Foreign Policy Reports - Volume XVII Number 20 - The United States at War

Sep 21, 2026

January 1942 Foreign Policy Reports issue evaluates the course of the Second World War across all fronts and the implications of the United States entering the conflict. It frames the attack on Pearl Harbor as the moment separate European, Asian, and African struggles merged into a global war. The report argues that victory requires defeating both the British Empire and the United States, shifting operations from land to sea conflict, and preparing the country for total political, economic, and military war.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages16

Reading Time40 min

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The United States at War

Global and Total War

Germany Faces the Future

DONOTREMIOVE # FOREIGN POLICYREPORTS January I,I942 PUBLISHED TWICE A MONTH BY THE Foreign Policy Association,Incorporated MIDSTON HOUSE,22 EAST 38th STREET,NEW YORK,N.Y. VOLUME XVII NUMBER 20 254a copy $5.00 a year ## The United States at War Bx T.A.Bisson,V.M.DEAN,A.R.ELLIOTT,L.E.FRECHTLING and J.C.DEWILDE the first time during the present war,the Axishas naval power at its disposal—not merely sub-marines and lone raiders,but the whole navalstrength of Japan,which ranks third among theworld's navies after Britain and the United States. With this survey of the world situation con-fronting the United States on January I,I942,the Foreign Policy Association inaugurates aseries of REPORTs that will present careful andbalanced analyses of developments on allfronts,as well as of post-war problems growingout of the world conflict. Now that the United States has entered the war,it is clear that this war is not merely a strugglefor domination of this or that continent,but aworld-wide struggle for control of strategic bases,sea lanes,and raw materials necessary for mili-tarized industry.In mapping the future course ofthe United States,it is essential to view the warnot as a series of episodes in isolated theatres ofwar,but to see it as Hitler has long seen it—in itstotality—and to prepare the country for a total wareffort in political and economic,as well as military,terms.To do this,the American people must havea clear and realistic picture of the world in whichthe United States has been called on to fight.Thepurpose of this REPORT is to evaluate the course ofthe second world war to date on all fronts,and toweigh the effect that this country's participationmay have on the outcome of the conflict. ## GLOBAL AND TOTAL WAR WHEN the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor onDecember 7,the conficts that had seemed to beproceeding separately in Europe,Asia and Africabecame merged into a global war.In this war,theUnited States suddenly assumed a central positionas the only great power whose potential industrialproduction can outmatch that of Germany,andthus determine the outcome of the conflict. While Germany has conquered most of Europe,and Japan has occupied part of China,neither canhope to win a final victory until they have de-feated the British Empire and the United States.To do that,both Germany and Japan mustbreak out of the continents on which they havebeen fighting until now,and seek a showdownwith the British Empire and the United Stateson the high seas.In other words,they must switchfrom what has hitherto been primarily a land con-fict,conducted by combined land and air forces,to a sea conflict,conducted by combined navaland air forces. ## GERMANY FACES THE FUTURE From the point of view of the Western powers,Germany remains the principal enemy.In 28months of war Germany has won most of the vic-tories without coming appreciably closer to end-ing the war.From the very beginning,the Reich’seconomic and military preparedness enabled it toseize the initiative.Long before the outbreak ofhostilities,the German economy had been gearedto war and was turning out vast quantities ofmunitions which insured the army and air forcean overwhelming initial superiority in arms andequipment.Agricultural and industrial productionhad been directed to insure a greater degree ofwartime self-sufficiency,and stocks of essential rawmaterials and foodstuffs had been accumulated.The armed forces had been trained to perfection,and schooled particularly in the tactics of coordi-nated ground and air attack. In Europe's warfare on land,the German Armyproved superior—in man power,modern equip-ment,and training for coordinated action—to allthe armies of the continent except that of Russia.At the end of I94I neither Britain,nor the UnitedStates,nor the two combined,could put in thefeld a land army equal to that of the Reich.Theresistance of the Red Army,however,shattered thelegend of German invincibility,when the Russiansproved that they had no

FAQs

What does the report identify as the purpose of this issue?

To evaluate the course of the second world war to date on all fronts and assess the effect of the United States’ participation on the conflict’s outcome.

Why does the report describe the war as global after Pearl Harbor?

It states that the Japanese attack on December 7 caused separate conflicts in Europe, Asia, and Africa to merge into a single global war.

What strategic shift does the report say Germany and Japan must make to achieve final victory?

It argues they must break out of their current land-focused fighting and seek a showdown on the high seas, switching to sea conflict with combined naval and air forces.

Sep 21, 2026

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