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Dunkirk
An evacuation of 338,000 British and other Allied troops. Evacuated from Dunkirk to England. German forces were closing in and surrounding the beaches. Dunkirk is on the north of France. Civilian British ships helped with the evacuation effort. This evacuation saved many Allied soldiers lives and was a turning point for public support and morale in the war. -
Battle of Britain
Hitler tried to get Britain to surrender without a fight. It was the first battle in history fought in the air. In turn, this battle used one of the first uses of radar in war. The RAF squadron was filled with many foreign pilots. It was the bombing of 16 English cities by the Germans. This was intended by Hitler to break the morale of the British people and get the UK to surrender easily. -
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Battle of Leningrad
The death toll was over 1,000,000. The mass starvation of the siege caused people to rely on cannibalism for food. The penalty for stealing food was death. Valuable books and art were burned for warmth. The end goal for Hitler was to cause the entire city to starve. The Nazi siege on Leningrad (St. Petersburg) showed the true brutality of the Nazi regime to not only the Russian people but the world. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler invaded Russia without a declaration of war. The continuous bombing of the city killed thousands of people. Even the citizens of the city were ordered not to retreat and in some cases even fight. Soviet snipers killed over 3000 Germans. Any new soldier sent into Stalingrad had a life expectancy of 1 day. The battle of Stalingrad was the Soviets showing Hitler that he couldn't take the Soviet Union. The successful defense made Hitler focus elsewhere. -
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Operation Torch
Allied attack in North Africa. Involved the US and the UK on the Allied and the Germans for the axis. The plan was to move from North Africa into Italy. 60,000 French troops in Morocco waiting to assist. This was important because the Allies finally had a plan to push back in the Nazi power in Europe. -
D-Day
Largest amphibian invasion. The code name was Operation Overload. General Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded the invasion. More than 13,000 planes supported the invasion. There were an estimated 10,000 allied casualties. This was a turning point in the war because the Allies were attempting to take back France which Germany had stormed over. This starts the pursuit to regain the Western Front. -
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Battle of the Bulge
Hitler's generals advised against the final push. The Allies missed several warning signs that a Nazi offensive was coming. A US division of troops was slaughtered because of a bad phone connection. There was a company of German troops that stole US soldiers uniforms and wrecked havoc behind the Allied lines. It marked the first time that the US army was desegregated. This final advance for the Nazi ultimately led to their demise and destruction. -
Battle of Berlin
It was the last major battle in Europe during the war. Stalin wanted to make it to Berlin before the American troops did. The final battle was fought over 4 days. Soviet troops went on a rampage killing thousands. The Russians wanted to be the first to raise the Red Flag over Berlin. This was the end of the war in Europe and the death of Adolph Hitler.
