Major Battles of WWII

Battle of El Alamein (1942) Allied troops forced back German advances as they tried to get to Egypt through North Africa This ultimately leads to a German surrender of African lands, as General Rommel unsuccessfully tried to take the Suez Canal and gain access to middle eastern oil fields

Battle of Midway (July 1942) Japanese fleet attempted to take over the island of Midway in the Pacific Ocean Americans were outnumbered 4 to 1, but used the element of surprise to get the advantage over the Japanese Japanese fleet was crippled and forced to withdraw

Battle of Stalingrad (1942-43) Germans tried to take the city of Stalingrad in the Soviet Union This was considered to be a major “slap in the face” to Stalin, so the Soviets strongly defended this city Russian troops and freezing weather forced the German troops to surrender

Battle of Guadalcanal (August 1942-February 1943) 19,000 Allied troops landed at Guadalcanal, an island in the Pacific Ocean and caught the Japanese unprepared 6 months of fighting lead to the Japanese losing 23,000 of 36,000 men Japan abandoned the island, which they renamed “the island of death”

Invasion of Italy (1943) British and American troops landed in Sicily and go onto mainland Italy Hitler is forced to send troops to aid his Italian allies Germans were hurting in the South with the Allies, in the East with the Russians, and were not looking for a hit in the West

Invasion of Normandy (June 6, 1944) “D-Day” or Operation Overlord Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy in France British and Canadian land at Sword Beach, Juno Beach, Gold Beach Americans land at Omaha and Utah Beach They eventually free France from Nazi control August 25, 1944  Paris is liberated and Allies push on into Germany and to Berlin

Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 1944 – Jan. 1945) Major German offensive launched following the success of the Allies in Germany The Germans succeeded in greatly surprising an already weakened Allied force in the Ardennes (Belgium) However, reinforcements, including General Patton’s men, and improving weather helped the Allies to defeat this German attack Considered the largest and bloodiest battle for the American troops

Battle of Iwo Jima (February 19 – March 26, 1945) American troops fought for control of the pacific island of Iwo Jima and the three airfields located on the island The Americans had over 70,000 men compared to the Japanese 18,500 The Americans succeeded in taking the island and this was considered a heavy blow to the Japanese army

A Global War