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Battle of France/ Miracle of Dunkirk
The Battle of France ended in the largest evacuation in military history. France fought with Germany, as Germany tried to take over France. In a mere 6 weeks France was beaten. When Germany invaded France, 3 French armies, what was left of the Belgian army, and the British army were trapped. The British military evacuated these people from Dunkirk. There was an estimated 469,000 casualties In the battle of France. -
Battle of Britain
Germany and the UK locked in a clash in the air over the UK. It was the largest sustained bombing campaign at the time.Germany had one successful bombing. The second time he tried to bomb London, he suffered huge losses. This was due to bad intelligence and lost moral. The Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority and lost. This was the first battle fought entirely in the air. Germany lost 1700 planes and 2662 people. -
Battle of Leningrad
The battle of Leningrad took place when German forces surrounded the city of Leningrad. To get supplies in to the people, the Soviet Union used a route over the frozen waters of Lake Ladoga. The Germans set forth a brutal siege, killing a million civilians. In January, 1943, the red army managed to open a small space of land to get supplies through. They never had success again till 1944. By then, the Germans were so weak they were driven away from the city. This was a symbolic hold in WWII. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad is marked as the turning point of WWII. This was the successful Soviet defense against Germany over the city of Stalingrad. The Germans expected the city to be defenseless, but a large army awaited them.The Soviet army surrounded and beat a whole German army. There was a large amount of fighting in the streets, but Germany lost. This loss was a great humiliation to Hitler. Nearly 2 million people died in this battle. -
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the invasion of North Africa by British and American to gain control of the Mediterranean. The task of devising a plan on the American side was given to Dwight D. Eisenhower. The British wanted to land on October 7th, but the U.S. convinced them that the 8th of November was better. Thousands of soldiers came. It took place all the way to Algiers.The allied forces only suffered 500 casualties. -
D-Day
D-Day was a month long battle that ended in the allied liberation of the Western World. 156,000 allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, making D-Day one of largest amphibious military assaults in history. It was code named Operation Overlord. Leading up to the battle, the allies lead a deception campaign to make the German's believe in a different invasion target, Pas-de-Calais. They also lead the Germans to believe that Norway was a potential target. Overall, 425,000 people died. -
Battle of the Bulge
In the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans attempted to split the Allied army in half. The Allies were caught off guard and fought desperately. It took place in the forest area of Ardennes. The battle gets its name from the bulge formation the allies took. The allies eventually thwarted the German counter offensive and stopped the battle. This battle was costly and the allies lost 100,000 men. -
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin signaled the end of WWII. The Soviet Union fought to take Berlin. The fighting turned the city to ruins. It only lasted 16 days. Hitler had killed himself on April 30th and the fighting ended 2 days later. On May 8th, WWII was over. The allies had won. The thousand year Reich was dead.
