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Period: to
WW2
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Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was a campaign led from September 3rd 1939 to May 8th 1945 where the Allies fought against Germany in order to create a blockade for Atlantic Ocean sea routes. The Axis responds with a counter-blockade where they use submarines which was successful at first, however the Allies ended up with the upper hand using convoys, aircraft and technology. At it's end, the Battle of the Atlantic had over 100'000 casualties. -
Battle of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was fought from May 26th to June 4th of 1940. It was fought between the Allies and Nazi Germany.
The Battle of Dunkirk was intended to maroon Allied forces however using Operation Dynamo they were able to evacuate it due to Hitler pausing the advance. It was still a German victory, because the Allies who remained surrendered. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was an attack on Britain from Germany that lasted from July 10th to October 31st of 1940. It was significant because it was one of the first battles fought nearly completely in the air. Germany attacked in order to lower morale so that England may surrender however they fought back and were not willing to surrender. Germany was unable to destroy the RAF and Britain was able to regroup and defeat Germany. The battle ended with about 2,000 casualties. -
Battle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow was a fight between the Soviets and the Axis from October 2nd 1941 to January 7th 1942. The Axis attempted to take Russia's capital before the winter came. The Soviets fortified the city and brought reinforcements knowing the Axis was coming to attack. After a long back and forth, Germany is eventually forced to retreat. At the end of the battle, there were nearly 2,000,000 casualties on either side. -
Battle of Wake Island
The Battle of Wake Island was a conflict lasting from December 8th through the 23rd of 1941. It was fought between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the U.S. Marines along with some civilian defenders. Japan first bombed the island, however the Marines stationed there still fought while the workers supported them in any way possible. After Japan sacrificing many things to gain control, they were eventually able to capture wake island. There were 1,000 Japanese casualties and 136 Marine casualties. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a 3 day battle (June 4-7 1942) where America got one of their most important naval wins against Japan. Japan was focused on Midway and America was able to attack with dive bombers and other U.S. forces and ended up being able to sink 4 Japanese aircraft carries and it served as a turning point of the conflict. The Japanese suffered 3,057 casualties while the United States endured 362. -
Battle of the Guadalcanal Campaign
The Battle of the Guadalcanal lasted from August 7th 1942 to February 9th 1943, between the Japanese and U.S. forces. Japan had built a strategic airfield on Guadalcanal where the United States launched a surprise attack in order to capture the airfield, where the Japanese were forced to retreat until later receiving reinforcements which Japan used to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Allies in the jungles. Eventually the Japanese were forced to retreat, suffering 31,000 casualties. -
Battle of Stalingrad (Turning Point)
The Battle of Stalingrad was a clash between Russia and Germany spanning from August 23rd 1942 to February 2nd 1943. It was a significant battle because it tipped the war in the favor of the Allies by defending the city of Stalingrad and ending the press on eastern Europe and creating the first decisive defeat. It ended with nearly 2,000,000 casualties. -
Operation Overlord (Turning Point)
Operation Overlord, or D-Day was a siege on Normandy where 156,000 Ally troops pushed 5 different beaches along a 50 mile stretch. It lasted from June to August of 1944. The Assault was one of the biggest amphibious military raids in all of history. By late August, Northern France had been freed from German control. It is significant as a battle because it is generally considered to be the beginning of the end on the European side of the war. There were 9,000+ Ally casualties during the landing. -
Battle of Guam
The Battle of Guam lasted from the 21st of July to the 10th of August, 1944. It was fought between the U.S. and Japan. The U.S. liberated American territory and gained airfields and harbors. The Japanese in Guam essentially fought to the last man however America eventually won. American had 1,700 dead and 6,000 wounded in casualty tolls while Japanese deaths totalled around 18,000. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a last stand from Germany against the Allied powers spanning from December 16th, 1944 to January 25th, 1945. It was fought in a vicious German winter environment where Hitler's troops launched a final counter-attack trying to split the lines of the Allies. The Germans created a "bulge" through American defensive lines. The Germans had a brief success however the Allies regained control after a Christmas day airstrike. The battle had total of nearly 200,000 casualties. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was fought between the United States and Japan from April 1st to June 22nd, 1945. This was World War 2's final major battle in which the U.S. invades Okinawa in order to execute airstrikes against Japan and create a blockade. Japan's counter measure was to use Kamikaze attacks in which they sunk 26 ally ships and damaged almost 170 more. America eventually overpowered the Japanese and the siege ended with 12,000 American casualties and 250,000 total Japanese casualties.