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battle of fort capuzzo
Within a week of Italy's 10 June 1940 declaration of war upon Britain, the British Army's 11th Hussars (assisted by elements of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and supported by Gladiators of No. 33 Squadron and Blenheims of No. 211 Squadron[1]) captured Fort Capuzzo. A few days later, the Italian 1st Blackshirt Division recaptured it during an attack which reached Sidi Barrani, Egypt. In December, the Western Desert Force regained the Fort during Operation Compass. It was then re-captured by Ge -
Battle of Britian
The Battle of Britian is the name given to the second World War air campaign waged by German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and aurumn of 1940. -
battle of gabon
On 8 October 1940, General de Gaulle arrived in Douala. On 12 October, he authorized plans for the invasion of French Equatorial Africa. De Gaulle also wanted to use French Equatorial Africa as a base to launch attacks into Axis-controlled Libya. For this reason, he personally headed northward to survey the situation in Chad, located on the southern border of Libya. On 27 October, Free French forces crossed into French Equatorial Africa and took the town of Mitzic. On 5 November, the Vichy -
Battle of Greece
At the time of the German invasion, Greece was already at war with Italy, following the Italian invasion on 28 October 1940. Greece successfully defeated the initial attack and the counterattack of March 1941. When Operation Marita began on 6 April, the bulk of the Greek army was on the Albanian border, from which the Italians were trying to enter Greece. German troops invaded through Bulgaria, creating a second front. Greece had already received a small reinforcement from British Commonwealth f -
Invasion of Yugoslavia
The invasion commenced with an overwhelming air attack on Belgrade and facilities of the Yugoslav Royal Air Force by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and attacks by German land forces from southwestern Bulgaria. These attacks were followed by German thrusts from Romania, Hungary and the Third Reich (modern-day Austria). Italian forces were limited to air and artillery attacks until 11 April, when the Italian army attacked towards Ljubljana (in modern-day Slovenia and through Istria and Lika and -
battle of crete
The Battle of Crete was unprecedented in three respects: it was not only the first battle where the German paratroops (Fallschirmjäger) were used on a massive scale, but also the first mainly airborne invasion in military history;[7] the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from the deciphered German Enigma code; and the first time invading German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population. Because of the heavy casualties suffered by the paratroopers, Ado -
battle of midway
The Japanese operation, like the earlier attack on Pearl Harbor, sought to eliminate the United States as a strategic power in the Pacific, thereby giving Japan a free hand in establishing its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The Japanese hoped that another demoralizing defeat would force the U.S. to capitulate in the Pacific War and thus ensure Japanese dominance in the Pacific.The Japanese plan was to lure the United States' aircraft carriers into a trap.[11] The Japanese also in -
North West Africa- Operation Torch
When the U.S. and British strategists had decided on “Torch” (Allied landings on the western coast of North Africa) late in July 1942, it remained to settle the practical details of the operation. The purpose of “Torch” was to hem Rommel’s forces in between U.S. troops on the west and British troops to the east. After considerable discussion, it was finally agreed that landings, under the supreme command of Major General Dwight D. Eisenhower, should be made on November 8 at three places in the v -
battle of hill 609
Hill 609 was the key to the German defensive line facing the American II Corps. The German general Von Arnim used the hill for artillery fire and observation. From the hill, the Germans could also prevent movement by both the 1st Division to the south and the 9th Division to the north. Hill 609 was deemed one of the most difficult objectives in Tunisia, not only protected by steep slopes and artillery but also by fire from nearby high grounds, which gave the Germans a cross fire on the slopes le -
allied invasion of sicily
Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943, and ended 17 August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners. The Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island; the Mediterranean's sea lanes were opened and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was toppled from power. It opened the way to the Allied invasion of sicily. -
battle of Leros
The Battle of Leros (Greek: Μάχη της Λέρου) was the central event of the Dodecanese Campaign of the Second World War, and is widely used as an alternate name for the whole campaign. Leros was occupied by British forces on 15 September 1943. The battle began with German air attacks on 26 September, continued with the landings on 12 November, and ended with the capitulation of the Allied forces four days later. -
D-Day
June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wou -
battle of Rimini
The Battle of Rimini took place in between 13 and 21 September 1944 during Operation Olive, the main Allied offensive on the Gothic Line in August and September 1944, part of the Italian Campaign in the Second World War. Rimini, a town on the Adriatic coast of Italy, anchored the Rimini Line, a German defensive line which was the third such line forming the Gothic Line defenses. Rimini, which had been hit previously by air raids, had 1,470,000 rounds fired against it by allied land forces. Accor -
V-E day (victory over Europe)
On Mar. 7, 1945, the Western Allies—whose chief commanders in the field were Omar N. Bradley and Bernard Law Montgomery—crossed the Rhine after having smashed through the strongly fortified Siegfried Line and overran West Germany. German collapse came after the meeting (Apr. 25) of the Western and Russian armies at Torgau in Saxony, and after Hitler's death amid the ruins of Berlin, which was falling to the Russians under marshals Zhukov and Konev. The unconditional surrender of Germany was sign -
V-J day (Victory over Japan)
Victory over Japan Day (also known as Victory in the Pacific Day, V-J Day, or V-P Day) is a name chosen for the day on which Japan surrendered, effectively ending World War II, and subsequent anniversaries of that event. The term has been applied to both of the days on which the initial announcement of Japan's surrender was made – to the afternoon of August 15, 1945, in Japan, and, because of time zone differences, to August 14, 1945 (when it was announced in the United States and the rest of th
