19421943

1942–1943 refers to the period of World War II spanning the years 1942 and 1943. During these years the Axis and Allied powers fought across multiple theaters, with several campaigns producing strategic turning points that shifted momentum in favor of the Allies.

On the Eastern Front, German and Soviet forces battled in brutal conditions culminating in the German surrender at Stalingrad in early 1943, a decisive setback for Germany. In North Africa, the Allied victory at El Alamein in late 1942 began a campaign that drove Axis troops into Tunisia and culminated in Allied control of the region in 1943. In the Pacific, the United States and its allies halted Japanese expansion at the Battle of Midway in 1942 and pursued a strategy of island hopping that helped turn the tide by 1943 and 1944, including the Guadalcanal Campaign through early 1943.

Diplomatically, Allied leaders met at Casablanca in January 1943 to coordinate strategy and demand unconditional surrender. The Tehran Conference later in 1943 coordinated efforts between the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union for future operations, including the invasion of Western Europe. The period also included intensified persecution of Jews and other groups by Nazi Germany, with 1942 marking expanded deportations and killings in occupied Europe.

The 1942–1943 period established crucial strategic momentum for the Allied coalition and set the stage for subsequent offensives in 1943–1945.