An army marches on its stomach, and St. Louis firms did their best to ensure that the men in the field could always count on having edible, if not particularly tasteful, rations to eat every day. Anheuser-Busch, Fischer Meat Co., Nestle, and Krey foods Inc. were just some of the countless companies in the city that… Continue reading
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Tanks, Cars, and Infrastructure
WWII was the first war to see the effective use of tanks as demonstrated by the German blitzkrieg of 1939. In response, the U.S. had to race to develop its own arsenal of armored vehicles, which was limited to just sixty-four tanks in the summer of 1940. To aid the government in its efforts, Busch-Sulzer… Continue reading
A City’s “Booming” Industry
What is a bomber without a bomb? As hard as it might be to believe, the U.S. was barely producing any significant amounts of gunpowder, much less other weapons of war. Perceptions from WWI that companies had engaged in profiteering had resulted in Congress passing legislation that severely discouraged American factories from making any… Continue reading
Soaring to Victory
Throughout World War II the necessity of air dominance over the enemy was demonstrated time and time again. Britain and France first experienced the effects of effective air power when the German’s utilized them in their highly successful blitzkrieg tactics across Belgium, Holland and later France itself. After Britain made its miraculous evacuation from… Continue reading
Setting Sail for War
As the war transitioned from 1942 to 1943, U.S. military planners began to realize the paramount importance that amphibious assault vehicles would play in the planned offensive in North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific theatre. Offensive operations at sea would require a different type of vessel compared to the “liberty ships” currently being mass… Continue reading
Rushing to the Call
As the United States entered December of 1941, the storm clouds of war were on the horizon. German tanks had overrun France and were racing East deep into the Soviet Union while Japan was continuing its expansion into China. In light of these serious developments, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had begun to fight the… Continue reading
