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| - America Wins the War is a form of Hollywood History in which a story implies or outright states that the United States single-handedly won World War II. Sometimes, it's unintentional; the viewpoint or focus is simply too narrow for the audience to be reminded of the bigger picture. Other times, though, it's a blatant example of Hollywood History at its worst. None of this is meant to diminish the contribution the United States, or any other single country, made to winning World War II, of course. It's just that neither they, nor anyone else, did it all by their lonesome.
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| abstract
| - America Wins the War is a form of Hollywood History in which a story implies or outright states that the United States single-handedly won World War II. Sometimes, it's unintentional; the viewpoint or focus is simply too narrow for the audience to be reminded of the bigger picture. Other times, though, it's a blatant example of Hollywood History at its worst. When this trope is in play, the efforts and contributions of the other "Western" Allies are downplayed, and the Eastern Front (where a full 80% of the Wehrmacht was engaged at any one time, and the Germans suffered approximately 77% of their casualties) is considered a sideshow, if it's even mentioned at all. Often it seems like the only other Allied nation that actually made any significant contribution in the war was the UK, which kept the hopeless fight alive until the USA joined in and saved the day. This is likely a result of the Cold War making American educators and filmmakers unwilling to glorify the Soviet Union. In particularly nasty cases, films based on actual WWII events will be warped to make the most prominent characters into US soldiers--see Steve McQueen in The Great Escape and, perhaps most infamously, the film U-571. It will occasionally even be said that WWII only began on December 7, 1941, when the United States entered the war, although that's usually poor phrasing or mixing up the dates, rather than a belief that the war did not begin until the US entry. The D-Day landings are another good example. Many American-made productions will focus solely on Omaha Beach, the most heavily fortified of American landing sites as well as defended by one of the best-trained German units on the beach--both facts which Allied intelligence failed to realize prior to the operation. The carnage that ensued is a favorite among producers, since it emphasizes the sacrifice Americans made during the war--but doing so gives the impression that Omaha Beach was the decisive turning point that led to the Allied victory in Europe. (The focus on Omaha Beach is also partially because Saving Private Ryan did it, other games/movies/TV shows want to replicate its success, and because it's more exciting to show a strongly opposed landing than an unopposed one -- not that the other landings were exactly 'unopposed' (For instance, Canadian troops landing at Juno Beach on that day faced opposition almost as formidable and made better progress towards their objectives in spite of it), but still. Cases of this trope are not limited to the European Theater. Most films featuring the Pacific theatre only focus on the naval and air battles fought by the U.S., appearing as though they were the sole force fighting in the Pacific. In reality, UK and Australian forces played significant roles. Even the Mexicans, with their small 5-man Squad 201, helped in the war (and that's just the pilots, take in mind there's also engineers and medics and many more). Not to mention the brutally violent struggle in China, probably the most ignored battlefront of the war, despite being the longest conflict (starting in 1937) and next to the Russian front the second-bloodiest theatre of war in human history (we think - reliable figures just don't exist for the number of Chinese civilian deaths, so it's only a best-guess that the better-documented Russian front was bloodier). Keep in mind that despite having the name "America Wins The War," this is not a strictly American trope. The British can and will exaggerate their role in the war as well, with an additional jab that the Americans were not only Late to the Party but also stole all the credit. Even Russia does this; there, you'll find claims that WWII lasted from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945--when this was actually just the duration of the war between the USSR and Germany, known as the "Great Patriotic War". In short, many countries have tried to play up their part in the war at the expense of others and such examples are more than welcome. This general limited scope viewpoint extends to the "official" date of the war's beginning, September 1st, 1939, which was the date of Germany's invasion of Poland. However, the oft-forgotten Japanese-Chinese portion of WWII had been going since 1937 (or, arguably, from 1932!), and may have been the bloodiest of all the conflicts in the war; not to mention a vital (some say the critical) battlefield of the Pacific front. None of this is meant to diminish the contribution the United States, or any other single country, made to winning World War II, of course. It's just that neither they, nor anyone else, did it all by their lonesome. See also America Saves the Day, of which this is a sub-trope, and Hollywood History, of which that is a sub-trope. Note: This trope specifically deals with World War II. It does not apply to any other war, particularly modern conflicts. Examples of America Wins the War include:
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