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Battle of France/ Miracle of Dunkirk
With the tactic of Blitzkrieg, German troops pushed allied forces out of Northern France and Belgium. This left many troops stranded. Winston Churchill then called an evacuation to get as many troops out of there as possible. Citizens then took part in this and aided the escape of the troops through providing their own private ships, fishing boats, and yachts. About 340,000 soldiers were saved through all of this. The importance of this was that it motivated British citizens to finish the war. -
Battle of Britain
Was one of the most destructive aerial battles ever fought. The Luftwaffe bombed Great Britain. The Luftwaffe was the German air force. It began when Germany sent out a bombing invasion to try and destroy the Royal Air Force so that Britain could not defend itself in the air. The British continued to defend themselves against Germany. Germany later started to bomb larger cities like London. The battle was important as it signified the first battle to be fought entirely by two air forces. -
Battle of Leningrad
Called 900 day siege. This battle was fought in the Soviet Union between German and Finnish Armies. The Germans attacked from the south and the Finnish army attacked from the north. Germany installed a blockade which blocked off food and supplies from Leningrad. This led to the starvation and death's of over 650,000 people. However, the Soviets opened a corridor and were able to defeat the Germans. The significance was that this was Germany's first major defeat of WWII. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Was between the Soviet Union and Germany. Germany was trying to expand East. The Soviet Union resisted and pushed the Germans back. The battle became between the German Red Army and the Soviet Fourth and Sixth Armies. The Soviet's continues to push the Germans back, however they did so at a high cost as the German army continued to resist. Later, a counter-offensive called Operation Uranus was able to cut deep into German lines causing a full German retreat. Was a turning point for the Allies. -
Operation Torch
This was a plan devised by American and British forces. The plan was to invade French Northern Africa. The Allied forces wanted to take the Mediterranean area to take over Axis shipping areas and use them for themselves. Since Morocco and Algeria were both part of Vichy France and it was thought that they were working with the Nazi's the Allied Powers felt it necessary to invade. This was important because it was the first operation in which the US and Great Britain collaborated in WWII. -
D-Day
American troops rushed the beaches of Normandy. 160,000 Allied troops participated in this attack. It was the biggest amphibious invasion in history. There were 13,000 ships and 5,000 aircraft's in the fight. The Allied powers won this battle. The significance is that France was finally liberated from German control -
Battle of the Bulge
Fought near Northern France. Germany marched their army through Allied territories. This was an 85 mile march in the middle of winter. The Allies then pushed the Germans all the way back. 100,000 Germans were killed and 76,000 Americans were killed or MIA. This was important because it marked another crucial German loss and Allied victory in the war. -
Battle of Berlin
Was primarily between Soviets and Germans. The Germans were not well equipped. The Soviets had double of the supplies, weapons, and soldiers that the Soviets had. The Germans had old men and young boys even fighting. Hitler raced to Berlin to beat the Soviets but when he realized he was going to lose he took his life. The importance of this event is that the war was now over and Germany had lost WWII.
