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North Africa Campaign
A three year long campaign that was costly for both sides, 130,000 German Soldiers were taken as POW's after Tunisia fell. 35,478 British Commonwealth forces were confirmed dead, 33 men died on average per day an astronomical figure by any means. -
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Bombing of London
One of the costliest bombings on British soil, 43,000 civilians died with the Germans focusing on the capital as well as industrials centres such as Coventry, Glasgow and Manchester. The targeting of the Capital led many Brits to fear German attacks. 107,400 tons of ships were damaged in a sequence of bombing called Loge. -
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Siege of Tobruk
The Australian forces that were fighting the Axis held the Garrison at Tobruk to stop the Axis forces gaining access to the port. By doing this it meant that the Germans could not use their port to bring in supplies which strangled their forces. -
Pearl Harbour
Pearl Harbour was a military disaster for American forces as in just under 2 hours 2,335 US Servicemen had died. Many American soldiers believe that Franklin D. Roosevelt was responsible for the attack as he provoked the Japanese Government to attack the USA. 28 Japanese aircraft were shot down in the attack with the loss of life horrendous for both sides. -
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Fall of Singapore
Largest surrender of British troops in history, around 80,000 Commonwealth troops were captured by the imperial Japanese army. The British were ill-prepared and under-estimated the Japanese army, the Japanese concentrated their effort on certain outposts to gain an advantage whereas the Commonwealth tried using strength of numbers and pure force. -
Bombing of Darwin
A base for US and Australian troops Darwin was the gateway to Asia for the Australian forces. The base was essential to the Allies as it created a port for ships sailing to battle Japanese invasion in Timor and Java. 236 Allied troops were killed and 300-400 wounded, this is the single largest attack on Australian soil by a foreign power. -
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Battle of Midway
The battle was essential for the United States as the Japanese were expanding toward the islands the US had under its control. The American forces were able to know exactly when Japanese forces were attacking as they had intercepted messages and decrypted them. -
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Kokoda Track Campaign
The Australian forces needed an outpost to counter Japans advancement through the area, the fall of Singapore lead to many generals questioning whether there would be an attack on the mainland. One of the toughest terrains in the world with many days spent in humid, hot and wet conditions marching to heights of 2,190m the forces involved were some of the most revered regiments in the army. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
Over 2,000,000 casualties were inflicted from both sides, the largest loss of life from one battle during the war. The Axis forces lost 900 aircraft as well as 1,500 tanks, a costly battle of life and money. The German forces were ill-prepared for the cold Russian winter and eventually had to retreat to the loss of life from starvation and hypothermia. -
D-Day Landing
The largest invasion by sea in history was planned months before execution due to the astronomical amount of men and machinery needed to be successful. In total 156,000 allied troops invaded the beaches of Normandy with 4,414 confirmed dead. The liberation of France was possible due to the invasion that day. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The last German offensive and one that ultimately led Hitler to concede defeat. Although the Allied forces lost more men than the German's the strategic prowess of the Allies overwhelmed the Germans leading them to retreat. The air attacks provided crucial due the bombing of supply lines leading the Germans to be low on ammunition on the front. -
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Bombing of Dresden
Over 100,000 German civilians died in an attack which seems to be completely unwarranted with Dresden not being a major industrial centre or being an important city for the production of weapons. The attack by the Allies was "justified" to show the strength of the army. In Layman's Terms, the ruthless firebombing would show the Soviets how good the Allies were and to not go back on agreements. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
The only use of nuclear weapons in the history of warfare killed 129,000 with majority of those civilians. This coupled with the Nagasaki bombing ushered a surrender by the imperial Japanese army. -
Bombing of Nagasaki
The bombing was primarily to halt Japans steel production as well as force the Japanese to surrender. The city was firebombed, traditionally bombed and then the nuclear bomb was dropped to utterly decimate the city.