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Miracle of Dunkirk
Germany invaded Poland, British army was sent to support their allies in France but got trapped and eventually saved. King George VI called for a National Day of Prayer to be held on May 26, the day before Operation Dynamo. Operation Dynamo involved about 860 ships, including 693 British ships. The evacuation occurred over nine days. The Allies left behind 2,472 cannons, around 65,000 vehicles, 20,000 motorcycles, 377,000 tons of supplies, over 68,000 tons of munitions, and 147,000 tons of fuel. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was a test of strength between the German Air Force and the RAF. The Dowding System was defense network that would give them a critical advantage in the Battle of Britain. The Battle of Britain was chopped up into several phases. Not all of the pilots on the force were British. The Battle of Britain was a defensive victory. -
Siege of Leningrad
German army surrounded the city of Leningrad in an extended siege beginning September. During August, German forces reached the city’s suburbs and the shores of Lake Ladoga, severing Soviet ground communications with the city.over one million civilians perished during the ensuing siege. Another 300,000 Soviet soldiers died defending the city or attempting to raise the siege. The siege lasted nearly 900 days and resulted in the deaths of more than 1 million civilians. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history. The Russians called it a “contemporary Cannae,” the Germans called it a Rat War. Soviet forces surrounded and crushed an entire German army under General Friedrich Paulus. The Soviet victory at Stalingrad was a great humiliation for Hitler, who had elevated the battle’s importance in German opinion. -
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the first time the British and Americans had jointly worked on an invasion plan together. The plan was to invade Sicily and then on to mainland Italy and move up the “soft underbelly” of Europe. Victory in the region would also do a great deal to clear the Mediterranean Sea. There were about 60,000 French troops in Morocco with a small naval fleet based at Casablanca. Operation Torch also saw the first large scale American airborne drop. -
D-day
The Battle of Normandy lasted from June to August, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. It was called Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, known as D-Day. 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. One of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. The landings were known as the beginning of the end of the war -
Battle of the Bulge
Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in the northwest with a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Three German armies launched an deadly attack in the west in the forest Ardennes. U.S. 106th Division was nearly killed but helped buy time for the defense of St.-Vith. The Germans eventually ran into a shortage of fuel which helped the Americans win. The Battle of the Bulge was the costliest action ever fought by the U.S. Army, which suffered over 100,000 casualties. -
Battle of Berlin
The Battle for Berlin all but marked the end of World War Two in Europe. The Russian victory saw the end of Hitler’s Third Reich and the occupation of the city by the Red Army. When the Red Army reached Berlin the forces had increased on both sides. 45,000 of Berlin’s defenders were either children or old age pensioners. An infantry soldier, Sergeant Shcherbina, was credited with raising the Red Flag on the top of the Reichstag which signalled the effective end of the battle.
