My Name is Fiorello H. La Guardia: Mayor and Director of Civilian Defense If you intend to understand how Americans prepared their cities and homes for World War II, then you had better understand something about me first. I was never known for whispering when shouting would accomplish more. I was short in stature, perhaps, but I possessed enough opinions, energy, and determination for several politicians. New Yorkers called me "the Little Flower." I preferred that they also

America Mobilizes: From Civilian Economy to Wartime Economy When the United States entered World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, America faced an enormous challenge. The nation needed far more than soldiers. Millions of servicemen and women would require rifles, ammunition, uniforms, food, medicine, trucks, tanks, airplanes, ships, radios, fuel, and countless other supplies. American industry had already been increasing military productio

My Name is Benjamin O. Davis Jr.: Commander of the Tuskegee Airmen I was born in Washington, D.C., in 1912, the son of Benjamin O. Davis Sr., who would become the first African American general in the United States Army. My father's example taught me discipline, duty, and perseverance. As a young man, I became fascinated with aviation and determined that military service would be my profession. I wanted to serve my country as an officer, and I would not allow other people's e

Women Enter the Wartime Workforce After the United States entered World War II in December 1941, millions of men left civilian employment for military service while American factories received enormous orders for aircraft, ships, vehicles, weapons, uniforms, and supplies. The nation suddenly needed workers—and women became essential to keeping America's wartime economy running. A Nation Running Out of Workers As military mobilization accelerated, employers could no longer dep

My Name is William J. Donovan: The Intelligence Organizer I was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1883, the son of Irish-American parents. I learned early that advancement required discipline, education, and a willingness to work harder than the next fellow. I attended Columbia University, studied law, and built a successful legal career. The law taught me something that later proved useful in intelligence work: facts rarely arrive neatly arranged. You gather evidence, question i

The Secret Intelligence War Begins Long before soldiers stormed beaches or tanks crossed borders, another World War II battlefield was already taking shape—one that most people could not see. Governments desperately wanted to discover what their enemies were planning while keeping their own intentions secret. Intelligence officers studied military movements, diplomats gathered political information, spies crossed borders under false identities, radio operators intercepted mes

My Name is Heinz Guderian: German General and Pioneer of Armored Warfare I was born on June 17, 1888, in Kulm, West Prussia, then part of the German Empire. My father was an army officer, and military discipline surrounded me from childhood. I entered the cadet schools and eventually joined the German Army. I learned early that victory did not depend only upon courage. An army had to move, communicate, concentrate its strength, and act before its opponent could properly respo

From World War I Weapons to a New Kind of War — 1918–1939 When World War I ended in November 1918, military leaders looked back on a battlefield transformed by technology. Machine guns could stop infantry assaults with devastating fire. Heavy artillery could bombard positions miles away. Tanks could cross trenches and crush through barbed wire. Airplanes had evolved from fragile reconnaissance machines into fighters and bombers, while submarines had demonstrated that ships co

My Name is Joseph Goebbels: Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany I was born Paul Joseph Goebbels in Rheydt, Germany, in 1897. Childhood illness left me with a disabled foot, preventing the military career that many young German men experienced during the First World War. Instead, I pursued education, studying literature, philosophy, history, and related subjects at several universities before earning a doctorate from Heidelberg University in 1921. I wanted to become a write

What Is Psychological Warfare? Throughout history, armies have discovered that winning a battle is not always about having the largest army or the most powerful weapons. Sometimes victory begins long before the first shot is fired. Psychological warfare is the deliberate effort to influence the thoughts, emotions, confidence, and decisions of an enemy. Instead of destroying buildings or equipment, it seeks to weaken determination, create fear, spread doubt, or persuade people