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German Invasion of Poland
Where: Poland
Who: Germany, Soviet Union, and Poland
Importance: Marked the official beginning of WW2. Showed Hitler’s blitzkrieg strategy. Showed Germany’s ability to combine air power and armor in a new kind of mobile warfare.
End Result: Poland was divided between Germany and Soviet Union. -
Battle of Belgium
Where: Belgium and Luxembourg
Who: Belgium and Germany
Importance: The Germans decided to enter by force and invaded Belgium, and this violated the Treaty of London, and this caused Great Britain to enter the war.
End Result: The Belgian army surrendered, and Nazi Germany took over it. Germany also forced the Allied forces back to sea. -
Battle of Britain
Where: United Kingdom
Who: Poland, Australia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, France, US, Britain against Germany
Importance: The first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces. Was the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign until then. Marked the first defeat of Hitler’s military forces. Hitler called off his invasion and both sides suffered enormous losses of life and aircrafts. Britain weakened the Luftwaffe and prevented Germany from getting air superiority. -
Battle of Crete
Where: Crete Region, Greece
Who: New Zealand, Britain, Australia, and Greece against Germans
Importance: The Battle of Crete was the first battle of WW2 in which civilians fought the Nazis during an invasion. It was a turning point of the war.
End Result: The casualties were devastating for the Nazis, but they still one. Over 5500 Germans were killed and the overall casualties were over 25% of the forces they committed. -
Operation Barbarossa
Where: Central, Northeast, and Eastern Europe
Who: Germany, Romania, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia against Soviet Union
Importance: Was the crucial turning point in WW2 because its failure forced Germany to fight a war on two fronts. It's considered one of the largest military operations in the history of modern warfare. Germans suffered 750,000 casualties and more than 800,000 Soviets had been killed and 6 million Soviet’s were MIA or wounded. -
Pearl Harbor
Where: US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory
Who: US and Japan
Importance: The main significance of the Pearl Harbor attack was that it was the reason that the US went into WW2. It also galvanized the American people and unified them.
End Result: The US entered WW2 and declared war on Japan, which then caused Germany and Italy to declare war against the US. Also, 2403 Americans were killed and 1143 were wounded. -
Battle of Stalingrad
When: August 23 1942-February 2 1943
Where: Stalingrad in Southern Russia
Who: Germany and its allies against the Soviet Union
Importance: Was the largest confrontation of WW2. Marked the end of Germany’s advances into Eastern Europe and Russia. Put Hitler on defensive mode and increased Russian confidence.
End Result: Russia won the battle and Hitler retreated and went into defensive mode. The death toll was great with 850,000 Axis soldiers and a million Soviet soldiers MIA. -
Battle of Kursk
Where: Kursk, Russia
Who: Germany and Soviet Union
Importance: Biggest tank battle in history.. Resulted in a great crisis for Germany’s war machines in Russia. Arguably was the most important battle that turned the tide against Germany.
End Result: The Soviets won and this ended Hitler's dream of taking over Russia. Germans lost 200,000 casualties while Soviets lost 860,000 -
Battle of Normandy
Where: Normandy, France
Who: Britain, America, France, and Canada attacked Germany
Importance: This invasion turned the tide against Germany and prevented Hitler from sending his troops from France to build up his Eastern Front against the Soviets.
End Result: The Allies had won the battle. The following spring, May 8, 1945, the Allies accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany, and Hitler committed suicide a week earlier. It turned the tide for WW2. -
Battle of Berlin
Where: Berlin, Germany
Who: Soviet Union, Germany, Poland
Importance: The Battle of Berlin was the last major battle in Europe during WW2. It resulted in the surrender of the German army and led to an end of Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship.
End Result: The German army surrendered and Adolf Hitler committed suicide.
