In 1928, at St. Mary`s Hospital, London, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. This discovery led to the introduction of antibiotics that greatly reduced the number of deaths from infection. Returning from holiday on September 3, 1928, Fleming began to sort through petri dishes containing colonies of Staphylococcus, bacteria that cause boils, sore throats and abscesses. He noticed something unusual on one dish. It was dotted with colonies, save for one area where a blob of mold was growing. The zone immediately around the mold, later identified as a rare strain of Penicillin notatum, was clear, as if the mold had secreted something that inhibited bacterial growth. Fleming found that his “mold juice” was capable of killing a wide range of harmful bacteria such as streptococcus and meningococcus. Penicillin heralded the dawn of the antibiotic age. Before its introduction there was no effective treatment for infections such as pneumonia, gonorrhea or rheumatic fever.
protection, not of direct intervention. However, this would not last very long. Despite the primary concern being the European theatre, Japan also presented a serious challenge. Following the Japanese conquest of South East Asia, FDR decides to stop selling them oil, depriving Japan of 95% of its oil supply. FDR also placed General Douglas MacArthur as the commander of the American forces in the Philippines. When diplomatic efforts failed to lift the embargo, the Japanese felt forced into action; believing that if they were able destroy the US pacific fleet, along with its naval forces stationed in South East Asia, they would be able to continue their conquests. Therefore, on the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbour. The attack on Pearl Harbour knocked out several key US battleships and killed 2,403 Americans. The following day, FDR, in his now infamous “Infamy Speech” to Congress, called for war to be declared on Japan, with congress declaring war on Japan that same day, and Germany and Italy 3 days later. The scale the tragedy that struck caused antiwar sentiment to disappear. The Japanese empire would extend its borders up until June 1942, when the American navy was able to permanently halt their progress at the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway proved to be the first round in a series of slow, difficult, and costly island hopping. This was all in efforts to gain bases from which the airforce could wreak havoc on the Japanese. Roosevelt opted to stay out of the tactical military decision making, something his counterpart in Germany relished. By late 1944, most specifically the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the Americans had not only recaptured much of the territory lost, but also dealt the final blow to the Japanese navy.
The events that took place in Europe were much more straightforward. In January 1943, at the Casablanca Conference, it was decided that the Allies would defeat the Axis forces in North Africa before any incursions onto mainland Europe. By May 1943, the North African campaign was over, with over 250,000 axis soldiers taken as prisoners. The Allied invasion of Sicily was launched that June, and mai
