Major Battles of World War II

Battle Start Date Description

This was the longest contin o s militar! campaign in World War II, r nning from 1939 to the defeat of "erman! in 19#$% At its core was the Allied na&al bloc'ade of "erman!, anno nced the da! after the declaration of war, and "erman!(s s bse) ent co nter*bloc'ade% To deli&er food and s pplies, merchant ships wo ld form con&o!s, often escorted b! American warships% The "ermans wo ld attac' with as man! as 3+ s bmarines ,called wolf pac's-% When the .%S% entered the war the "ermans began attac'ing American merchant ships off the American coast% After in&ading 0rance, "erman! decided to in&ade "reat Britain% The "erman air force began its mass bomber attac's on British radar stations, aircraft factories and fighter airfields% This attac' was followed b! dail! raids on Britain% The 1o!al Air 0orce was close to defeat b t Adolf 2itler then changed his tactics and ordered the 3 ftwaffe to switch its attac' from British airfields, factories and doc's to ci&ilian targets% The Blit4 bro ght an end to the Battle of Britain% 5 ring the conflict the 1o!al Air 0orce lost 69/ planes and the 3 ftwaffe 1,379% An estimated $## were 'illed and a f rther 691 lost their li&es in the co rse of their d ties before the war came to an end% The "erman air force changed its strateg! and began to concentrate on bombing 3ondon% 8n the first da! of the Blit4 'illed #3+ citi4ens and 1,9++ were se&erel! inj red% The "erman bombers ret rned the ne:t da! and a f rther #1/ died% Between September 19#+ and Ma! 19#1, the 3 ftwaffe made 1/6 large*scale night raids% 5 ring the Blit4 some two million ho ses ,9+ per cent of these in 3ondon- were destro!ed and 9+,+++ ci&ilians were 'illed and 76,+++ were serio sl! inj red% In April, 19#+, the .S 0leet had been sent to ;earl 2arbor to deter aggressi&e mo&es b! <apan in the ;acific% In <an ar! 19#1, the =ommander in =hief of the <apanese =ombined 0leet, Admiral Isor ' >amamoto began planning for a s rprise attac' on the .S ?a&! at ;earl 2arbor% >amamoto feared that he did not ha&e the reso rces to win a long war against the .nited States% ?ag mo(s fleet was positioned /6$ miles north of 8ah % 8n S nda!, 6th 5ecember, 19#1, 1+$ high*le&el bombers, 13$ di&e*bombers and 71 fighter aircraft attac'ed the the .S 0leet at ;earl 2arbor% In their first attac' the <apanese s n' the Arizona, Oklahoma, West Virginia and California% The second attac', la nched #$ min tes later, hampered b! smo'e, created less damage% In two ho rs 17 warships, 177 aircraft and /,#+3 ser&icemen were lost in the attac'% 3 c'il!, the na&!(s three aircraft carriers, Enterprise, Lexington, and Saratoga, were all at sea at the time% The following da!, ;resident 0ran'lin 5% 1oose&elt and a nited .S =ongress declared war on <apan% A largel! American na&al gro p halted the <apanese ad&ance% It was the first na&al combat carried o t entirel! b! aircraft, meaning the enem! ships ne&er came into contact with one another% In the fi&e da! battle both sides lost abo t half of their aircrafts and the Americans lost one ship, with another badl! damaged% The <apanese fleet also s ffered losses of ships% The battle was a draw@ howe&er it pre&ented the <apanese from establishing basis needed to in&ade A stralia%

Battle of the September 3, 1939 Atlantic

Battle of Britain

A g st 1/, 19#+

The Blit4

September 6, 19#+

;earl 2arbor

5ecember 6, 19#1

Battle of the Ma! #, 19#/ =oral Sea

Battle of Midwa!

A g st 6, 19#/

In 19#/ Admiral Isor ' >amamoto decided to tr! and capt re the .S base on Midwa! Island% 2is goal was destro! the remaining parts of the .%S% ?a&! fleet in the ;acific% 8n 3rd < ne, 19#/, 1++ aircraft from ?ag mo(s carrier force bombed Midwa!% The .S Marine fighters were o tn mbered and were nable to stop e:tensi&e damage being ca sed% While the <apanese aircraft were being rearmed the! were attac'ed b! carrier planes from Spr ance(s Tas' 0orce% The .%S% fleet was able to sin' the fo r <apanese aircraft carriers% This de&astated the <apanese na&al power and res lted in their inabilit! to la nch an!more offensi&e assa lts% 0ollowing Midwa!, the Allies too' an offensi&e approach to the ;acific% The goal was to capt re the Solomon Islands, a gro p of islands in Western ;acific, east of ?ew " inea% 8n A g st 6th, 19,+++ .%S% Marines landed on the island% There were months of fighting, b t b! ?o&ember the .%S% ?a&! controlled the waters aro nd the island% This was American soldiersA first e:perience with j ngle warfare% When the <apanese finall! left it went nnoticed ntil their abandoned boats and camps were fo nd% It is estimated that the <apanese Arm! lost more than /$,+++ men d ring the str ggle for the Solomon Islands% In September 19#/, the "ermans began bombing Stalingrad that lasted two months% The So&iet Arm! decided to engage the "erman troops to stop their ad&ance and sei4e control of the cit!% In ?o&ember, the So&iets too' ad&antage of the cold weather to s rro nd the "erman Arm!% In <an ar!, 9+,+++ s r&i&ing "erman s s rrendered% Mar'ed b! constant close ) arters combat and disregard for militar! and ci&ilian cas alties, it is among the bloodiest battles in the histor! of warfare% It was a t rning point in the B ropean theatre of World War IICthe "erman forces ne&er regained the initiati&e in the Bast and withdrew a &ast militar! force from the West to reinforce their losses% "erman! lost 33+,+++ troops and it is n'nown how man! cas alties the So&iet .nion e:perienced% In ?o&ember, 19#3, <oseph Stalin, Winston =h rchill and 0ran'lin 5% 1oose&elt met together in Teheran, Iran, to disc ss militar! strateg! and post* war B rope% B&er since the So&iet .nion had entered the war, Stalin had been demanding that the Allies open* p a second front in B rope% =h rchill and 1oose&elt arg ed that an! attempt to land troops in Western B rope wo ld res lt in hea&! cas alties% .ntil the So&iet(s &ictor! at Stalingrad in <an ar!, 19#3, Stalin had feared that witho t a second front, "erman! wo ld defeat them% The plan in&ol&ed assa lts on fi&e beaches west of the 8rne 1i&er near =aen b! the British /nd Arm! and the American 1st Arm!% 0ollow* p forces incl ded the =anadian 1st Arm! and the American 3rd Arm!% 8n 9th < ne, 19##, /,6/6 ships sailed to the ?ormand! coast and on the first da! landed 1$9,+++ men on a front of thirt! miles% It was the largest and most powerf l armada that has e&er sailed% The Allied in&asion was faced b! $+ di&isions of the "erman Arm!% At 8maha, steep cliffs fa&ored the defenders and the .S Arm! s ffered /,$++ cas alties% The Allies also sent in three airborne di&isions, two American and one British, to prepare for the main assa lt b! ta'ing certain strategic points and b! disr pting "erman comm nications% 8f the /3,+++ airborne troops, 1$,$++ were Americans and of these, 9,+++ were 'illed or serio sl! wo nded% 8&er the ne:t co ple of da!s 1$9,/1$ troops were landed from sea and air in ?ormand!, at a cost of some 1+,3++ cas alties%

A g st 6, 19#/ Battle of " adalcanal

Battle of Stalingrad

A g st /3, 19#/

5*5a!

< ne 9, 19##

Battle of the 5ecember 19, 19## B lge

0ollowing the 5*5a! in&asion, in A g st 19##, American troops liberated ;aris% The British and =anadian forces freed Br ssels and Antwerp, followed b! 2olland and the Americans crossing the western border into "erman!% To defend "erman!, the ?a4is la nched a co nterattac' in Belgi m and 3 :embo rg, 'nown as the Battle of the B lge% The Americans were o&erwhelmed and some nits were c t off and separated from the arm!% When American troops were called to reinforce the efforts in "erman!, the most notable effort was that of "eneral ;atton, who mo&ed /$+,+++ troops from western 0rance in a few da!s to help% This battle was the largest in Western B rope d ring WWII and the largest e&er fo ght b! the .%S% Arm!% There were 7+,+++ Americans 'illed, wo nded, or capt red and 1++,+++ "erman losses% After the battle, most of the ?a4is leaders 'new that the war was lost% At the beginning of 19#$ "eneral 5o glas MacArth r, S preme =ommander of the So thwest ;acific Area, decided to tr! and capt re the small &olcanic island of Iwo <ima that at the time was being defended b! /+,+++ &eterans of the <apanese Special ?a&al 3anding 0orce% The roc'! and steep terrain with ca&es and t nnels helped the <apanese defend the island with so few soldiers% 8n 19th 0ebr ar!, American soldiers began landing on the island% 8&er /$+,+++ men and 9++ ships were in&ol&ed in this amphibio s operation% The main objecti&e was to capt re the island(s three airstrips and to obtain a forward air base for the planned Allied attac' on the <apanese home territories% The .S Marines managed to capt re Mo nt S ribachi in three da!s b t strong resistance from the <apanese meant that the second airstrip at Moto!ama was not won ntil /7th 0ebr ar!, 19#$% The final stage of the fighting too' place in the fortified hills and these last defensi&e positions were not ta'en ntil 1+th March% The American forces also s ffered d ring the bitter fighting on the island with $,391 Marines 'illed and 16,#++ wo nded, ma'ing it one of the bloodiest battles of the war% The .nited States Arm! Air 0orce was now able to se the island to la nch bombing attac's on <apan% After the capt re of Iwo <ima in March, 19#$, "eneral 5o glas MacArth r, S preme =ommander of the So thwest ;acific Area, t rned his attentions to the island of 8'inawa% It offered e:cellent harbor, airfield and troop*staging facilities% It was a perfect base from which to la nch a major assa lt on <apan, b t was hea&il! defended% After a fo r da! bombardment the 1,3++ ship in&asion forced mo&ed into position off the west coast of 8'inawa on 1st April 19#$%With as man! as 3++,+++ in&ol&ed ,second onl! to ?ormand!- the Americans and British tried to p sh the <apanese from the island% In < ne, the <apanese finall! s rrendered% 8f the 1++,+++ <apanese that defended the island, onl! 6,/++ remained% The American forces lost $+,+++, ma'ing it the costliest battle in the pacific%

Battle of Iwo <ima

0ebr ar! 19, 19#$

Battle of 8'inawa

April 1, 19#$