Creating a Business Plan Example For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2238 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Essay any type Did you like this example? Executive Summary The executive summary of the business plan should summarise in such a way that the sections hang together all that has been included in the ensuing chapters. It should be a distillation of the plan itself following the same order and pattern of the plan itself so that the reader may easily refer to a chapter for more detail if need be (Jenkin 2014). Depending on where the business currently stands perhaps a start up or an established business looking to expand, the executive summary should highlight where the business is, where it needs to go, why it needs to go there, what it needs to get there and what can be expected to happen when the business does achieve its startup goals or expansion goals (SBA, 2015). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Creating a Business Plan Example For Free" essay for you Create order The Business If the business is an established business, this section should detail the current position of the business. This should include the product mix offering, the customer segments or groups to which it is offered, the current financial position of the business, the current goals and objectives of the business (which should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-limited), the current strategy of the business (i.e. the competitive advantage of the business) and finally how it currently utilises its resources (Evans, 2010). Where the business plan is for a start up this section should set out what the goals and objectives of the business would be again making sure that they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-limited. Furthermore this chapter should summarise the proposed product mix to be offered and the proposed customer segment or groups to whom it would be offered. The product mix must be presented in terms of its benefit to the proposed custom er segments (Evans, 2010). Market Demand This chapter essentially details the results of the market audit or market research that should be carried out. The result of the market research presents the platform in which the markets can be defined; that is divided into segments, the target market is identified and the product offering is positioned (Barnett, 1988). The first step thus is researching the market and business environment (Barnett, 1988). One way of determining market size is by adding the turnover of potential competitors (Evans, 2010). This can be done using a PESTLE analysis. A PESTLE analysis gives an overview of how key drivers such as the population, economic, socio-economic, technological, legal and environmental factors affect the market size and capability (Kotler and Keller, 2012)). For example, if a start-up plans to begin the manufacturing and sales of a new smart phone in the UK, the population and the percentage of the population that uses a smart phone gives an estimate of the market size of smartphones. The population can be further broken down into age and sex segments to further narrow down the target in terms of the age brackets and sex of the market this will inform the positioning of the product and the identification of the target market (Hooley et al, 2012). As can be expected a larger market size would be preferred (Kotler and Keller, 2012). The economic and socio-economic factors of the business environment or the market gives insight into the purchasing power of the market again this should inform the target market and the positioning of the product. For example, if the economy is generally bad, consumers may not be willing to make high end purchases. Similarly, if the gross domestic product of a country is low, high-end products may not be suitable for the market. The technological, legal and environmental factors also affect the capability of the market to make a purchase or how the market now makes a purchase. In the smartphone example, perhaps it has b ecome a trend that consumers now prefer à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“greener phones, or the government has passed a law limiting the number of mobile phones one person can have or technological advancements now influence the kind of smartphones consumers want or the methods in which they purchase these smartphones perhaps they now make more purchases online than they do in brick and mortar shops. The information required to carry out this analysis can be found via the internet on sites such as Office for National Statistics UK which provides statistics on the population, the ratio of men to women across different ages and how much per household is earned in the UK amongst other relevant information. Alternatively or in addition, a customer survey using questionnaires may prove quite useful in determining the preferences of the market. Having identified the market size, the next step would be to segment the market and identify the market in order to shape the product and value offering. Th e market can be segmented by geography, demography and behavior (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Having segmented the market thus, one of these segments or all of the segments could be identified as the target market. It is however worthy to note that a larger market segment with an equally attractive purchasing power may be the obvious preference but a niche may sometimes be found in a smaller or sometimes larger market with a low purchasing power. An example of this is insurance companies India, selling policies for as low as a pound because the population of India is quite large making its a large market albeit one with a low purchasing power (Kotler and Keller, 2012). It is recommended that a diagrammatic representation of the relevant information sourced for this section is included in this chapter of the business plan to make for easy reference of facts and figures. Competition and Strategy This chapter of the business plan should detail the industry attractiveness and the business strategy for competing in that industry. The attractiveness of an industry may be analysed and discovered by carrying out a Porters 5 forces analysis which essentially determines the profitability of the industry as determined by the 5 sources of competitive pressure (Grant, 2015), Porters 5 forces is diagrammatically represented below in Fig 1. Threat of substitute products or services The price customers are willing to pay for a product depends in part on the availability of substitute products (Gran, 2015). In other words, if there are no substitutes of the product or service one offer, customers may be inclined to pay a little more e.g cigarettes and gasoline. In addition the extent to which substitutes depress prices and profits depends on the likelihood of the buyer to switch between alternative products or services (Grant, 2015). For example, if customers are likely to switch fro m sugar to honey, then the prices and profits of sugar will fall in order to attract more customers. Threat of Entry If an industry earns a capital in excess of its cost of capital, it will act as a magnet to firms outside the business (Grant 2015). Put simply, if there are no restrictions on new entrants into the industry the rate of profit will fall towards the competitive level (Grant, 2015). In other words the more competitive the industry, the less profitable it is. Thus it will be worthy to check if there are barriers to entry in that industry such as high capital requirements, product differentiation, economies of scale, governmental and legal barriers etc. The more of these there are the less competitive and the more profitable the industry would be. Bargaining powers of suppliers and buyers This refers to whether the buyers are price sensitive or not and these would depend on a number of factors (Grant, 2015). For example in the car manufacturing and sales industry, it importance of a car usually outweighs its cost. Some cars are differentiated as luxury cars thus they are sold at a premium e.g Jaguar Land Rovers Land Rover. Car manufacturers may have to be insensitive to price in a bid to get the important car parts they require in the manufacturing process, finally car manufacturers today are in intense competition with each other thus they put pressure on their suppliers to reduce prices. The same is the case for supplier bargaining power, except the roles are reversed and the firms in the industry are the buyers and the producers of their inputs are the suppliers. Rivalry between firms would depend on the number and size of the rivals and whether they are relatively similar (Grant, 2015). If they are similar they may avoid price wars in favor of collusive pricing strategies. Also the extent to which the products are differentiated determines the intensity of competition more differentiation means less competition and price cuts whilst the opposite is the case (Grant, 2015). Fig.1 (Porter, 2008) Having identified the intensity of competition in the industry and the target, the next step would be to identify a suitable strategy of value offering to the customers. In simple terms this could be either through product differentiation or price differentiation (Grant, 2015). Product differentiation strategy offers the consumers a product which benefits the consumer in a way no other product does whilst differentiation or cost leadership offers a price value which is below that offered by other suppliers or producers in the market (Grant, 2015). An example of a company with a cost leadership strategy is Primark. Financials and Forecasts There are a number of financial forecasts that could be created for the purposes of a business plan however the most suitable financial forecast for a start-up is a market driven sales forecast as it does not require the detail that a full financial forecast would require. A full financial forecast is more suitable for an already established business as historical financials of that business would be readily available. It is worthy to note that a market driven sales forecast for a start-up will involve some general estimates which must be justifiable and realistic. A market driven forecast can be presented as shown below Business Segment or Customer Segment Market Size Market Demand Growth %/year Forecast Market size( £000) in 3 years Company competitive position on a scale of 0-5 Likely market share Likely revenues A Note 1 Note 2 Note 3 Note 4 Note 5 Note 6 B C Total Notes Note 1 Assuming that the business has chosen segments that already exist in the market the market size would be readily available by adding the turnover of potential competitors with the same segment. Otherwise a simple multiplication of the proposed price of the product by the size of the market (number of customers in the market) would suffice in estimating a market size. Note 2 If it is an existing market, the information as to the growth trends of the market would be available on the internet (it is important to use a reliable source such Financial Times or Bloomberg). The average rate growth rate can then be used to predict the market growth rate for the next 3 years for each segment. Assuming that the growth rate remains constant makes it easier. Note 3 To determine the forecast market size in the next three years, the, the growth rate of the market size over the last three years could be examined to arrive at an average figure which can then be used to forecast the market size in the next three years. Note 4 The competitive position of the company in the next three years on a scale of 0 -5 (5 being the highest) may be determined by figuring out how much market share the company can realistically acquire in each year. For example if the company is starting up the fourth mobile phone network in a country that already has three, it is unlikely that the company would have a 25% market share in three years, rather it may have between 8-10% following an intensive marketing campaign (Evans, 2010). Note 5 as explained in note 4. Note 6 Likely revenue should be informed by the market size divided by the market share and then multiplied by the price per unit of the product. The revenue forecast in 3 years time should be determined by the growth rate of the market and the market share of the company. Control Control involves a system of controlling an organisations expenditure over a period of time such as budgeting, variance analysis, and internal and external auditing (Evans 2010). However where a start-up is concerned, budgeting may be more suitable for controlling the expenditure of the company after its first year in business. Funding The following are the most popular and relevant sources of funding for a startup; self-funding, friends and family, small business grants, loans or line of credit, start-up incubator, angel investor, venture capital and partnership (Zwilling, 2010). References Barnett, W. (1988). Four Steps to Forecast Total Market Demand. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 9 June 2015, from https://hbr.org/1988/07/four-steps-to-forecast-total-market-demand Evans, V. (2011). The Financial times essential guide to writing a business plan. Harlow, England: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Grant, R. (2015). Contemporary Strategy Analysis (8th ed.). West Sussexx: Wiley and Sons. Hooley, G., Piercy, N., Nicoulaud, B. (2012). Marketing strategy competitive positioning. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Jenkin, M. (2014). Small business tips: how to write a business plan executive summary. the Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2015, from https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2013/aug/22/small-business-tips-write-business-plan-executive-summary Kotler, P., Keller, K. (2012). Marketing management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Porter, M. (2008). The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy. Havard Business Review, 86(1) , 78-93. Sba.gov,. (2015). Business Plan Executive Summary | The U.S. Small Business Administration | SBA.gov. Retrieved 9 June 2015, from https://www.sba.gov/content/business-plan-executive-summary Zwilling, M. (2010). Top 10 Sources Of Funding For Start-ups. Forbes. Retrieved 9 June 2015, from https://www.forbes.com/2010/02/12/funding-for-startups-entrepreneurs-finance-zwilling.html

Plato s Allegory Of The Cave - 2058 Words

Taking a leap back into the realm of historical art would not only shed light upon some of the distinguished theorists but would also leave us at awe by virtue of the innovation of Art. The vicissitude, as can be said, that the revolution arose from; the emergence of a new perception of art by which contemporary dogma is rooted back to. It can be argued that art cannot be defined, for it is as abstruse as the terrestrial, such that it enforces different individuals to interpret it according to their own beliefs. Since the time of Plato’s allegory of the cave, it was deemed by mankind that art has to have a literal definition. Though it is of human nature to be able to define any phenomena that occurs in this universe, the idea of being†¦show more content†¦Impressionism – a label intended pejoratively by Louis Leroy in an article written for the Le Charivari on 25 of April, â€Å"stuck successfully because it conveyed well what was the central ambition of the new generation of painters, namely to capture on canvas how a person or object actually, and fleetingly, strikes the eye and not how we think it ought to look or â€Å"really† is.† (Zola, p. xii) The new generation of artists, those in association with the Batignolles group, many of whom later became famous Impressionist painters, adopted the characteristic features of this modern Parisian, of which were: objectivity and a devotion to contemporary life. (Herbert, p. 33) What is often asked is how the rise of this strikingly new movement came into prominence. Seeking to define what impressionism really is, Norma Broude writes in her book of World Impressionism: it is an impulse to paint contemporary life and experience directly from nature, to study the effects of nature s light, and to use a lighter palette and looser brushwork to proclaim the artist s individuality and sincerity and the immediacy of the experiences that the canvas mediated for the viewer. (p. 10). While she mentions many of the characteristics followed with by the works of the Impressionist painters, one critic used the term impressionists to describe [them] because, he said,

American involvement In N. Africa during world war II (Revised) Free Essays

string(27) " their ships at Gibraltar\." The second world II was a world wide conflict which started in 1939 and ended in 1945. The war was fought in different places in the world. One was fought in Asia at around 1937, the other in Europe in 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Germany. We will write a custom essay sample on American involvement In N. Africa during world war II (Revised) or any similar topic only for you Order Now Another one was also fought in African continent. It led the world nations to split into two that is. Allies (Britain and America) and the axis (Germany and Italy) The Second World War started when Hitler invaded Poland on September first in 1939. About million Australians fought in the Second World War in campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe, North Africa, Mediterranean and against Japan in South East Asia as well as in other parts of the Pacific. The main focus in this paper will be to discuss on the US military involvement in North Africa during the Second World War. In 1942, November, United Kingdom military forces in conjunction with US military forces staged war against the French North Africa. It was the result of the long contentious argument between American planners of war and those of Britain. The turbulence of this argument was calmed by the American president’s Franklin D Roosevelt intervention. American dream about the Second World War in 1942 was to attack and defeat Germany before proceeding to Asia to see the harm the Japanese were causing to Pacific territories. In the same year, the Soviet Army was far much pressed by the Germany-panzers division who were leveling attacks on Russia. Some American planners thought it was not necessary to attack North Western Europe. They planned that come 1943, the American army would be well prepared, trained and equipped to meet the Germany’s aggressive troops. The American planners believed that its army’s knowledge and resources could help them to accomplish their mission of bringing Germany troops down. The British military leaders under the field marshal Alan Brooke (Dennis P. 2002; 78) adopted a different approach. They never thought it wise to start launching their attacks in 1942. The main reason why they were opposed to this idea was because taking such a move would force United Kingdom to bear much of the military burden. At this time, they could not have afforded to have a division in the army because they were experiencing a fierce fight against Germany which had already inflicted a lot of harm to their army. Most of their military had met stiff resistance of the Wehrmatch in France during the disastrous 1940 campaign. At this time their forces under field marshal Erwin Rommel, they had done practically nothing to end or reduce the German military process in North Africa and in Libya. After the war, Brooke found the strategy of the Marshal very incompatible and that he did not appreciate what the operations in France would mean. He could not figure out how the Germans could reinforce their attacks about three to four times faster than theirs and he could not understand how they could suffer from the shortage of sea transport if the Mediterranean was not opened. The British opposed this idea though America promised to provide the invading forces. They wanted the Americans to clear the axis force in the Mediterranean shores of North America and open up that great inland sea for the allied convoys to move in. This culminated into a deadlock that made Brooke to consider switching the America army’s emphasis from European theatre of operations to the pacific, but Roosevelt the then president of America could not accept such an idea that was central to their war strategy. This emphasy from Britain never worked to the Americans instead it led Roosevelt to do something that Winston Churchill would never dream of doing. In fact he intervened and overruled his advisers who used to advise him on war matters. This was in the summer of 1942. He ordered his generals to direct their forces to the French North Africa to support the British proposal for landing along the coast of North Africa. He did this so that he could divide the attention Germans were giving to European war. He wanted to divide the concentration of German because he thought that if he did not do that, then he would come to face German some where in Europe. He knew that his move would be embraced by Britain though it was only done due to political necessity and national interests. At this time the British soldiers had no choice but to gang with USA in attacking Morocco and Algeria. From this time the attention that German had on war in Europe, half of it shifted to the battle in the Mediterranean. The plan was well strategized. About 65,000 men under lieutenant General Durlght D. Eisenhower were to be transported by the allies to invade Casablanca, Roan and Algers. These were the possessions of the French North Africa. Everything went according the plan and they had a lot of quick success that was attributed to the fact that the Axis attention was focused elsewhere. This time the Germans were trying to subjugate Stalingrad and the Caucasus. In Egypt at the same period, the Rummel’s African Korps renewed their offensive attacks on the British area of interests. The British forces under Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery organized his army to liaise the move of the Rummel’s the Montgomery’s force entered into a fierce battle with the axis forces. The axis powers had no hope of winning this war and by early November Rummel’s armies yielded back to Libya. The move they took was against the wishes of Hitler who had ordered them to keep soldering on. Hitler never at any time contemplated of defeat. He would rather die that witness such humiliations (Ambrose S. 2001; 58) At the onset of November 1942, the allied forces had started to build up their ships at Gibraltar. You read "American involvement In N. Africa during world war II (Revised)" in category "Papers" The German spies were aware but they down played the idea as simply as another large supply convoy for reinforcing Malta. The Germany’s companion had a different view; Italy was not so sure of this though Germany never thought about this seriously but had been ignoring Italy’s decision. In November eighth 1942 the foreign German foreign minister Ulrich Joachim who was also known as Von Ribbentrop was so sure about the American troops who had landed in Algerian as well as in Moroccan ports. These allied forces leveled attacks that had positive results as it was expected, the allied forces thought that the dissident French military officers who had supported them would turn against them however, this did not happen but to their surprise the Vichy French government just as it happened in Dakar and in Syria in the following year, they fought against the Allied forces though they did not manage to keep off the invading Germans in France and in Tunisia in the same year, that is 1942. The Vichy French military men couldn’t have resisted the German who were very adamant and determined to crash the French’s down. The Vichy’s weapons were not up to the standard when compared with those of the Germans. They used tanks while he German possessed combat aircrafts though they were not enough. The Germans never trusted the French Vichy government and that was why they could never let them to modify their war technology. They thought that French’s would rise up against them if let to acquire modern weapons. Due to lack of proper weapons the Vichy French’s were unable to keep sustained resistance against the Allied forces who comprised of British soldiers and America soldiers(Atkinson R 2003;152) In the initial stage of the war, America thought the French North Africa would not attack the Americans though this is not what happened. Though they tried to resist they could not resist the American’s advancements. They had no effective troops that would manage to keep Americans at bay. Though the American’s landings defeated the Frenchs, not all of them were successful. In fact a landing at Fedela costed the transport Leonard wood its 21 landing crafts and many lives perished. Also in another landing, the transport Thomas Jefferson 16 crafts was destroyed completely beyond revival. The most affected landing was of the transport canal which lost 18 out of its 25 crafts and in the second wave; five of them were ruined leaving only two boats that could carry troops and other supplies. There was serious landing opposition at Mehdia by the French forces. The landing was not safe and was very dangerous. By November 10th, the Americans under major general Lucian Truscott were able to capture the airfield from the hands of French military men. This was as a result of a very heavy naval gun fire between French’s and Americans but later after the negotiations between French leader and the allies in Algeria, fighting stopped. On 8th November 1992, the infantry division had already actualized its dreams in almost all areas apart from St. Cloud where they met a very strong French force. During this time the combat was spearheaded by Roosevelt who was by then who was brigadier general. However, the landings begun to be interfered with by the rising surfs on 8th of November, the landing activities were to be suspended. In the following day the Vichy government tried to counter attack but they met a lot of resistance from Allied force who had support from air bases and naval base Oran was secured from the hands by the American though the French looked like they would never go but an armistice was signed when the confronting parties came together. The most operation assignment that the allied forces faced was at the port of Algiers. The French had enough ground force plus 52 fighter aircrafts. They also had 39 bombers. The port was heavily guarded so there was no way the British’s and Americans could have an easy access to the port. The American troops of the 168th regimental combat landed on the West while the 39th combat team went to the East of the port and they raided the port. They used two British destroyers which carried the royal navy personnel and the American troops. Before they could succeed, one of the destroyers was destroyed and it had to go back immediately while the other one succeeded and crossed the barriers. These forces that succeeded captured the power station and petroleum tank firm and the Frenchs responded to this attack immediately. After some time when the 168th combat group failed to turn up, the American commander was forced to surrender his troops. The North Africa mission was called â€Å"operation torch† and the city that was their target was Casablanca and was under the command of Eisenhower. These nations (Sam M. 2006; 102) were fighting for the control of the Suez Canal that linked Africa with the Middle East. Suez Canal was the inlet of oil from the Middle East and other raw materials from Asia. Due to the mechanization of their armies, oil was a very crucial commodity and because Britain which had already a mechanized army it totally relied on oil from the Middle East. Britain used Suez Canal as a link to her overseas dominions. This was all made possible by the Mediterranean Sea hence, the struggle. This struggle started at around 1935 when Ethiopia was invaded by Italy which by then had made Somali land its colony. The move frightened Egypt which was not yet a British colony. They started getting worried of its imperialistic aspirations thus in order to protect its interest and country, it allowed Britain to station its army in its territory so as to keep off any advances from Italy. Thereafter, Britain and France took upon themselves the responsibility of maintaining naval control over the Mediterranean with the main British’s base at Alexandria, Egypt. The British and American troops met little resistance at Algiers, Oran and Casablanca on 8th of November 1942. The war took place in the North African desert. By the time the war took place the Italian dictator Mussolini had a better equipped army than that of the Britain and America. He had about a million soldiers who were based in Libya while Britain had only 3600 soldiers who were based in Egypt. They were supposed to protect the Suez Canal and the oil fields in Arabia. At this time the Italians were a threat to Britain. They had already started showing interest in the red sea and Suez Canal supply routes. The North Africa campaign in the beginning was hampered by lack of enough supplies on both sides but later they got equipped. Tough battles took place which either rendered one group to advance against each other along the supply routes. Many of these fights took place in the Far East region out of the Mediterranean where they enjoyed free transport (Breuer W. 1985; 26) In April 1941, the allied forces were under the leadership of General Bernard Montgomery. While the British troops worked to keep Germans forces at bay to the West, the US forces were supposed to confront the Frenchs in North Africa under† Operation Touch† The main reason for this reason for this operation was to take over Morocco which was already a French colony, to take Algeria and Tunisia. They wanted to offer support to their colleague in the Libyan Desert. They also wanted to make Mediterranean shipping route free to their ships and for other major operations in North Africa. They hoped that they would force the axis of out of the region. They also wanted the axis to reduce their concentration on the Russian forces or in other words, they wanted the Axis forces to divide their war attention between North Africa and Russia. The attack took Germans by surprise because they did not expect it to happen. Later, the French stopped being hostile to the allied forces and allowed them to nave access to Tunisia. Rommel led his armies to various defensive operations. One of the most key operations was of the Kasserine pass where American defenses were crashed by Germans modern tanks. This operation saw 1000 allied troops dead and hundred of them were held prisoners by Germans. They also lost most of their fighting equipments. Though the axis powers thought they were winners, to the allied forces was an awakening call. They went back to their drawing board, assessed their weaknesses and came up with the way forward (Funk A. L. 1974; 86) Americans never gave up; they sent Rommel back to conquer the Kasserine pass so that they could get the Merith line. This time, the axis forces gained advanced and suppressed the resistance that until they let 275000 prisoners free. The axis forces in Africa surrendered on may 2nd 1943 after about 350,000 soldiers were captured by the allied forces and 70,000 were casualties. After they quit from the war, the stage was left open for Italian campaign. The axis surrendered because of ruthlessness of ‘the operation retribution’ which was designed to evacuate German and Italian forces from Tunisia. About 897 were held captives, 653 escaped and were assumed to have might drowned. In conclusion, we have seen how the North African war costed many lives. Many people perished and others were injured. Though the war was took place in Africa, it was not as fierce that one in Europe. These wars were fought by these nations to protect their national interests. No country wanted their competitors to have an access or even go near its spheres of influence. Another reason for the fight was to gain supremacy. The Allied Forces were determined to silence Germany and its colleagues which were proving to be a big threat in Europe. Their plan worked as it was expected that is, they engaged Germany to another front so as to divide its concentration on war in Europe. So, it was not war for the sake of war but war for different reasons. In this war America in conjunction with Britain were the main aggressors. They left North African countries highly damaged. A lot of people perished while others were injured. The harm this American led war did was more than what one could have expected. Reference: Dennis P. The oxford Companion to Australian Military History. Melbourne. Oxford University press. 2002; 78 Breuer W. Operation Torch: The Allied Gamble to Invade North. St. Martins Press. 1985; 26 Funk A. L. The Politics of Torch, University press. 1974; 86 Sam M. At all costs: How crippled and two American Merchant mariners Turned the Tide of world WarII. Random House. 2006; 102 Ambrose S. The good Fight: How World War II Was Won. Atheneum. New York. 2001; 58 Atkinson R. An army at Dawn The war in North Africa 1942-1943. Newyork: Henry Holt. 2003; 152 How to cite American involvement In N. Africa during world war II (Revised), Essays

American involvement In N. Africa during world war II (Revised) Free Essays

string(27) " their ships at Gibraltar\." The second world II was a world wide conflict which started in 1939 and ended in 1945. The war was fought in different places in the world. One was fought in Asia at around 1937, the other in Europe in 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Germany. We will write a custom essay sample on American involvement In N. Africa during world war II (Revised) or any similar topic only for you Order Now Another one was also fought in African continent. It led the world nations to split into two that is. Allies (Britain and America) and the axis (Germany and Italy) The Second World War started when Hitler invaded Poland on September first in 1939. About million Australians fought in the Second World War in campaigns against Germany and Italy in Europe, North Africa, Mediterranean and against Japan in South East Asia as well as in other parts of the Pacific. The main focus in this paper will be to discuss on the US military involvement in North Africa during the Second World War. In 1942, November, United Kingdom military forces in conjunction with US military forces staged war against the French North Africa. It was the result of the long contentious argument between American planners of war and those of Britain. The turbulence of this argument was calmed by the American president’s Franklin D Roosevelt intervention. American dream about the Second World War in 1942 was to attack and defeat Germany before proceeding to Asia to see the harm the Japanese were causing to Pacific territories. In the same year, the Soviet Army was far much pressed by the Germany-panzers division who were leveling attacks on Russia. Some American planners thought it was not necessary to attack North Western Europe. They planned that come 1943, the American army would be well prepared, trained and equipped to meet the Germany’s aggressive troops. The American planners believed that its army’s knowledge and resources could help them to accomplish their mission of bringing Germany troops down. The British military leaders under the field marshal Alan Brooke (Dennis P. 2002; 78) adopted a different approach. They never thought it wise to start launching their attacks in 1942. The main reason why they were opposed to this idea was because taking such a move would force United Kingdom to bear much of the military burden. At this time, they could not have afforded to have a division in the army because they were experiencing a fierce fight against Germany which had already inflicted a lot of harm to their army. Most of their military had met stiff resistance of the Wehrmatch in France during the disastrous 1940 campaign. At this time their forces under field marshal Erwin Rommel, they had done practically nothing to end or reduce the German military process in North Africa and in Libya. After the war, Brooke found the strategy of the Marshal very incompatible and that he did not appreciate what the operations in France would mean. He could not figure out how the Germans could reinforce their attacks about three to four times faster than theirs and he could not understand how they could suffer from the shortage of sea transport if the Mediterranean was not opened. The British opposed this idea though America promised to provide the invading forces. They wanted the Americans to clear the axis force in the Mediterranean shores of North America and open up that great inland sea for the allied convoys to move in. This culminated into a deadlock that made Brooke to consider switching the America army’s emphasis from European theatre of operations to the pacific, but Roosevelt the then president of America could not accept such an idea that was central to their war strategy. This emphasy from Britain never worked to the Americans instead it led Roosevelt to do something that Winston Churchill would never dream of doing. In fact he intervened and overruled his advisers who used to advise him on war matters. This was in the summer of 1942. He ordered his generals to direct their forces to the French North Africa to support the British proposal for landing along the coast of North Africa. He did this so that he could divide the attention Germans were giving to European war. He wanted to divide the concentration of German because he thought that if he did not do that, then he would come to face German some where in Europe. He knew that his move would be embraced by Britain though it was only done due to political necessity and national interests. At this time the British soldiers had no choice but to gang with USA in attacking Morocco and Algeria. From this time the attention that German had on war in Europe, half of it shifted to the battle in the Mediterranean. The plan was well strategized. About 65,000 men under lieutenant General Durlght D. Eisenhower were to be transported by the allies to invade Casablanca, Roan and Algers. These were the possessions of the French North Africa. Everything went according the plan and they had a lot of quick success that was attributed to the fact that the Axis attention was focused elsewhere. This time the Germans were trying to subjugate Stalingrad and the Caucasus. In Egypt at the same period, the Rummel’s African Korps renewed their offensive attacks on the British area of interests. The British forces under Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery organized his army to liaise the move of the Rummel’s the Montgomery’s force entered into a fierce battle with the axis forces. The axis powers had no hope of winning this war and by early November Rummel’s armies yielded back to Libya. The move they took was against the wishes of Hitler who had ordered them to keep soldering on. Hitler never at any time contemplated of defeat. He would rather die that witness such humiliations (Ambrose S. 2001; 58) At the onset of November 1942, the allied forces had started to build up their ships at Gibraltar. You read "American involvement In N. Africa during world war II (Revised)" in category "Papers" The German spies were aware but they down played the idea as simply as another large supply convoy for reinforcing Malta. The Germany’s companion had a different view; Italy was not so sure of this though Germany never thought about this seriously but had been ignoring Italy’s decision. In November eighth 1942 the foreign German foreign minister Ulrich Joachim who was also known as Von Ribbentrop was so sure about the American troops who had landed in Algerian as well as in Moroccan ports. These allied forces leveled attacks that had positive results as it was expected, the allied forces thought that the dissident French military officers who had supported them would turn against them however, this did not happen but to their surprise the Vichy French government just as it happened in Dakar and in Syria in the following year, they fought against the Allied forces though they did not manage to keep off the invading Germans in France and in Tunisia in the same year, that is 1942. The Vichy French military men couldn’t have resisted the German who were very adamant and determined to crash the French’s down. The Vichy’s weapons were not up to the standard when compared with those of the Germans. They used tanks while he German possessed combat aircrafts though they were not enough. The Germans never trusted the French Vichy government and that was why they could never let them to modify their war technology. They thought that French’s would rise up against them if let to acquire modern weapons. Due to lack of proper weapons the Vichy French’s were unable to keep sustained resistance against the Allied forces who comprised of British soldiers and America soldiers(Atkinson R 2003;152) In the initial stage of the war, America thought the French North Africa would not attack the Americans though this is not what happened. Though they tried to resist they could not resist the American’s advancements. They had no effective troops that would manage to keep Americans at bay. Though the American’s landings defeated the Frenchs, not all of them were successful. In fact a landing at Fedela costed the transport Leonard wood its 21 landing crafts and many lives perished. Also in another landing, the transport Thomas Jefferson 16 crafts was destroyed completely beyond revival. The most affected landing was of the transport canal which lost 18 out of its 25 crafts and in the second wave; five of them were ruined leaving only two boats that could carry troops and other supplies. There was serious landing opposition at Mehdia by the French forces. The landing was not safe and was very dangerous. By November 10th, the Americans under major general Lucian Truscott were able to capture the airfield from the hands of French military men. This was as a result of a very heavy naval gun fire between French’s and Americans but later after the negotiations between French leader and the allies in Algeria, fighting stopped. On 8th November 1992, the infantry division had already actualized its dreams in almost all areas apart from St. Cloud where they met a very strong French force. During this time the combat was spearheaded by Roosevelt who was by then who was brigadier general. However, the landings begun to be interfered with by the rising surfs on 8th of November, the landing activities were to be suspended. In the following day the Vichy government tried to counter attack but they met a lot of resistance from Allied force who had support from air bases and naval base Oran was secured from the hands by the American though the French looked like they would never go but an armistice was signed when the confronting parties came together. The most operation assignment that the allied forces faced was at the port of Algiers. The French had enough ground force plus 52 fighter aircrafts. They also had 39 bombers. The port was heavily guarded so there was no way the British’s and Americans could have an easy access to the port. The American troops of the 168th regimental combat landed on the West while the 39th combat team went to the East of the port and they raided the port. They used two British destroyers which carried the royal navy personnel and the American troops. Before they could succeed, one of the destroyers was destroyed and it had to go back immediately while the other one succeeded and crossed the barriers. These forces that succeeded captured the power station and petroleum tank firm and the Frenchs responded to this attack immediately. After some time when the 168th combat group failed to turn up, the American commander was forced to surrender his troops. The North Africa mission was called â€Å"operation torch† and the city that was their target was Casablanca and was under the command of Eisenhower. These nations (Sam M. 2006; 102) were fighting for the control of the Suez Canal that linked Africa with the Middle East. Suez Canal was the inlet of oil from the Middle East and other raw materials from Asia. Due to the mechanization of their armies, oil was a very crucial commodity and because Britain which had already a mechanized army it totally relied on oil from the Middle East. Britain used Suez Canal as a link to her overseas dominions. This was all made possible by the Mediterranean Sea hence, the struggle. This struggle started at around 1935 when Ethiopia was invaded by Italy which by then had made Somali land its colony. The move frightened Egypt which was not yet a British colony. They started getting worried of its imperialistic aspirations thus in order to protect its interest and country, it allowed Britain to station its army in its territory so as to keep off any advances from Italy. Thereafter, Britain and France took upon themselves the responsibility of maintaining naval control over the Mediterranean with the main British’s base at Alexandria, Egypt. The British and American troops met little resistance at Algiers, Oran and Casablanca on 8th of November 1942. The war took place in the North African desert. By the time the war took place the Italian dictator Mussolini had a better equipped army than that of the Britain and America. He had about a million soldiers who were based in Libya while Britain had only 3600 soldiers who were based in Egypt. They were supposed to protect the Suez Canal and the oil fields in Arabia. At this time the Italians were a threat to Britain. They had already started showing interest in the red sea and Suez Canal supply routes. The North Africa campaign in the beginning was hampered by lack of enough supplies on both sides but later they got equipped. Tough battles took place which either rendered one group to advance against each other along the supply routes. Many of these fights took place in the Far East region out of the Mediterranean where they enjoyed free transport (Breuer W. 1985; 26) In April 1941, the allied forces were under the leadership of General Bernard Montgomery. While the British troops worked to keep Germans forces at bay to the West, the US forces were supposed to confront the Frenchs in North Africa under† Operation Touch† The main reason for this reason for this operation was to take over Morocco which was already a French colony, to take Algeria and Tunisia. They wanted to offer support to their colleague in the Libyan Desert. They also wanted to make Mediterranean shipping route free to their ships and for other major operations in North Africa. They hoped that they would force the axis of out of the region. They also wanted the axis to reduce their concentration on the Russian forces or in other words, they wanted the Axis forces to divide their war attention between North Africa and Russia. The attack took Germans by surprise because they did not expect it to happen. Later, the French stopped being hostile to the allied forces and allowed them to nave access to Tunisia. Rommel led his armies to various defensive operations. One of the most key operations was of the Kasserine pass where American defenses were crashed by Germans modern tanks. This operation saw 1000 allied troops dead and hundred of them were held prisoners by Germans. They also lost most of their fighting equipments. Though the axis powers thought they were winners, to the allied forces was an awakening call. They went back to their drawing board, assessed their weaknesses and came up with the way forward (Funk A. L. 1974; 86) Americans never gave up; they sent Rommel back to conquer the Kasserine pass so that they could get the Merith line. This time, the axis forces gained advanced and suppressed the resistance that until they let 275000 prisoners free. The axis forces in Africa surrendered on may 2nd 1943 after about 350,000 soldiers were captured by the allied forces and 70,000 were casualties. After they quit from the war, the stage was left open for Italian campaign. The axis surrendered because of ruthlessness of ‘the operation retribution’ which was designed to evacuate German and Italian forces from Tunisia. About 897 were held captives, 653 escaped and were assumed to have might drowned. In conclusion, we have seen how the North African war costed many lives. Many people perished and others were injured. Though the war was took place in Africa, it was not as fierce that one in Europe. These wars were fought by these nations to protect their national interests. No country wanted their competitors to have an access or even go near its spheres of influence. Another reason for the fight was to gain supremacy. The Allied Forces were determined to silence Germany and its colleagues which were proving to be a big threat in Europe. Their plan worked as it was expected that is, they engaged Germany to another front so as to divide its concentration on war in Europe. So, it was not war for the sake of war but war for different reasons. In this war America in conjunction with Britain were the main aggressors. They left North African countries highly damaged. A lot of people perished while others were injured. The harm this American led war did was more than what one could have expected. Reference: Dennis P. The oxford Companion to Australian Military History. Melbourne. Oxford University press. 2002; 78 Breuer W. Operation Torch: The Allied Gamble to Invade North. St. Martins Press. 1985; 26 Funk A. L. The Politics of Torch, University press. 1974; 86 Sam M. At all costs: How crippled and two American Merchant mariners Turned the Tide of world WarII. Random House. 2006; 102 Ambrose S. The good Fight: How World War II Was Won. Atheneum. New York. 2001; 58 Atkinson R. An army at Dawn The war in North Africa 1942-1943. Newyork: Henry Holt. 2003; 152 How to cite American involvement In N. Africa during world war II (Revised), Essays