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Battle of France/Miracle at Dunkirk
German tanks went through the Ardennes, then through the Somme valley, cutting off the British and French.
The British and French retreated to the sea.
There they fought the Battle of Dunkirk and planned an escape by boat.
They were picked up by small merchant boats and brought to several destroyers.
This was the Miracle at Dunkirk, 338,226 were rescued by the 8th day. -
Battle of Britain
An air battle over Britain, defending against the Luftwaffe.
The Germans were trying to pressure the British into signing a peace settlement.
The German's started with the British ports, shipping centers, and shipping convoys. Then attempted to incapacitate the RAF, so they bombed plane production facilities and airfields. They finally started to bomb the citizens and places of political significance.
After attempting an amphibious assault as well, an armistice was signed, a loss for Germany. -
Battle of Leningrad
Germans, Spanish and Finnish siege on the Russian city of Leningrad.
Lasted for 872 days.
One of the longest and most destructive sieges in history.
Resulted in the deaths of 1,500,000 civilians and soldiers.
People were given 125 grams of bread per day, where 50-60% of it was sawdust. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Germans attacked the Soviet city of Stalingrad with the 6th Army and the 4th Panzer Army, with support from the Luftwaffe.
After being pushed back to the Volga river, the Soviets launched Operation Uranus.
This was a two pronged attack aimed at the weaker Romanian and Hungarian armies, who were protecting the flanks of the Germans.
The smaller armies were beaten and the Germans were surrounded.
Hitler ordered for them not to surrender, fighting lasted for 2 more months, Germany loses. -
Operation Torch
The Soviets needed the British and US to attack Europe to make the Germans fight a two front war.
British commanders believed that attacking in Europe would end up with disaster.
The British and US attacked in Africa, where the Axis Afrika Korps was approaching Alexandria, Egypt.
US commanders strongly disapproved of the plan, but Roosevelt told them to follow through.
Resulted in an Allied victory. -
D-Day
"Operation Overlord".
156,000 American, British, and Canadian forces arrived on 5 beaches along the coast of France.
One of the largest amphibious assaults.
Allies had misled the Axis powers on where they planned to invade.
By August, all of France had been freed. -
Battle of the Bulge
Another German attack through the Ardennes.
Caught the Allies off guard, the US bore the brunt of the attack, with the highest casualties.
Attacked during bad weather, which had grounded the superior Allied air force.
German advance was slowed down, giving the Allies time to reinforce their lines.
Resulted in an allied victory. -
Battle of Berlin
The Soviets surrounded Berlin.
Soviets slowly took control of the city, starting in the southern suburbs of Berlin.
The German's fought their way to the west, so they could surrender to the Western Allies instead of the soviets.
Hitler committed suicide before the end of the battle.
The last major battle of the European Theater of WWII
