Forum: Major Battles of WWII

Dunkirk, and the evacuation associated with the troops trapped on Dunkirk, was called a "miracle" by Winston Churchill. As the Wehrmacht swept through western Europe in the spring of 1940, using Blitzkrieg, both the French and British armies could not stop the onslaught. For the people in western Europe, World War Two was about to start for real. The "Phoney War" was now over.

The history behind Operation Overlord started as early as the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 when Winston Churchill realised that an invasion of ‘Fortress Europe’ would be needed if Hitler was to be expelled from France and he ordered that planning should start with due speed. The rest is history...

The Battle of Stalingrad is considered by many historians to have been the turning point in World War II in Europe. The battle at Stalingrad bled the German army dry in Russia and after this defeat, the Germany Army was in full retreat. Stalingrad was Russia’s centre of communications in the south as well as being a centre for manufacturing.

The Battle of Britain took place between August and September 1940. After the success of Blitzkrieg, the evacuation of Dunkirk and the surrender of France, Britain was by herself. The Battle of Britain remains one of the most famous battles of World War Two.

The Battle of El Alamein, fought in the deserts of North Africa, is seen as one of the decisive victories of World War II. El Alamein was primarily fought between two of the outstanding commanders of World War Two, Montgomery, and Rommel. The Allied victory at El Alamein lead to the retreat of the Afrika Korps and the German surrender in North Africa in May 1943.

An airborne landing at Arnhem was a plan to end World War II early. The plan had its critics most notably in the American camp who believed that the supplies needed for the attack would be taken away from their drive towards the Rhine, some also saw the attack on Arnhem as an attack that went a 'bridge too far'.

The attack on Monte Cassino was a bloody affair and one that was dubbed the Stalingrad of the Italian front. Monte Cassino effectively blocked the Allies route north to Rome and had to be taken despite the difficulties of doing so from a military point of view.

The Battle of the Bulge, fought over the winter months of 1944-1945, was the last major Nazi offensive against the Allies in World War II. The battle was a last ditch attempt by Hitler to split the Allies in two in their drive towards Germany and destroy their ability to supply themselves.

The Battle for Berlin all but marked the end of World War II in Europe. It was fought between April and May 1945, and the Russian victory saw the end of Hitler's Third Reich and the occupation of the city by the Red Army before it was divided into four as a result of the wartime meetings between the Allies.

The Battle of Hurtgen Forest is the name given to the series of fierce battles fought between U.S. and German forces during World War II in the Hurtgen Forest, which became the longest battle on German ground during World War II, and the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought in its history.

The Battle of Kursk took place in July 1943. Kursk was to be the biggest tank battle of World War II and the battle resulted in a severe crisis for Nazi Germany’s war machine in Russia.

The Battle of the Ruhr was a five month long campaign fought primarily by RAF Bomber Command against the major industrial area of Germany between March and July 1943.

War in the Pacific made the Second World War truly global. The sheer massive power of America overwhelmed Japan once the USA got itself fully organised. Her ability to produce war goods and her man power totally outstripped Japan.

Poland was attacked by Germany on September 1st 1939. The German attack was code-named Operation White (Fall Weiss). The attack on Poland started at 04.45 hours when blitzkrieg tore through the Polish military and by the end of the month Poland had surrendered to the Germans and the country was occupied.