Page 253 - 1992 - XVIII Congresso Internazionale di Storia Militare

THE U.S. NAVY IN WORLD WAR l ANO WORLD WAR Il

PAOlO E. COLETTA

The U.S. N.tvy was unprep:ued w fighe Germany on 6 Aprii 1917. Dcccr·
mincd co rcmnin ncurral. Prcsidenr \Xfoodrow Wilson dtd not concentrare on Jefensc
m:mers unrillnre 1916. t.·loreovcr, rhe naval butlding program Congress npprovcd
rhac year scressed capirai ships chat would be useless for anti·submarine warfare.
For rhe Unired Scnces, World War l was an Aclanric war. T o down che U-boac
ir senc ncross rhirry·six descroyers and severa! hundrc:d submarine-chnsers. Ics naval
commandcr in Bricain by june 1917 persuaded che Bricish co adopr che convoy
syscem. This syscem nnd improved anci-submarine macerials ano weapons Jcfe:tteù
che U-boac by rhe cnJ of che yenr.
Wotfd Wur Il w:ts n global war requirin~ amphibious operacions. Nor unril
hne 1942 in clw Adancic and fare 1943 in che Pacific. could che UnireJ Smres un·
dercnkc offensive opern.rions. The U-boac had a "Happy T ime" in che Adancic in
1942. bue by thc summer of 1943 ir had becn conquered. AUied croops meanwhilc
cleared che Axis from North Africa. Sicily. and lcaly. In November 1943, che Unit·
ed Scares began an island·hopping air·amphibious campaign rhac reachedjapan's
shores by rhe spring of 1945. The conjuncrion o( Russia's enrering che war and
American air power nnd rwo acomic bombs decermined Japan co see pcace.
\Xfhile offering co serve as a media !Or durtng che Greac War. Presidenr
\Xfoodrow Wilson kepr che Unirt-d Smces neurraJ umil Germany's unrescricted U·
boar wadare be!linntng o n l February 191 ì caused Congrt"Ss co declare war againsr
German)' on 6 Aprii 19! 7. Only durin!l che summer of 1915 ha d Wilson :tgreed
co augmenc che n;trional defense. Howevc:r. rhe greac naval building program he
approved in che fall of 1916 called mosci} for capical ships rhar were useless againsc
U-boacs. 1\loreover. he denied rhe Generai Board permission co draft w:u plans
againsr a belligerenc while rhe nacion was neucral. The Unired Srates encered rhere·
forc rhe war wirhouc dipfomacic. military. or naval plans w cooperare wich che En·
cence Powers (Aflies). Moreovc:r. ir did so as an Associaced Power racher rhan an
ally, free ro co"duct w~r or make p~ce as ic dcsired.
Forcunacely fnr che Uniced Srares. Jnpan shouldered mosr o( che war againsr
Germnny in che Paci fie, and the lirtle help rhe Unired Srares had given Russia scoppcd
wirh che Russia n Re,·olurion of March 191 7. Fm che United Srmes. cher~fore, \Xfnrld
\Xfnr l was encirc::lr an Arhtnric Wnr.
Americnn navnl offìcers diverged on how lhl'ir Nav)' shoultl tlper,ttt: \Il "'n r.
The Chief or Nav:tl Oper.trions. Adm. Wtlliam S. Benson, would use his flccc IO