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Battle of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was an evacuation. This occurred from May 26-June 4, 1940. Allied powers including Great Britain evacuated the seaport of Dunkirk. This is sometimes known as the phony war due to the Allies retreating. There were still around 25,000 casualties, but this was nothing compared to some battles of World War 2. Maxime Weygand, Georges Blanchard, René Prioux, J.-M. Charles Abrial, and Lord Gort were the Allied leaders, and Gerd von Rundstedt was the German leader. -
Battle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow lasted from September 30, 1941 until January 7, 1942. This again was a battle between Germany and the Soviet Union, but this battle ended with around 1.3 million casualties. Fedor von Bock and Heinz Guderian were the leaders for Germany and Georgiy Zhukov and Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy were the Soviet leaders. A Soviet victory ended Operation Barbarossa and Soviet counterattacks on Germany began after they failed to seize Moscow. This battle was a key one in World War 2. -
Pearl Harbor
The attack of Pearl Harbor is a day to remember, especially for Americans. This attack included Japan, the attacker, and the United States. A total of 2,403 United States citizens were killed and 1,178 were wounded. In addition, 129 Japanese soldiers were killed. Walter Short and Husband E. Kimmel were the American leaders, and Isoroku Yamamoto and Chūichi Nagumo were the Japanese leaders. This attack resulted in the United States becoming involved in World War 2. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway lasted three days, and was fought between Japan and the United States. Japan lost 3,000 sailors in this battle, while the U.S. only lost 317. Japan also lost a lot of key material, and this was a huge win for the United States. Admirals Chester W. Nimitz, Frank J. Fletcher, and Raymond A Spruance led the way for the United States, and admirals Isoroku Yamamoto, Chūichi Nagumo, and Nobutake Kondō led the way for Japan. The United States won a key battle, and Japan lost a lot. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad lasted around 5 months, and was fought between Germany and the Soviet Union. There were around 2 million total casualties, and this battle was one of the deadliest. General Vasily Chuikov and General Mikhail Shumilov led the way for the Soviets, and Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus led the way for the Germans. The Soviets came out on top, and this was a huge blow to the Germans. -
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place from July 5-August 23, 1943. The groups that were involved included Germany and the Soviet Union, and there were a total of around 1 million casualties. The Russian leaders were Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov and Konstantin Rokossovsky, and the German leaders were Erich von Manstein and Erich von Manstein. The Soviet Union came out victorious and ended Hitler's dream of conquering Russia. Germany was unable to break through the Red Army's defense. -
Normandy Invasion
The Normandy Invasion lasted three days, and the Allied powers came together in order to perform it. Around 73,000 Allied forces were killed and 153,000 were injured. General Dwight D. Eisenhower led the Allies, and would also become the president of the United States. The Allies defeated Nazi Germany in this invasion. The Normandy Invasion has some more common names. It is known as D-Day and Operation Overload to most people. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge lasted exactly a month and was fought between the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany. The United States lost 19,000 men and had a total of 75,000 casualties. This was the deadliest single war for the United States in World War 2. Dwight D. Eisenhower led the Allies into this battle, and the Allies would come out victorious. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima is where the iconic picture of the U.S. soldiers putting the flag into the ground comes from. The Battle was fought between Japan and the United States, and if you didn't already know the United States would walk out on top, again. There were around 25,000 total casualties, and most of them were on the Japanese side. Spruance, USN, was the operation's overall commander. This battle was when World War 2 was winding down, and the United States victory was for sure a big one. -
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin took place from April 20-May 2, 1945. This was a battle between Germany and the Soviet Union, and this resulted in around 130,000 deaths. Georgy Zhukov was the Soviet Union's leader and Adolf Hitler was Germany's leader. The Soviets came out on top, and this was one of the final battles of World War 2. Hitler did believe there was still hope to regain Berlin, but there was not.