German warfare in Europe: In 1941 and 1942, German U-boats, aiming to starve Britain into submission by destroying their seagoing lifeline, sank Allied ships faster than new ones could be built. Hitler's western armies prepared to invade Britain while the rest of his forces concentrated on fighting the Soviets and capturing the Suez Canal. Allied counteroffensive: In 1943, the United States employed newly invented radar detectors and newly produced destroyer escorts for merchant vessels to destroy significant numbers of U-boats in the Atlantic, thereby protecting Britain from isolation and German invasion. Delaying their opening of a second front against the Nazis in Europe, the United States first defeated Germans in North Africa and the Mediterranean and then invaded Italy. 21. How did the war influence American society? Correct Answer would ideally include: Wartime economy: Roosevelt responded to Axis aggression by mobilizing the United States economy to produce an overwhelming abundance of military supplies. In order to do this, he called on business leaders to manage the nation's production and guide it toward maximum efficiency. He also called on labor to forego strikes. The government pumped enormous sums into the nation's economy and industry by issuing large contracts. The gross national product quadrupled between 1933 and the conclusion of the war, demonstrating the dramatic expansion of the American economy during wartime. The economic effort required to produce war materiel led to labor shortages that brought women into the traditionally male workforce and put more money into the pockets of the American public than ever before. New Deal restraints on agricultural production were lifted and farm output grew 25 percent every year during the war, providing surplus food to be exported to the Allies
