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December 11
President Roosevelt announced the US is at war with the Axis Powers
1941: Germany and Italy declare war on US
England have
Germany and Italy have announced they are at war with the United States.
America immediately responded by declaring war on the two Axis powers.
Three days ago, US President Franklin Roosevelt announced America was at
war with Japan, the third Axis power, following the surprise attack on its naval
base at Pearl Harbor.
Today Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, made his declaration first - from
the balcony over the Piazza Venezia in Rome - pledging the "powers of the pact
of steel" were determined to win.
Then Adolf Hitler made his announcement at the Reichstag in Berlin saying
he had tried to avoid direct conflict with the US but, under the Tripartite
Agreement signed on 27 September 1940, Germany was obliged to join with Italy to
defend its ally Japan.
"After victory has been achieved," he said. "Germany, Italy and Japan will
continue in closest co-operation with a view to establishing a new and just
order."
He accused President Roosevelt of waging a campaign against Germany since
1937, blamed him for the outbreak of war in 1939 and said he was planning to
invade Germany in 1943.
Over in Washington, President Roosevelt told Congress the free world must
act quickly and decisively against the enemy.
"The forces endeavouring to enslave the entire world now are moving towards
this hemisphere.
"Delay invites danger. Rapid and united efforts by all peoples of the world
who are determined to remain free will ensure world victory for the forces of
justice and righteousness over the forces of savagery and barbarism."
Resolutions against Germany and Italy were passed without debate. The only
person who did not vote for war was pacifist Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin who
had also voted against war with Japan.
In the Senate the vote was unanimous.
Both Democrats and Republicans have agreed to "adjourn politics" for the
duration of the war and focus on national defence.
They have passed a new law which allows US servicemen to fight anywhere in
the world.
Following the shock of Pearl Harbor, American citizens are flocking to
volunteer for the US Navy and Marine Corps which do not take conscripts.
The US Army has already grown tenfold since the draft was introduced last
year.
British vessels are undamaged
1975: Attack on British vessels heightens Cod War
Artificially 1969:
The An Icelandic gunboat has opened fire on unarmed British fishery support
vessels in the North Atlantic Sea, it is reported.
The violent clash left the Icelandic coastguard ship, Thor, badly damaged
but the three British vessels involved appear to be unaffected.
The Thor is said to have tried to arrest the British Star Aquarius and her
sister vessel the Star Polaris as they sheltered from a force nine gale within
Iceland"s 12 mile territorial waters.
They were taking water and supplies from the Lloydsman, an ocean going tug,
and the practice is normal for a vessel in distress.
The Royal Navy said Thor moved alongside the British vessels and signalled
the Star Aquarius, an oil rig supply vessel of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food, should stop or she would shoot.
Reports are confused about which vessel then struck the other but as the
Thor broke away the Lloydsman surged forward to protect the Star Aquarius.
Captain Albert MacKenzie of the Star Aquarius said the Thor approached from
the stern and hit the support vessel, before it veered off and fired a shot from
a range of about 100 yards.
But Niels Sigurdsson, the Icelandic Ambassador in London, said the Thor had
been firing in self-defence after it had been rammed by British vessels.
The incident comes at a diplomatically sensitive time as foreign
secretaries from both countries are attending a two-day Nato conference in
Brussels.
Foreign Secretary James Callaghan has criticised the incident and Einar
Agustsson, the Icelandic Foreign Minister, said it was a very grave matter.
Both men are due to meet and discuss the cod war which has been plunged
into disarray following today"s incident.
Iceland has said its decision to allow British fishermen an annual 65,000
ton catch in its territorial waters is non-negotiable.
But Britain is demanding an annual catch of 110,000 and is hoping to broker
an agreement somewhere between the two figures.
Vocabulary:
unprecedented : having no precedent or example(空前的) |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:19:43