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Miracle of Dunkirk: May 26 - June 4, 1940
The evacuation of millions of allied soldiers on the Northern Beaches of France.
1. Also named Operation Dynamo
2. 860 civilian ships helped carry the soldiers out.
3. Most soldiers were saved, but massive amounts of equipment were left on the beaches.
4. The German Luftwaffe tried to kill many of the ships as they came to save the soldiers.
5. The Americans were not involved yet, the soldiers were all either British, French, or Belgian. -
Battle of Britain: July 10 - October 31, 1940
A major turning point in WWII, the British stood by themselves and won an air battle after 3 months against the Luftwaffe to protect the UK.
1. France quit the war, leaving Britain by itself in the battle.
2. Got its name from Churchill saying, Battle of France is over, Battle of Britain has begun.
3. Proved that Germans were beatable
4. Proved that Britain could use air power to win
5. Churchill used it to give the Brits confidence against those who wanted to give in. -
Siege of Leningrad: Sept. 8 - Jan. 27 1944
The German Army surrounded the city of Leningrad for almost 900 days and killed almost 1 million innocent Russians.
1. Also called the siege of Leningrad.
2. Over 1 million innocent civilians died.
3. The Red Army eventually drove out the Germans and Italians
4. The fact that Leningrad had no strategic position, this inspired the Soviets to rise against the Germans because they were being oppressed.
5. Finland also participated with Germany during the siege. -
Battle of Stalingrad: June 17 - Feb. 2, 1943
The biggest confrontation in the war, Stalingrad was a battle between the Soviets and the Germans for southern Russia.
1. Decisive victory for the Soviets
2. There were 2 million civilian casualties.
3. The Soviets wiped out almost the entire German invasion force.
4. Major turning point, as the Germans could get no farther East after this.
5. Hitler had told the people he would win, and when they lost it was a major humiliation for the Hitler regime, and generals started to doubt Hitler. -
Operation Torch: Nov 8-11, 1942
Operation Torch was an invasion carried out by the Allies to take away the Central powers from the Mediterranean area.
1. Operation Torch marked the first time the Americans and British worked together on an invasion.
2. Only 500 soldiers died during Operation Torch
3. The battle led to the Axis being pushed out of North Africa
4. The allies had to fight the French in Operation Torch
5. The Allies were successful in the attempt to take Southern Europe. -
D-Day: June 6 1944
The Normandy Landings, or D-Day, was important because it signified the United States entering the second World War against Germany.- 156000 soldiers landed on the beaches on June 6
- Before the landings, the Allies led a massive deception operation to deceive the Germans,
- Less than a week after the landings the Allies controlled the beach of Normandy.
- Hitler was convinced that the attack was a fake to distract him.
- The battle led to the liberation of France a few months later.
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Battle of the Bulge: Dec. 16 1944 - Jan 25, 1945
The Battle of the Bulge was the last major attempt by the German army to split the allies.
1. It was named after how the US army created a sort of bulge.
2. Patton successfully held the Germans at Bastogne.
3. Major snowstorms hit the battlefield during the fighting.
4. The Americans were caught by surprise by the battle of the bulge.
5. It was the costliest battle ever fought by Americans, over 100,000 died. -
Battle of Berlin: April 16 - May 2, 1945
The Battle of Berlin marked the end of fighting of WWII in Europe. Russia and America met in Berlin to destroy the Germans.
1. Stalin wanted Russia there first to get ideas for Nuclear programs.
2. The Soviets captured the city of Berlin
3. Hitler officially killed himself because of the loss of the Battle of Berlin.
4. Many Germans tried to flee the city, very few made it out.
5. 92,000 Germans died during the battle.
