The Lessons for Today in America’s Birth as a Superpower

By Donald Bryson

Sunday, June 16, 2024

 

As we find ourselves in a Groundhog Day-like presidential-election year, with the same two candidates we saw four years ago, we also find ourselves reflecting on the 80th anniversary of a defining moment in our history. In June 1944, over a mere 16 days, the United States emerged as a global superpower, a status that has profoundly shaped the international order ever since. However, with ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, a retreat from the liberal international order, and the rise of populism and protectionism, the future of America’s role on the world stage is uncertain.

 

The Biden administration has sent mixed signals regarding the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, failing to define levels of American engagement in both conflicts. President Biden has also failed to substantively alter the trade policies he inherited from the Trump administration — policies he campaigned against.

 

On the Republican side, former president Trump has also issued conflicting messages about the situation in Ukraine, sometimes appearing as a “low-key Ukraine hawk” and other times accusing Ukraine of being a corrupt country. These mixed messages leave voters uncertain about the GOP’s stance on America’s global engagement at a critical geopolitical juncture.

 

Eighty years ago, from June 4 to June 20, 1944, the United States Armed Forces achieved a series of remarkable victories that reshaped the global landscape. The liberation of Rome, the historic D-Day landings in Normandy, the invasion of Saipan, and the decisive Battle of the Philippine Sea against the Japanese Imperial Navy marked an unprecedented display of American military might and strategic prowess. Fifteen American combat divisions and two major naval task forces — Task Force 122 and Task Force 58 — executed operations across vast geographical distances, demonstrating an unparalleled ability to project power simultaneously in Europe and the Pacific.

 

The capture of Rome on June 4, 1944, and the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, were pivotal moments in the European theater of World War II. The fall of Rome marked the first Allied liberation of an Axis capital, dealing a significant blow to the Germans’ morale and disrupting their defensive lines in Italy. This victory of the American Fifth Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Mark Clark, demonstrated the Allies’ advancing momentum and American military strength.

 

Just two days later, General Dwight Eisenhower commanded the D-Day landings in Normandy, otherwise known as Operation Overlord, which initiated the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control. This massive and meticulously planned operation, undertaken alongside British and Canadian forces, opened a crucial second European front. By forcing Germany to fight a two-front war, Overlord strained its resources and hastened its eventual defeat. Together, these events significantly shifted the tide of the war in Europe, accelerating the Allied push toward victory in Europe eleven months later.

 

Nine days later and 7,300 miles east, two Marine divisions invaded the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands — Saipan. The invasion of Saipan on June 15, 1944, and its subsequent capture pierced the inner defensive ring of Japanese defenses. Saipan provided the Allies with a strategic base within bombing range of the Japanese Home Islands, making Japanese industry and ports even more vulnerable. The invasion also disrupted Japanese supply lines and impeded Japan’s ability to reinforce other positions in the Pacific.

 

Simultaneously, Task Force 58, under the command of Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher, fought the Battle of the Philippine Sea, also known as the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot,” because of the number of Japanese naval aircraft destroyed. More than 300 of 423 Japanese aircraft-carrier aircraft were destroyed, which meant the near-total destruction of Japanese naval-aviation capabilities. The decisive victory for the United States Navy not only secured American control of the Marianas but also marked the beginning of Japan’s irreversible decline in naval power, which would culminate four months later at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. These combined successes crippled Japan’s ability to conduct large-scale operations, hastened its strategic retreat, and paved the way for subsequent Allied offensives, ultimately bringing the war in the Pacific closer to its conclusion.

 

These 16 days were not merely a series of military triumphs but the birth of the United States as a superpower. This period set the stage for a new international order characterized by economic liberalization and the rapid spread of democracy. As a May 11 editorial in The Economist put it, “It is true that the system established after the second world war achieved a marriage between America’s internationalist principles and its strategic interests. Yet the liberal order also brought vast benefits for the rest of the world.”

 

The United States led the way in establishing institutions and alliances that promoted free trade, open markets, and collective security, fostering a period of unprecedented global prosperity and stability.

 

Unfortunately, the foundations of this liberal order are now under threat. The rise of populism and protectionism at home and abroad challenges the principles of open trade and international cooperation that have underpinned global peace and prosperity for decades. The conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, along with inconsistent foreign-policy signals from Washington, further exacerbate these challenges, leaving both allies and adversaries questioning our commitment to our role as a global leader.

 

As we reflect on those momentous 16 days in June 1944, we must recognize that America’s superpower status was not a goal, but a means to promote a vision of a free and democratic world. The international order that emerged from the ashes of World War II was built on the sacrifices and achievements of those who fought in Europe and the Pacific. It is a legacy that commands our stewardship and vigilance as liberty’s offspring.

 

As the next presidential election approaches, American voters deserve to hear an articulate and clear vision for America’s role in the world. We must recommit to the principles that have guided us for the past eight decades — principles of economic liberalization, democratic governance, and collective security. The stakes are too high to allow ambiguity and mixed messages to dictate our foreign policy.

 

The events of June 1944 remind us of the extraordinary power and responsibility that come with American leadership. As we navigate the complexities of 2024, we can draw inspiration from where we have been as a nation, in hopes of learning where we should go.