Battles of WWII

Battle of Dunkirk

May 26, 1940

Germany was preventing Allied troops from retreating at Dunkirk. The event was a successful evacuation of 200,000 British troops, and 140,000 French and Belgian troops. Over 100,000 British troops died in the process. Morale boost for Britain but victory for Germany. Allies were led by Maxime Weygand, Georges Blanchard ,René Prioux, J.-M. Charles Abrial, Lord Gort.

Battle of Moscow

Sep 30, 1941

Germany vs Russia. End of operation Barbarossa. Germany had 250,000-400,000 casualties. Russia had 600,000-1,300,000 casualties. Germany was led by Fedor von Bock, Heinz Guderian. Russia was led by Georgiy Zhukov, Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy. Russian victory.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Dec 7, 1941

Japan launched a surprise attack on a U.S. navy base in Pearl Harbor,Hawaii. 2400 American casualties. Attack was led by Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.

Battle of Midway

Jun 4, 1942

This battle took place 6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Between Japan and the U.S. America had roughly 360 casualties while Japan had 3,000 casualties. American victory. U.S. led by Admirals Chester W. Nimitz, Frank J. Fletcher, and Raymond A. Spruance. Japan led by Admirals Isoroku Yamamoto, Chūichi Nagumo, and Nobutake Kondō.

Battle of Stalingrad

Aug 23, 1942

Soviet Union fought against Germany. Soviet victory. German forces suffered 800,000 casualties. Soviet forces suffered over 1,000,000 casualties. Soviet forces were led by Joseph Stalin. German forces were led by General Friedrich von Paulus.

Battle of Kursk

Jul 5, 1943

Fought between Germany and the Soviet Union. Largest tank battle in history. Soviet victory. 800,000 Soviet casualties and 200,000 German casualties. Soviet Union led by Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. Germany led by Erich von Manstein.

Battle of Normandy

Jun 6, 1944

Allied forces vs Germany. Codenamed Operation Overlord. Allied forces suffered 70,000 deaths and 150,000 wounded. Germany had 30,000 deaths and 80,000 wounded. Allied victory. This began the liberation of France from German occupation. Operation led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Germany was protected by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

Battle of Bulge

Dec 16, 1944

Major German offensive against Allied forces. Allied victory. One of the bloodiest battles of the war. Germans suffered 100,000 casualties. Americans suffered 80,000 casualties. Allied victory. Allied forces led by Dwight D Eisenhower. German forces led by Gerd von Rundstedt.

Battle of Iwo Jima

Feb 19, 1945

U.S. against Japan. American forces landed and captured Iwo Jima from Japan. U.S. victory. 24,000 American casualties. 22,000 Japanese casualties. American forces led by Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Japanese forces led by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi.

Battle of Berlin

Apr 16, 1945

Fought between Russia and Germany. One of the last major offensives on the European theater. Russia had 80,000 casualties. Germany had 100,000 casualties. 125,000 civilians were killed. Russian victory. Germany was led by Hitler and Russia was led by Georgiy Zhukov.