List of United States Army campaigns during World War II

The United States Army conducted many campaigns during World War II. These are the campaigns that were officially designated by the Army. It is the basis of campaign honors and awards for U.S. Army units and servicemen, but is not a comprehensive list of all the campaigns of the war, as it omits campaigns in which U.S. Army participation was minimal.

In all, 44 World War II campaigns were designated by the U.S. Army: 24 for the Asiatic–Pacific Theater, 19 in the European–African–Middle Eastern Theater, and one in the American Theater. In addition, there were three main blanket campaigns: antisubmarine warfare, ground combat and air combat. These were designated for each theater, except the American Theater, which only had the one blanket campaign awarded – anti-submarine warfare. These three theaters each had its own campaign ribbon. The list of campaigns includes those undertaken by U.S. Army units participating in ground combat as well as those undertaken by United States Army Air Forces participating in air combat.Wilson, pp. 40–41.

Overview

The war started for America on 7 December 1941 with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,Sturgeon, pp. 148–149. and the invasion of the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies. Hard-fought campaigns in Papua and Guadalcanal followed in 1942. In 1943, the Japanese were driven from the Aleutian Islands, and U.S. forces landed in the northern Solomon Islands, the Gilbert Islands, and the Bismarck Archipelago. This was followed in 1944 by the invasion of the Marshall Islands, a series of landings in western New Guinea, the capture of the Mariana Islands and Battle of Palau. The U.S. Army returned to the Philippines in October 1944, waging major campaigns on Luzon and the southern Philippines through 1945. U.S. forces landed on Okinawa and in April 1945. Atomic bombs developed under the direction of the U.S. Army were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, which caused the Japanese to unconditionally surrender on 2 September 1945, aboard the USS Missouri.Sturgeon, pp. 322–325

While U.S. support for China was a reason for the war, the U.S. Army did not deploy major ground forces there, although U.S. air and service units played a vital role. After being driven out of Burma in 1942, a provisional regiment of the U.S. Army (Merrill's Marauders) participated in the reconquest of Northern Burma in 1944, and two regiments took part in the Central Burma Campaign the following year before moving on into China. In response to U.S. Army Air Forces operations from China, the Japanese drove the Americans and Chinese from eastern China. Only in the last weeks of the war did the tide turn in favor of the Allies in China.

Although many campaigns were fought in Asia and the Pacific, the major focus of the U.S. Army was always on the European Theater, where most its strength was ultimately deployed. U.S. forces saw action in the invasion of North Africa in November 1942, and the subsequent Tunisia Campaign in 1943. The U.S. Army participated in the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and then the Allied invasion of Italy in September. Hopes for a quick capture of Rome were frustrated by the Germans, who conducted a fighting withdrawal to the Gustav Line, which the landing at Anzio and the fighting at Monte Cassino in January 1944 failed to break. The Gustav Line was finally broken in May 1944, while Rome was captured on 4 June, and the Germans retreated to the Gothic Line in Northern Italy, where the Allies were held until they broke into the Po Valley in a successful offensive in April 1945.

In June 1944, the U.S. Army participated in Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy. After heavy fighting, the Allies broke out of Normandy in July 1944. Efforts to capture the ports in Brittany proved difficult, but Allied forces quickly liberated Belgium and much of France. U.S. forces participated in the invasion of southern France (Operation Dragoon) in August 1944, and the airborne assault on the Netherlands (Operation Market Garden) in September, but logistical difficulties and German resistance slowed U.S. assaults on the Siegfried Line and in Lorraine in late 1944. In December 1944, the U.S. Army was surprised by the German Ardennes offensive (the Battle of the Bulge), which was defeated only after costly fighting that strained the U.S. Army's manpower to its limits. In February 1945, operations began that drove the Germans from the Rhineland, and the Rhine was crossed in March 1945. In April 1945, U.S. Army forces entered the heartland of Germany. Operations continued until the war in Europe ended on 8 May 1945 with the signing of unconditional surrender the previous day.

Asiatic–Pacific Theater

Pacific campaigns

+ Campaign name Date ResultPacific Air Offensive17 April 1942 – 2 September 1945Philippine Islands Campaign7 December 1941 – 10 May 1942Sturgeon, pp. 158–161Japanese victory, American retreat from the PhilippinesEast Indies Campaign1 January – 22 July 1942Japanese victory, Allied retreat from the East Indies.Aleutian Islands Campaign3 June 1942 – 24 August 1943Allied victory, Japanese withdraw from the Aleutian Islands.Guadalcanal Campaign7 August 1942 – 21 February 1943McGee, p. 21.U.S. victory, Japanese withdraw from Guadalcanal.Frank, pp. 589–597Callery, pp. 74–75.Northern Solomons Campaign22 February 1943 – 21 November 1944Allied victory, Japanese resistance remains.Bismarck Archipelago Campaign15 December 1943 – 27 November 1944Allied victory, Japanese resistance remains.Grant, p. 320Papua Campaign23 July 1942 – 23 January 1943Sturgeon, pp. 164–167Allied victory, Japanese withdraw from Papua.New Guinea Campaign24 January 1943 – 31 December 1944Drea, p. 3.Allied victory, Japanese resistance remains.Leyte Campaign17 October 1944 – 1 July 1945Grant, pp. 322–323.Allied victory, Japanese withdraw, sporadic resistance remains.Luzon Campaign15 December 1944 – 4 July 1945Sturgeon, pp. 240–241Allied victory, Japanese resistance remains.Southern Philippines Campaign27 February – 4 July 1945Allied victory, Japanese resistance remains.Central Pacific Campaign7 December 1941 – 6 December 1944Sturgeon, pp. 230–231.U.S. victory, Japanese resistance remains.Eastern Mandates Campaign31 January – 14 June 1944U.S. victory, Japanese resistance remains.Western Pacific Campaign15 June 1944 – 2 September 1945Sturgeon, pp. 238–239U.S. victory, Japanese resistance remains.Ryukyus Campaign26 March – 2 July 1945Grant, p. 327U.S. victory, Japanese sporadic resistance remains.

Campaigns in the China India Burma Theater

+ Campaign name Date ResultBurma, 19427 December 1941 – 26 May 1942McLynn, pp. 25–30Japanese victory, Allied retreat into India.McLynn, p. 45India–Burma Campaign2 April 1942 – 28 January 1945McLynn, p. 254Allied victory, Japanese retreat into Central Burma.McLynn, p. 256.Central Burma Campaign29 January – 15 July 1945McLynn, p. 304.Allied victory, Japanese are driven out of BurmaMcLynn, p. 352.China Defensive Campaign4 July 1942 – 4 May 1945Sturgeon, pp. 246–247Japanese victory, Allies driven from eastern ChinaChina Offensive Campaign5 May – 2 September 1945Allied victory when war ends.

Blanket campaigns + Campaign name Date ResultAnti-submarine campaign7 December 1941 – 2 September 1945Ground Combat7 December 1941 – 2 September 1945Air Combat7 December 1941 – 2 September 1945

European–African–Middle East Theater

North African / Mediterranean Theater campaigns

+ Campaign name Date ResultEgypt–Libya Campaign11 June 1942 – 12 February 1943Sturgeon, p. 183.Allied victory, Axis withdraw into Tunisia.Algeria–French Morocco Campaign8 November 1942 – 11 November 1942Sturgeon, pp. 186–187Allied victory over Vichy French.Tunisia Campaign17 November 1942 – 13 May 1943Allied victory, Axis withdraw to Italy.Sicily Campaign9 July – 17 August 1943Sturgeon, pp. 210–211.Allied victory, Germans retreat into Italy.Naples–Foggia Campaign9 September 1943 – 21 January 1944Sturgeon, pp. 212–213.Stalemate; Germans conduct a fighting withdrawal to the Gustav Line.Anzio Campaign22 January – 24 May 1944Sturgeon, pp. 252–253Stalemate at first; Allies fail to capture Rome, Germans fail to destroy Allied beachhead. The Allies broke out from the beachhead several months later.Rome–Arno Campaign22 January – 9 September 1944Allied victory, Germans withdraw to the Gothic Line.North Apennines Campaign10 September 1944 – 4 April 1945Stalemate.Po Valley Campaign5 April – 8 May 1945Allied victory, Germans surrender in Italy.

European campaigns

+ Campaign name Date ResultEuropean Air Offensive4 July 1942 – 5 June 1944Stanton, p. 596Normandy Campaign6 June – 24 July 1944Allied success, Germans withdraw to central France.Sturgeon, pp. 258–259Northern France Campaign25 July – 14 September 1944Sturgeon, pp. 268–269Allied success; Germans are driven out of Northern France but Allied offensives in France, Germany and the Netherlands stall.Southern France Campaign5 August – 14 September 1944Allied victory, Germans are driven out of Southern France.Ardennes-Alsace Campaign16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945Dandocollins, pp. 100–101Allied victory, German offensive is driven back.Rhineland Campaign15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945Allied victory, Germans retreat across Rhine River.Sturgeon, pp. 298–299Central Europe Campaign22 March – 11 May 1945Sturgeon, pp. 304–305Allies are triumphant, war in Europe ends with Germany's surrender.

Blanket campaigns + Campaign name Date ResultAnti-submarine campaign7 December 1941 – 2 September 1945Ground Combat7 December 1941 – 2 September 1945Air Combat7 December 1941 – 2 September 1945

American Theater

Blanket Campaigns + Campaign name Date ResultAnti-submarine campaign7 December 1941 – 2 September 1945

Notes

Footnotes

References