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Battle of the Atlantic
Taking place in the Atlantic Ocean this was a British versus German battle. Britain wished to keep the seas open to north America. Germany wanted to prevent Britain from having connections with America and wanted to, in the process, weaken their navy. After 2 years in to the battle Germany had the upper hand and in 1942 Germans were rapidly sinking British ships. However the British became victorious in 1945 as they became able to sink the German U-boats. Thus eliminating Germany as a threat. -
Invasion of Poland
It was after the German invasion of Poland that France and Britain were forced to declare war on Germany. Yet even though France and Britain were in war with Germany they did very little in helping Poland. On September 17th 1939 the soviets joint the attack and this soon lead to the Polish defeat and success of the Germany and soviet invasion on October 6th 1939. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk
Through the course of May 27th-June 4th 1940 340,000 French troops and British troops were evacuated from Dunkirk in order to rescue them from the German forces who trapped by German forces. With the evacuation occurring this would be the perfect time for Hitler to command forces to attack and kill many of the troops. However Hitler held back his forces and because of this seemingly tactical error the British forces lived and were successfully evacuated. For the allies this was a moral victory, -
Fall of France
With the indent to both occupy land and eliminate an opposing force Germany wished to take control of France. With the occupation of France also came the control of the Northern France and Atlantic ports. The German forces easily passed the French line and had no problem going against their air force. France surrendered and the French forces became useless. The British Navy sank the desirable ships of the French fleet to prevent them from falling to the Germans. -
Barbossa
Hitler sent an attack on the Soviet Union which caught Stalin by surprise. Hitler wanted to gain from this attack resources while also destroying an ideological rival. This war lasted for a greater time then Hitler had anticipated and the cold Winter that came was able to stop the Nazis. Although the Germans were able to take some key production cities they did fail in their goal to completely defeat the Soviet Union. -
Battle of Britain
This event was a battle between the Axis and Allies, however Britain was the only one fighting against the Axis, for control of the skies above the English Channel and Britain. Germany believed that winning control over the skies was the first step to the invasion of the British Isles. The British’s planes out numbered the Germans’ 3:1 and the British plane kill ratio was 1882:1017. This gave a victory to the British on September 30th 1940 and the RAF successfully prevented a Nazi invasion. -
Winter War
This was an attack by the Red Army on Finland with the purpose to gain both territory and control for the Allies. On March 12th 1940 Finland surrendered and signed a peace treaty with the Allies. As well as taking control of Finland the Red Army also took control of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. This lead to the Axis wanting to take over more territory. Hitler put an attack on Romania and Mussolini had an attack on Greece. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This was a fight between the Nazis and Soviets for control of Stalingrad. This was an important location as it was a major transportation base and would bring Germany even more power. Although there were a high number of casualties on each side in was the Germans who surrendered on February 2 1943. During this battle Hitler lost many of his best units and his army took a big blow, severely weakening them. -
battle of el Alamein
Occurring sixty miles away from the Suez canal this was a battle for the water passage that would allow for easy transportation. This area also had great access to oil which was desired. This battle ended with a victory for the allies. This reopened, for them, routes to the middle east and prevented the Germans from passing through. The Battle of El Alamein is considered a turning point for the Allies. -
Italian Campaign
This was a plan made by the allies to invade and take over Sicily as preparation for them landing in the rest of Italy. After Mussolini was ousted of the government on September 8th 1943 the new government was quick to surrender to the Allies. The Italy Campaign ended as a success for the Allies and they were able to move forward and take over Rome. -
Normany Invasion
The allies invaded Normandy with the intent to liberate France. After being taken under Axis control the Allies wanted to invade. With regards to this invasion Rommel predicted that who ever on would be the side to win the war. Which he was correct and the Allied had a victory in the invasion of Normandy. -
Battle of the Bulge
This battle was an attack by Germany on the Allies in Ardennes, Belgium. For the Germans this was their final offensive attack on the Allies. After a bombing raid where over 100 000 Germans were killed followed shortly after by Hitler’s suicide on April 30th Germany surrendered on May 7th. This day became known as VE or Victory in Europe. This gave the Allies the victory of World War II.
