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Battle at Keren
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini ordered his troops to take aggressive action which had resulted in the capture of British Somaliland and border towns in the Sudan and Kenya. In response, the British had by early February 1941 built up a force of more than two divisions in Sudan and three in Kenya. Keren was surrounded on most sides by a jumble of steep granite mountains and sharp ridges which gave the defending forces on the high ground a distinct advantage whilst providing their artillery -
Battle of Gondar
The Battle of Gondar was the last stand of the Italian forces in Italian East Africa during the Second World War.The battle took place in November 1941, during the East African Campaign.The Italian garrison of 40,000 was commanded by Generale Guglielmo Nasi.Once the Allied troops had taken the passes, they gained control of the heights overlooking the town, and the Italian garrison under Generale Nasi in the town itself was attacked on 27 November and surrendered after the Kenya Armoured Ca. -
Battle of Gazala
The Battle of Gazala was an important battle of the Second World War Western Desert Campaign, fought around the port of Tobruk in Libya from 26 May-21 June 1942. The combatants on the Axis side were the Panzer Army Afrika, consisting of German and Italian units and commanded by the "Desert Fox" Colonel-General Erwin Rommel; the Allied forces were the Eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie under the close supervision of the Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Claude Auc -
Battle of El Alamein
The First Battle of El Alamein was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought between Axis forces (Germany and Italy) of the Panzer Army Africa (Panzerarmee Afrika) commanded by Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) Erwin Rommel, and Allied (specifically, British Imperial) forces (Britain, British India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) of the British Eighth Army commanded by General Claude Auchinleck. -
Battle at Napples
The Four days of Naples refers to the popular uprising in the Italian city of Naples between 27 and 30 September 1943 against the German forces occupying the city during World War II. The occupiers were forced out by the townsfolk and the Italian Resistance before the arrival of the first Allied forces in Naples on 1 October, and for these actions the city was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor. -
Battle of Ortana
The Battle of Ortona was a small, yet extremely fierce, battle fought between a battalion of German Fallschirmjager (paratroops) from the German 1st Parachute Division under Generalleutnant Richard Heidrich, and assaulting Canadian forces from the 1st Canadian Infantry Division under Major General Chris Vokes. It was the culmination of the fighting on the Adriatic front in Italy during "Bloody December". -
BAttle of Vyborg Bay
Soviet offensive against Finns started on June 10 and managed to broke through Finnish defensive lines at Valkeasaari and Kuuterselkä already on June 15. This forced Finnish forces on the Karelian Isthmus to withdraw to the still incomplete VKT-line. Though Soviet advance forces managed to capture Viipuri on June 20 the main offensive got stuck into stubborn Finnish defense in Tali-Ihantala region. -
Batle at Monte Cassino
In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans holding the Rapido, Liri and Garigliano valleys and certain surrounding peaks and ridges, together known as the Gustav Line. The Germans had decided to not occupy or integrate the historic hilltop abbey of Monte Cassino, founded in AD 524 by Benedict of Nursia and which dominated the town of Cassino and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys into their defensive positions. They did, however, man som -
Battle of Berlin
Starting on 16 April 1945, the Red Army breached the German front as a result of the Vistula–Oder Offensive and advanced westward as much as 40 kilometres a day through East Prussia, Lower Silesia, East Pomerania, and Upper Silesia, temporarily halting on a line 60 kilometres east of Berlin along the Oder River. When the offensive resumed, two Soviet fronts attacked Berlin from the east and south, while a third overran German forces positioned north of Berlin. The Battle in Ber -
Battle of Bautzen
The battle took place during Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front push toward Berlin, which was part of the larger Soviet Berlin Offensive. The battle was fought in the town of Bautzen and the rural areas to the northeast situated primarily along the Bautzen–Niesky line. Major combat began on April 21, 1945, and continued until April 26 although isolated engagements continued to take place until April 30. The Polish Second Army under Karol Swierczewski suffered heavy losses, but
