The Forge

The Decline and Rebirth of the American Military

November 12, 1918 to December 6, 1941

Eric Hammel

Because the United States military undertook its first World War II offensive operations in the Pacific within only eight months of Pearl Harbor, most historians and readers of the war’s history depict and perceive the quick transition in 1942 from defensive war to offensive war as a miracle.

In the miraculous narrative Americans have written for themselves, the peace-loving and ill-prepared sleeping giant, the United States, is suddenly struck by enemies who use her peace-loving ways against her, while a mere sprinkling of gallant, dedicated soldiers, sailors, and airmen fight overwhelming odds to barely hold the line against an unremitting backdrop of tearful defeats. Meanwhile, U.S. industry suddenly—instantly—becomes a magical “Arsenal of Democracy” that produces uncountable tanks and ships and guns, not to mention trained soldiers, sailors, and airmen in their legions, fleets, and air armadas that will smash the wiliest and most powerful enemies ever before confronted. The appearance of all that materiel, and all those battle-ready young men so soon after the Pearl Harbor attack, looks exactly like a miracle.

There was no miracle.

Celebrated military historian Eric Hammel’s cool appraisal of the facts reveals that America's stunning and overwhelming moral response to German and Japanese aggression in the mid- and late 1930s, a response that eventually brought a huge portion of the globe within its embrace, was far less a miracle than an inexorable force of nature. America was a sleeping giant. But the decision to turn the entire force and will of a hard-working, innovative nation to arming for war was not made in the wake of Pearl Harbor. By Pearl Harbor, an alliance of the American government, American industry, and the American military community was already close to complete preparedness. The real story of America’s preparations for World War II had begun in mid-November 1938.

The Forge was previously published as How America Saved the World.

ERIC HAMMEL is a critically acclaimed military historian and author of nearly forty narrative and pictorial histories, including Chosin: Heroic Ordeal of the Korean War, Fire in the Streets: The Battle for Hue, and Six Days in June. He has also written many titles on U.S. military operations in World War II, such as Guadalcanal: Starvation Island, Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea, 76 Hours: The Invasion of Tarawa, and The Road to Big Week.

Reviewed by Book News: “Hammel, a noted military historian and author, analyzes the military build-up in the United States just prior to World War II and notes how this strategy was “deliberate, orderly and integrated.” Written for history buffs and general readers, this volume characterizes the U.S. as a “sleeping giant” after the end of World War I as a new shift toward an expanded military-industrial complex was implemented, creating an “Arsenal of Democracy” that would ultimately decide the outcome of World War II. Appendices include a list of the armies, corps, regiments and divisions in the Army and Navy as well as a list of major naval and aircraft hardware.”

Reviewed by Bookviews: [The Forge] by Eric Hammel tells how preparation for war was the reason that, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the nation was able to transition quickly to an offensive war. This excellent book tells why America was able to transform itself into what FDR called “the arsenal of democracy,” fielding armies in both the Asian and European theatres, while providing them with countless tanks and ships and guns. America may have been a sleeping giant when it came to the political events unfolding, but the decision to turn the entire force of American industry toward the task of winning World War II had been made long before the initial attack on the homeland. It had, in fact, begun in 1938 as the war clouds threatened. Those who criticize America’s current superpower status would do well to read this book and then wonder if preparing for war isn’t the best way to maintain the peace.”

Reviewed by Tom Ricks on his blog, The Best Defense: Readers of this blog will know that I am a fan of military historian Eric Hammel. I’ve been reading his new book [The Forge], about the quiet fight at the end of the 1930s to prepare the U.S. military for World War II. This is not only an important story, but also a good read, with a strong grasp of significance: “By the end of November 1941, the British army in North Africa—on its only active front against European fascism—was utterly stalemated in a battle of attrition it was bound to eventually lose.” (The subsequent counterattack at el Alamein was undertaken, he notes, “with the aid of weapons and equipment made in America, not to mention American-manned combat aircraft.”)

Reviewed by BookLoons: Perhaps not everyone will agree with the opinions set forth in [The Forge], but Eric Hammel provides some strong arguments that the country was far better prepared for the Second World War than most people believe. Those interested in U.S. history, especially military matters, will find this a captivating read and one that may alter a few misconceptions about U.S. preparedness between the world wars.