's lives before committing suicide. German combat losses were 96 killed or wounded, against 72 British sailors killed and 28 wounded. Two Royal Navy cruisers had been severely damaged, but it had cost the German navy one of its finest ships.

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