List of military engagements of World War II
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This is a List of military engagements of World War II which encompasses land, naval, and air engagements as well as campaigns, operations, defensive lines and sieges. Campaigns generally refer to broader strategic operations conducted over a large bit of territory and over a long period of time. Battles generally refer to short periods of intense combat localised to a specific area and over a specific period of time. However, use of the terms in naming such events is not consistent. For example, the Battle of the Atlantic was more or less an entire theatre of war, and the so-called battle lasted for the duration of the entire war. Another misnomer is the Battle of Britain, which by all rights should be considered a campaign, not a mere battle.
Contents |
- Blitzkrieg
- Invasion of Poland (Operation Fall Weiss) - see Timeline of the Polish September Campaign
- Phony War
- Norwegian Campaign - see also Timeline of the Norwegian Campaign
- Invasion of Denmark and Norway (Operation Weserübung)
- Allied campaign in Norway
- Battle of France (Fall Gelb)
- Battle of Britain ( + Operation Sealion, The German plan for invasion of Britain: Unternehmen Seelöwe )
- Balkans and Greece (Operation Marita)
- Eastern Front
- German invasion of Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa)
- Continuation War - The Russo-Finnish continuation of the Winter War
- Yugoslavian Front
- Western Front
- Italian Campaign
- Battle of Normandy (Operation Overlord, ETO: Normandy Campaign)
- Northern France Campaign
- Southern France Campaign (Operation Dragoon)
- Battle of the Siegfried Line (ETO: Rhineland Campaign, Ardennes-Alsace Campaign)
- Second Sino-Japanese War
- American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
- Pacific Theater of Operations
- South-East Asian Theatre
- Soviet Manchurian Campaign 1945 (Operation August Storm)
- Battle of the Mediterranean
- East African Campaign
- North African campaign The Desert War
- West African campaign
- Balkans Campaign
- Yugoslavian Front
- Italian Campaign
- Invasion of Poland
- Saar Offensive - the French attack on Saarland
- Winter War
- Battle of Changsha (1939) - Second Chinese-Japanese War
- Battle of the River Plate - Admiral Graf Spee chased into Montevideo harbour and scuttled
- Battle of the Atlantic - the name given to the conflicts in the Atlantic Ocean between 1940 and 1945.
- Winter War
- Battle of Kollaa
- Battle of Honkaniemi - The only tank battle during the Winter War.
- Battle of Narvik - A minor Allied victory in the arctic.
- Battle of Namsos - A failed Allied attempt to halt the Germans in Norway.
- Battle of the Netherlands - "Fall Gelb", Germany takes the Netherlands, the Dutch are defeated in Europe.
- Battle of Belgium - "Fall Gelb", Germany takes Belgium with an incredible air raid.
- Battle of France - "Fall Gelb", Germany takes France, British Expeditionary Force and French Army Defeated.
- Battle of French Indochina - Japanese successfull invasion of French Indochina.
- Battle of Dunkirk - "Dynamo", Escape of defeated British Expeditionary Force.
- Battle of Britain - Germany tries to bomb Britain into submission, RAF defends with fighters.
- Greco-Italian War - Italian forces invade Greece from Albania, and are beaten back.
- Battle of Taranto - British carrier-based planes destroy Italian fleet in Taranto Harbor.
- Battle of Hundred Regiments - Major engagement of the Chinese Communist Army against the Japanese Imperial Army.
- Battle of Cape Matapan - British fleet defeats Italian fleet.
- Battle of Denmark Strait - Bismarck sinks HMS Hood
- Invasion of Yugoslavia - Germany and her allies invade Yugoslavia
- Battle of Greece - Germany invades Greece via Bulgaria
- Battle of Crete - German paratroopers capture Crete, suffering many casualties.
- Operation Barbarossa - German invasion of the Soviet Union
- Battle of Smolensk - First major, temporary, German reverses before Soviet counterattacks.
- Battle of Kiev (1941)
- Battle of Moscow - Soviet defenders drive back German Army Group Centre (1941-1942)
- Battle of Pearl Harbor - Japanese destroy US Fleet in surprise attack
- Battle of Singapore - Japanese torpedo craft sink HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse.
- Battle of Changsha (1941) - Second Chinese-Japanese War
- Battle of Pien Khirikhan - Japan has successfully invaded Thailand.
- Battle of Makassar Strait January - US and Dutch forces attack Japanese convoy
- Dražgoše - First frontal engagement on Slovenian soil with the German occupier
- Battle of the Java Sea - Japanese wipe out Allied naval squadron
- Battle of Badung Strait - Allied night-time naval attack defeated by heavily outnumbered Japanese forces
- Japanese Raids into Indian Ocean - Japanese Raids against the British Eastern Fleet. Heavy British losses.
- Battle of Corregidor - General Wainwright's troops surrender, forced on Bataan Death March
- Battle of Nanos - 800 Italian soldiers lay siege to 50 Slovene partisans.
- Battle of the Coral Sea - First aircraft-carrier on aircraft-carrier battle. US loses USS Lexington; Japanese win tactically but lose strategically.
- Battle of Bir Hakeim - Battle during which 1st Free French Brigade of general Koenig, stopped during 14 days in Libyan desert 4 Axis Divisions, and so prevented Rommel offensive towards Suez success, by giving routed 8th British Army time enough to stop retreat on El Alamein fortified line.
- Battle of Midway - US loses USS Yorktown; Japanese lose four aircraft carriers
- Convoy PQ-17 - 27 ships leave Iceland on June 17 for Murmansk – on July 5 10 ships reach Murmansk
- Battle of the Aleutian Islands - Japanese invade and occupy two islands of Alaska's Aleutian archipelago as part of a feint designed to cover the Imperial Fleet's intended trap at Midway. Foreign troops are not expelled from US soil until the following year.
- First Battle of El Alamein - British Eighth Army stops Rommel's Axis forces invading Egypt
- Second Battle of El Alamein - Montgomery's Eighth Army forces Rommel out of Egypt
- Battle of Sevastopol - Captured by Germans after eight month siege
- Battle of Changsha - Chinese claim victory over Japanese
- Kokoda Track Campaign - Australians slow down Japanese offensive against Port Moresby, cause Japanese overextension and attrition losses; drive them back.
- Battle of Guadalcanal - Beginning of Allied action in Solomon Islands
- Battle of Savo Island - Japanese sink four US cruisers
- Battle of Dieppe - "Operation Jubilee" was an Allied amphibious raid on the German occupied port of Dieppe in France. A tactical disaster for the Allies. However lessons learned applied to later amphibious operations including D-Day.
- Battle of Stalingrad - City besieged by Paulus' German Sixth Army; from November 23 the Sixth Army is surrounded and destroyed by Soviets; bloodiest battle in history, 1.8 millions dead approx.
- Battle of the Eastern Solomons - Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō sunk
- Battle of Milne Bay - First time Japanese landing force had been driven back into sea.
- Battle of Cape Esperance - near Guadalcanal
- Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands - near Guadalcanal, USS Hornet sunk.
- Operation Torch - Allied landings in North Africa and successful Putsch of French Resistance in Algiers to prevent vichyist forces opposition.
- Naval Battle of Guadalcanal - US defeats Japan, a turning point.
- Battle of Tassafaronga - off Guadalcanal
- Second Battle of Kharkov - Failed Soviet attempt to retake Kharkov.
- Battle of Changsha (1942) - Second Chinese-Japanese War
- Battle of Milne Bay
- Battle of Madagascar
- Battle of Osankarica - Over 200 Germans massacred all 69 men and women of the Pohorje battalion. Germans lost 19 men and had 31 wounded
- Battle of Rennell Island - Japanese bombers sink a cruiser
- Battle of Guadalcanal - Allies take the island
- Third Battle of Kharkov - Germans retake Kharkov
- Battle of the Kasserine Pass - Battle between US and German armored forces in Tunisia
- Battle of Neretva - Large-scale German anti-partisan offensive in Yugoslavia
- Battle of the Komandorski Islands - Naval engagement between US and Japan in the Bering Sea.
- Battle of Bismarck Sea - US sinks Japanese transports
- Warsaw Ghetto Uprising - 5,000 Jews and 2,000 Germans die, Jews confined
- Sutjeska offensive - Failed Axis offensive against Yugoslav partisans
- Battle of Castle Turjak - Slovene partisans took the castle guarded by the Slovene village sentries
- Battle of Kursk - Germans attack Kursk salient at Orel and Belgorod, Russians drive them back. Arguably the largest tank battle ever fought.
- Battle of Leros - German amphibious and airborne operation to capture Leros. One of the last German victories.
- Battle of Kiev (1943) - Kiev retaken by Soviets
- Raid on Schweinfurt - milestone air battle between the Luftwaffe and the USAAF known as "Black Thursday."
- Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission - another major daylight air battle, first shuttle mission
- Battle of Tarawa
- Battle of Cisterna - Part of Operation Shingle, the 1st, 3rd, and 4th US Army Ranger battalions attempted to capture the town of Cisterna.
- Battle of Monte Cassino - Four battles in Italy Jan - May. Allies finally breakthrough towards Rome.
- Battle of Normandy - Allies invade northern France (Operation Overlord), hard fighting from Cherbourg to Caen, Germans surrounded and destroyed at Falaise.
- Battle of Philippine Sea - Major carrier battle; US lose 123 planes and destroy 315 Japanese planes
- Operation Rösselsprung - German attempt to capture Tito using airborne troops
- Marianas Campaign - US invasions of Saipan, June 15, Guam July 21, and Tinian July 24
- Battle of Imphal and Battle of Kohima - attempted Japanese invasion of India fails with heavy losses
- Operation Bagration - Soviet offensive destroys German Army Group Center on the Eastern Front.
- Battle of Fontenay
- Battle of Tali-Ihantala - Finnish stop Soviet offensive
- Warsaw Uprising - 20.000 armed Poles against 55.000 Wehrmacht and SS. 90% of city destroyed, more than 250.000 casualties.
- Operation Dragoon (a.k.a. Operation Anvil) - Allied invasion of Southern France
- Battle of Peleliu - A fight to capture an airstrip on a speck of coral in the western Pacific.
- Battle of Arnhem - The major battle of Operation Market Garden; Allies reach but fail to cross the Rhine; British First Airborne Division destroyed
- Battle of the Scheldt - Decisive Canadian victory, solved the logistical problems of the Allies, and opened the port of Antwerp for supplies directly to the front.
- Battle of Hurtgen Forest - Stubborn German defense, appalling losses to US army
- Battle of Crucifix Hill - The 18th Infantry, U.S. 1st Infantry Division take Crucifix Hill, a crucial position to help surround Aachen. Cpt. Bobbie E. Brown wins a Medal of Honor for his heroics.
- Battle of Aachen - Aachen was the first major German city to face invasion during WW II.
- Battle of Leyte Gulf - The largest air-sea battle in history.
- Operation Queen
- Battle of the Bulge - German counterattack in Ardennes; General McAuliffe says "NUTS" at Bastogne
- Battle of Leyte
- Battle of Peleliu
- Battle of Hengyang
- Operation Elephant - Allied offensive in Netherlands
- Operation Blackcock - The Battle for the Roer Triangle, January 1945
- Colmar Pocket - France and the US collapse the German bridgehead over the Rhine in Alsace
- Operation Spring Awakening - German counterattack in Hungary
- Battle of Mindanao - US invasion of the Philippines
- Battle of Vienne
- Battle of Iwo Jima - After a month, US takes the island
- Operation Varsity - 134 Allied gliders land troops in Weisel
- Battle of Seelow Heights
- Battle of Berlin - Soviet forces encircle and capture German capital, Hitler commits suicide.
- Battle of Triest - British army and Yugoslav capture the city
- Battle of Poljana - Last battle of World War II in Europe
- Battle of Meiktila / Mandalay - Indian and British forces drive Japanese from Burma
- Battle of Okinawa - US takes Japanese Island in the Ryukyus; many casualties to both sides.
- Battle of Manchuria - Soviet forces liberate Manchuria.
- Siege of Warsaw
- Siege of Leningrad
- Siege of Lwów
- Siege of Modlin
- Siege of Novorossiysk
- Siege of Odessa
- Siege of Sevastopol
- Siege of Tobruk
- Siege of Moscow
General:
- Arctic Convoys
- Second Battle of the Atlantic - the name given to the conflicts in the Atlantic Ocean between 1940 and 1945.
- Battle of the Mediterranean
- Battle of the Indian Ocean
Specific:
1939:
1940:
1941:
1942:
1943:
1944:
General:
- Strategic bombing during World War II
- Strategic bombing survey for the overall impact of the bombing.
Specific:
- Baedeker raids
- Chungking
- Coventry
- Dresden
- Hamburg
- Helsinki - February 1944, was mostly ineffective due to air defence and deception.
- Hiroshima - One nuclear weapon dropped from a B-29, devastating a city.
- Kassel
- London - "The Blitz" and the V1 and V2 campaigns
- Lübeck
- Nagasaki - One nuclear weapon dropped from a B-29, devastating a city.
- Narva - March 1944. Evacuated town was destroyed by Soviet ADD.
- Pearl Harbor
- Rostock - Heinkel Airplane Construction Plant, Seaport, and City
- Rotterdam
- Stalingrad - 23 August 1942
- Tallinn - February - March 1944. Bombed by Soviet ADD. Large-scale damage.
- Tokyo bombed several times
- Warsaw
See List of World War Two military operations.
Small to medium-sized raiding operations were carried out by both Allied and Axis armies during World War II. The modus operandi used included guerrilla attacks by partisans in occupied territory and/or combined operations involving the landing and removal of specialised light infantry, such as commandos, by means of small boats.
- Allied
- Operation Colossus 10 February 1941
- Operation Claymore, March 1941
- Operation Archery, December 1941
- Battle of Timor (from February 1942)
- Operation Chariot, March 1942
- Dieppe Raid, August 1942
- Operation Jaywick, September 1943
- Operation Roast, April 1945
- Axis
- Operation Greif, December 1944
- Allied
- Multinational
- Australia
- Greece
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Axis
- Atlantic Wall
- GHQ Line
- Gustav Line
- Maginot Line
- Mannerheim Line
- Metaxas Line
- Siegfried Line
- Taunton Stop Line
- Anglo-Iraqi War
- Chinese Civil War
- Greek Civil War
- Second Italo-Abyssinian War
- Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)
- Soviet-Japanese Border War (1939)
- Spanish Civil War
- Winter War (Russo-Finnish War), Continuation War, Lapland War
- World War II
- Campaigns of World War II
- Participants in World War II
- List of operations and projects (military and non-military)
- List of battles 1901-2000
- List of World War II topics
