In June 1944 a celestial observer in low orbit would have marveled at the immense breadth and variety of violence on Planet Earth. It was a watershed period in World War II, and not only Operation Overlord in Normandy on June 6. That month truly defined the phrase â??world war.â?
On June 4, Allied forces entered Rome, liberating the Eternal City after nine months of muddy, bloody slogging up the Italian boot. The U.S. Fifth Army received the credit, but the victory also belonged to Britons, New Zealanders, South Africans, Frenchmen, Poles, Indians and Gurkhas; even some Brazilians. But at the end of the war in May 1945, enemy forces still owned northern Italy. In fact, the Axis â?? outnumbered six to one and out-produced beyond computing â?? tied the rest of the world in knots for six years, including America, the British Empire, China, and the Soviet Union.
Also in Italy, the frequently forgotten U.S. Fifteenth Air Force â?? responsible for destroying Hitlerâ??s oil supply â?? flew its first shuttle mission to Russia. Between June 2 and 11, nearly 200 bombers and fighters attacked German targets in Romania while staging out of Soviet bases.
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