The Allies on the Defensive

The situation the Allies faced at the start of 1942 was bad - and quickly getting worse.

In Asia, Japan had severely damaged America's Pacific fleet and attacked British, Dutch, and American strongholds from Burma to Wake Island. During the first six months of 1942, the Japanese conquered vast areas of the Pacific and Southeast Asia and threatened Australia.

Conditions in Europe were equally dire. German armies had pushed deep into the heart of the Soviet Union and were laying siege to Moscow and Stalingrad. In the North Atlantic, German submarines waged a deadly campaign against supply ships bound for Great Britain.

To learn more about the Radio Compass shown above, visit our Digital Artifact Collection.