World War II Battles European Battles

Battle of Britain (August 13-September 17, 1940) British Victory – For over a month, the skies over Britain were filled with aircraft from the British Royal Air Force defending England against the bombing raids of the German Luftwaffe. – attacks on British airfields and aircraft using a variety of fighters and bombers. – In late August, the Germans changed their tactics from bombing airfields to bombing cities, especially London.

Stalingrad Sept 12, 1942 – Jan 31, 1943 Soviet Victory – As the Germans advanced through Russia during Operation Barbarossa, they extended their lines from Leningrad in the North to Stalingrad in the south, and Stalingrad had to be taken in order to secure the Caucasus and create a route to the Middle East. – The Battle of Stalingrad saw bitter, bitter, bitter, fighting, much of it house-to-house and hand-to-hand. – With the advance stopped, the Soviets began to encircle the German army and slowly choke it off from supplies and reinforcements. – Hitler refused to allow the army to retreat from Stalingrad, sealing the fate of 100,000 men.

Normandy June 6, 1944 D-Day – June 6, 1944, saw the largest amphibious assault landing in military history. – The allies initiated a bombing campaign. – Hitler was still convinced that the Normandy invasion was a ruse, and the real invasion would come at Calais. – Deception campaign -Germans believed that U. S. General George S. Patton would lead the invasion of Europe at the Pas-de-Calais – The allies landed five divisions on five beaches. Two American divisions landed on Omaha and Utah beaches while two British divisions and one Canadian landed on Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches. Behind German lines, the allies dropped 2 American airborne divisions and one British, making eight divisions landing somewhere in France on the first day of the battle. – Omaha Beach, where the outcome was in doubt for most of the day.

Battle of the Bulge Dec 16, 1944 – Jan 16, 1945 Result – American Victory – In a desperate attempt to regain the initiative, halt the allied advance, and retake the port of Antwerp, the Germans, in December 1944, launched their last major offensive of the war. – Thirty German divisions were secretly massed in the Ardennes Forest and then thrown against a weakened American line on December 16, – Members of the 101st Airborne Division held out against the German attack, completely cutoff from reinforcements or supplies. – Patton's Third Army, fighting south of the Ardennes, disengaged from the enemy, turned north, and, within several days, engaged the Germans in the Ardennes and relieved Bastogne.

World War II Battles Mediterranean Battles

Operation Torch 1942  Allied invasion of North Africa  Attack Europe’s “soft underbelly”  Tank warfare

El Alamein Oct 23, 1942 – Nov 4, 1942 Result – British Victory – British Eighth Army and the German Afrika Corps faced each other in western Egypt. – General Erwin Rommel, commanding the Afrika Corps. – General Bernard Montgomery, commanding the British Eighth Army. – German line, which was extremely strong and well defended, especially by hundreds of thousands of land mines. The British attacked first on the Germans' left flank, achieving surprise. The Germans countered, but were unable to repel the attackers. – Rommel reinforced those areas under assault, thus leaving other parts of his line exposed. Montgomery took advantage of this and initiated another attack on November 1.

Italian Campaign  Allies move north and defeat Italy

Sicily Jul 10, 1943 – Aug 17, 1943 Result – Allied Victory – The allied invasion of Sicily began on July 10, 1943, when over 180,000 men hit the beaches or were airdropped onto the island, defended by only two German divisions. Syracuse was taken on the first day; Palermo on July 22; and Catina on August 5. – The Germans began evacuating their forces, as well as the Italians, on August 11, and were able to get off the island some 100,000 men, plus their equipment. On August 16, the Americans beat the British to Messina, located on the northeastern tip of the island. The remaining Germans evacuated on August 17.

Salerno / Anzio Sept 9, 1943 – Sept 16, 1943 Result - Allied Victory – First landing at Salerno on September 9, The landing, commanded by General Mark Clark, met little resistance in most areas, but the Germans put up a fierce fight in a few pockets and prevented the allies from moving off the beaches. – The allied invasion eventually stalled and heavy fighting ensued. However, the Germans were unable to bear the allied air attacks and began to withdraw on September 16. – The allies were then able to expand their beachhead and, within two week, enter the city of Naples. The Italian campaign had begun.

World War II Battles Pacific Battles

Pearl Harbor Dec 7, 1941 Result – Japanese Victory – On December 7, 1941, the Japanese, under the command of Admiral Yamamoto, launched a surprise attack on the American forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. – The attack inflicted heavy losses on the Americans who were caught completely unaware. Among the loses were 2,400 killed, six battleships sunk (including the USS Arizona), 3 destroyers sunk, 3 light cruisers sunk, and 164 aircraft destroyed. – Fortunately for the Americans, their aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers were at sea and remained untouched.

Coral Sea May 4, 1942 – May 8, 1942 Result – Allied Victory – The battle was carried out almost exclusively by naval aircraft on both sides. Attacks were made on each other's carriers, with the U.S. losing the Lexington and the Yorktown being seriously damaged.. – Stopped the Japanese expansion to the South

Midway June 4, 1942 – June 7, 1942 Result – American Victory – After their setback at Coral Sea, the Japanese turned their attention to one of the United States' last pacific holdings--Midway Island. – The Japanese plan was to invade Midway Island, from which the Japanese could stage an invasion of Hawaii, completely expelling the Americans from the Pacific. – The Japanese launched their attack on Midway Island on the morning of June 4, 1942, inflicting heavy damage to the island. – Japanese bombers were still on the decks of their carriers being refueled and rearmed for another attack on Midway. – The American victory at Midway was decisive, and put the Japanese on the defensive for the remainder of the war. – Stopped Japanese expansion to the East.

Bataan Death March Philippines 1942  USA v. Japan  70,000 POWs were marched 85 miles in the rainforest.  50% die  Gen. MacArthur declares “I shall retrun”  Island Hopping Begins

Guadalcanal Aug 1942 – Jan 1943 Result – American Victory – On August 7, 1942, the 1st Marine Division (U.S.) landed on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands – The Japanese responded quickly to the American landing, first by sending a naval task force which attacked an American and Australian screening force off Savo Island, sinking several American ships and an Australian ship – This action forced the American navy to withdraw, leaving the Marines on their own. Japanese continued to land more and more troops on Guadalcanal, the Americans kept gaining more territory. – By the end of January 1945, The American build up of troops exceeded 50,000 Marines and Soldiers.

Iwo Jima Feb 19 – March 27, 1945 Result – Allied Victory – On February 19, 1945, as part of its Island Hopping campaign in the Pacific, the United States landed two Marine Divisions (4th & 5th) on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima. – The goal of the invasion was to capture the island and the three airstrips it contained, and use them in the air war against the Japanese home islands. – Japanese did not resist the initial Marine landing, but instead, came out of their bunkers, which they had built to survive a 72-day naval bombardment, after the Marines were well ashore. – United States Marines lost nearly 6,000 killed and over 17,000 wounded in a campaign expected to last two weeks, but what instead took nearly a month and a half.

Okinawa Apr 1 – Jun 22, 1945 Result – American Victory – On April 1, 1945, the United States army landed on the Japanese island if Okinawa, the closest the Americans had yet been to the Japanese home islands. – The landing, under the command of Lieutenant General Simon Buckner, consisted of nearly 200,000 troops (2 Marine Divisions and 2 Army Divisions) – Okinawa saw the largest use of the Kamikazes by the Japanese since the beginning of the war. Nearly 2,000 individual sorties were launched against the invading and supporting fleets; inflicting heavy casualties (almost 5,000 sailors) and material lose (sinking over 30 ships). – The Japanese suffered over 65,000 casualties killed defending Okinawa, with the Americans losing nearly 12,500 killed, (Marines, Army, and Navy).

Leyte Ggulf Oct Phillipines  USA v. Japan  Japanese troops are defeated  Gen. MacArthur makes his return

Battle of the Atlantic (Eventually an Allied Victory) – When the allies did begin using convoys, the Germans changed their tactics from sending out individual submarines to cover a certain area or roam until they found a target to gathering several U-boats together in a wolf pack and attacking whole convoys. – The Battle of the Atlantic lasted from the beginning of the war to the end, and the prize was control of the Atlantic Ocean. The Germans deployed U-boats as their primary weapon and used them against British, American, and other allied shipping. – The wolf pack method proved successful. As the battle wore on, the allies used advances in aircraft, escort carriers, sonar, and depth charge technologies to turn the tide in their favor in the Atlantic.