-
Battle of France/Miracle of Dunkirk
- the code name was Operation Dynamos
- French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops for 6 weeks
- Citizenships were used for evacuations
- Two Oscar-nominated movies were made this past year about the event
- Before the event occured, it was thought to be a disaster. After it, however, Churchill called it a "miracle"
-
Battle of Britain
- Originally a military campaign for the Second World War
- Germans overwhelmed France leaving Britain to defend themselves for a possible sea raid
- Germany failed to destroy British air forces leading to the first big defeat of Germany
- Germany, however, was still consistently remaining dominant throughout the start of WWII
- This was the first major defeat of the German military
-
Siege/Battle of Leningrad
- Hitler was confident he would capture/destroy the city of Leningrad
- The council of Leningrad sent "First Response" citizens
- Over 3 million citizens were evacuated
- The aftermath of the siege is considered the biggest mass destruction to a modern city.
- Some citizens were left in such great poverty/starvation they resulted to cannibalism
-
Battle of Stalingrad
- Considered the largest confrontation of WWII
- Intense bombing on Stalingrad; the bloodiest battle in the history of warfare
- With Hitler's total control of Germany at the time, the Soviets made many big moves that pushed him to his edge
- Many war plans were named off of planets
- The Soviets one and it was considered a huge victory for them
-
Operation Torch
- "Operation Sledgehammer" is suggested in which they would provoke German forces in order to get the pressure off of the Soviet Union
- Britain was against "Operation Sledgehammer" because they thought it would cause a disaster
- "Operation Torch" came about in which the U.S invaded Africa during the North African Campaign
- The result was an Allied victory
- Due to the lack of military/political loss, "Operation Torch" is widely overlooked.
-
D-Day/Normandy Landings
- The largest seaborne invasion in history involving the Allied forces
- In an attempt to sneak up on Germany, Allied forces came through boats along French beaches
- However, Germany knew about the upcoming attack and placed troops where the Allied forces were planning to land
- The Allied forces failed miserably
- Despite the extreme losses for the Allies, it is still considered a decisive, Allied victory
-
Battle of the Bulge
-The last major German offensive campaign
- Germany placed forces in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg in order to surprise the Allied forces
- The plan succeeded and caught the Allied forces completely off guard
- This battle resulted in the most casualties out of all of the operations during the war
- However, the Allies were able to fight back and ultimately got the victory. -
Battle of Berlin
- The final major offense of the European theatre of WWII
- Two Soviet fronts attack Berlin from the east and south
- The Red Army circled the city in order to gain control and safety in numbers
- The battle resulted in complete chaos and destruction as well as the Red Army's control of the city
- Many Nazi leaders, including Hitler himself, committed suicide after the battle
