The Turning Point of World War II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Turning Point of World War II - Essay Example Even though the United States was a world power with enormous resources - therefore earning the wariness of the Axis powers - it sat all the way on a different continent. The problem for the Allies was how to leverage these resources to win the war (ibid). The shipping lanes were already rank with the danger of German Uboats making the delivery of supplies and materiel dangerous. The Japanese owned the Pacific waters having built up their naval forces to include a dizzying armada or carriers, battleships, cruisers and destroyers. The pre-emptive strike at Pearl Harbor was meant to totally destroy the American naval force, which was seen by the Japanese as a threat to their Pacific dominance. In the face of the Axis momentum and advantage, America was faced with battle at two fronts, the European and Pacific. They believe that to win the war, victory in Europe against Hitler and Mussolini was imperative before tackling the Japanese(ibid). Therefore it was with this strategy that the Allied forces decided to halt the Axis onslaught. The tide turned in the favor of the Allies inexorably on both fronts during the Russian victory at Stalingrad and the British victory at el-Alamein. In the Pacific, it was the battle of Midway that capped a change of momentum to the Allied forces' favor. The battle at El Alamein - w... If the Germans were successful in broaching those lines, it would have spelled disaster for the Allies, particularly so because it was perilously close to the Suez Canal, a vital shipping link. (Kennedy, et al., 436). The Germans Afrikaa Corps were led by Field Marshall Irwin Rommel, nicknamed the Desert Fox for his daring and cunning in battle. Rommel caught the admiration and esteem of even his Allied foes, and was well-respected as a battle commander. The British forces, led by General Bernard Montgomery, and supplemented by several hundred Sherman tanks pushed back the German forces to Tunisia, 1000 miles away. (ibid) Another major setback for the Germans was their surprising defeat at Stalingrad. Hitler had hoped to sweep through the Russian motherland in a quick and timely fashion. However, Hitler underestimated the Russian winter and the determined resistance by the Russian Red Army. This led to many strategic errors. The German army subsequently had to tie up much resources and time towards conquering Russia. Their defeat was costly, not only in terms of men, supplies, and war materiel, but also strategically. El Alamein was costly because it signified the loss of one of Germany's best generals. Rommel was called back to Germany, and following his implication in an attempted assassination of Hitler, was forced to commit suicide. The Russian and African setbacks pushed back the forces of Hitler at with great casualties. From this point onwards, the Germans were on the defensive, suffering from the effects of having too many objectives and spreading their forces out too thin in the face of a greater opponent (Bailin et al., 762). Midway and the Pacific The Pacific Theater was different from the European theater in the sense that it was

In what ways and to what extent do networks and social capital Essay

In what ways and to what extent do networks and social capital influence and support entrepreneurs - Essay Example The discussion would begin with a brief overview on the entrepreneurship approaches with respect to the social network, which would further lead to the detailed discussion on social networks and theories. Further, several theories on social capital and network would be evaluated to understand their significance in entrepreneurship. The contribution of family for the creation of social capital would be also analyzed here in details. Finally the essay would be concluded stating the entrepreneurial traits and its role in the present global business scenario. An increasing trend of embedding the business decisions in the social structures, by the entrepreneurs, has been increasingly noticed these days. So a structural approach has been used to understand how the entrepreneurs utilize the social relations to acquire resources or suggestions for floating a venture or business. It goes without saying that for establishing a business, an entrepreneur requires to have various resources and co ntacts during different phases. Based on the structural approach, it has also been understood that irrespective of the cultural differences, entrepreneurs approach their social relations in the same way to acquire resources. ... This definition is also applicable for those who take over an existing venture, to start a business. The concept of social network focuses on the relationship between the entrepreneurs and those who provide resources to them for establishing the business. The entrepreneurs must have the set of skills and knowledge to test the networks and resources before utilizing them, but they also need to complement those resources by producing and delivering the goods and services for them. The entrepreneurs also get the access to the knowledge, support and distribution channel with the help of social networks. The availability of such resources helps the new firm to attain a sustainable growth. However, social networks are not permanent and they can be stimulated according to the different requirements. In order to fit the needs of the enterprise, the entrepreneur consider both the distant and close networks, with respect to the business decisions. Family members also play a critical role in ca se of entrepreneurship, as they also offer different kinds of help inform of assets or finances (Thornton, and Flynn, 2003, p. 401-402). Social networks are gaining importance among the business owners or entrepreneurs because they assist the start up firms with information, new business opportunities, advices, and various other forms of resources. The entrepreneurs to some extent are depended on these social networks which includes their personal relationship for problem solving and decision-making functions. The development of the social capital is also the outcome of establishing strong social networks. The social capital derived from the networks consist of the resources that is obtained from