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Battle of France/Miracle of Dunkirk
May 10, 1940 – Jun 4, 1940
Significance: After Germany lead an attack near France-Belgian border, Britain implemented an evacuation plan that saved many troops
-Fought between allies and Nazi Germany in France
-The King lead a prayer service on the 26th for the safe return of the soldiers
-On the first day of evacuation, only 8,000 soldiers were rescued
-Over 300,000 troops were successfully evacuated after a halt in bombing (miracle)
-Over 860 ships were involved in the operation -
Battle of Britain
Jul 10, 1940 – Oct 31, 1940
Significance: First big battle that was only fought through airforce, and it was a defeat for the Nazis
-German Luftwaffes targetted British aircraft factories and then the cities and towns
-When Germany bombed London during the night, using the Blitz strategy
-Britains airforce was called the RAF, which stood for Royal Airforce
-The ratio of RAF to Luftwaffes planes shot was about 1000:1800
-Hilter ended bombing because he needed to bomb Russia afterwards -
Siege of Leningrad
Sep 8, 1941 – Jan 27, 1944
Significance: After years of siege on the Soviet Union, the Soviets won and Hitler was humiliated
-650,000 lives were taken in Leningrad in just 1942
-The Soviets managed to break the German siege in 1943 and they were able to bring in more supplies
-There were three waves of evacuation for the civilians
-Only about 1/5 of the original population was alive by end of siege
-A monument was later created in 1975 to honor those who fought in the siege against Germany -
Battle of Stalingrad
23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943
Significance: Marked the end of German advances in Eastern Europe + major loss for Germany against Russia
-Germany started by bombing the Volga River and then Stalingrad
-German tanks were struggling to fight because of rubble in the streets
-Soviets trapped German forces in the city, and they eventually ran out of resources
-Germany was led by General Friedrich Paulus, who surrendered right after being promoted
-About 91,000 Germans were captured in the end -
Operation Torch
Nov 8, 1942 – Nov 10, 1942
Significance: First time the British worked with Americas to invade French North Africa to create new war front and get rid of Axis powers
-Originally called Operation Gymnast
-Roosevelt allowed the U.S. to enter to satisfy American call for action
-Allies landed in Northern Africa to push out Axis powers
-Casualties were minimal, about 2000
-Victory for Allies, led to friendship between GB and US -
D-Day
June 6th, 1944
Significance: The biggest Allie invasion that ultimately resulted in defeat for Germany (axis powers)
-The code name was Operation Neptune and Operation Overload because of the power through the sea
-Largest military command by sea to ever occur in history
-The allies had code names for the beaches they landed in such as Omaha, Utah, and Juno
-Originally planned for June 5th but postponed because of bad weather
-There were over 160,000 Allie troops, and about half were American -
Battle of the Bulge
Dec 16, 1944 – Jan 25, 1945
Significance: Last time Germany had a chance to change the war outcome. They faced big defeat and could no longer fight
-Another name for it is the Battle of Ardennes
-250,000 German troops were sent across an Allied front (85 miles)
-Germany created a "bulge" around Ardennes forest in Allie front, which is where it got its name
-Allies lost 300 tanks and equally as many aircrafts
-German code name was Unternehmen Herbstnebel (Autumn Mist) -
Battle of Berlin
Apr 16, 1945 – May 2, 1945
Significance: Last major Battle in Europe and Germany finally surrendered
-Polish soldiers fought alongside the Soviet Union (about 150,00)
-Some believe Stalin was in a rush to capture Berlin so that he could keep German nuclear secrets for the Soviets
-Polish Flag Day is celebrated as the day Poland raised its flag on Berlin
-Germany had many homeless and starving food after the battle
-Adolf Hitler committed suicide in undergorund bunker during this battle
