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Battle of France / Miracle of Dunkirk
Ended June 4th 1940 Code name was Operation Dynamo.
It was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbor of Dunkirk in the North of France.
It was only 47 nautical miles away from the English channel.
There was a National Day of Prayer held on May 26 by England.
A violent storm made it impossible for the German planes to keep bombing the troops, and it allowed the Allied troops to leave. The purpose of the evacuation was to clear Allied troops from German occupied France. -
Battle of Britain
Ended October 31st, 1940. The Royal Air Force defended England against large-scale Nazi air force attacks.
British victory allowed Britain to maintain their freedom.
The Royal Air Force defeated the biggest and most formidable air force in the world.
England had superior planes such as the Hawker Hurricane.
The British had a lot of warning for the attacks because they used radar to detect when Nazi planes were flying in. This battle was crucial for the British to keep their freedom. -
Battle of Leningrad
Ended January 27th 1944. Also called the 900 day siege even though it actually lasted 872 days.
Occurred in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) and in the Soviet Union by German troops.
It claimed 650,000 lives in 1942.
The Soviets kept fighting to open up supply lines and in 1944, they finally launched an offence that pushed the Germans away. This battle was very prolonged and made it very difficult for the Soviets because all able bodied Leningraders had to help. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Ended February 2nd, 1943. Soviets won the battle and crushed the German's 6th Army.
Fought for control over Stalingrad in Southern Russia.
Stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union.
This was the first major German loss of World War 2.
There were a total of approximately 800,000 casualties, injuries, and captures in that battle. This battle turned the tide of the war into the favor of the Allies. -
Operation Torch
Battle ended on November 10th 1942. Started by England and America invading North Africa.
65,000 troops invaded French North Africa.
The operation was pretty successful because the French didn't have a very good air force and their tanks were obsolete.
The French still put up a pretty good fight.
The daring attack on the port failed. Operation torch was put into action to prevent Germany from gaining complete control of the Mediterranean sea. -
D-Day
156,000 American, Canadian and British troops fought to free France from the Germans.
Called the beginning of the end of the war.
Deception plan to make it seem like they weren't going to attack Normandy.
There was a 24 hour delay.
4,000 Allied troops died that day. This battle marked the start of the end of the war for Germany because it gave France some of its freedom and led to the end of Germany's occupation of France. -
Battle of the Bulge
Ended January 25, 1945. This was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western front.
It took place in Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg.
It is the 3rd most-lethal American battle by estimated number of casualties (100,000).
The Germans had a fuel shortage which allowed the Allies to turn the tide of the battle against the Germans.
The Allied front resembled a bulge at one of the more climaxic points in the battle, giving it it's name. This battle marked the start of Germany's loss. -
Battle of Berlin
Ended May 2nd, 1945. The Soviet Union orchestrated this attack on Berlin.
This was the final major offensive in World War 2.
Hitler killed himself 5 days after the end of the battle and the remaining leaders of the Nazi party signed a surrender.
It was actually a competition between two Soviet marshals to see who could capture Berlin first.
Over 1 million Soviet personnel took part in the capturing of Berlin. This battle ended World War 2 for Europe.
