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Battle of the Atlantic

• Date: 1939 – 1945

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: Admiral Dudley Pound (UK), Admiral Ernest King (USA)

  • Axis: Admiral Karl Dönitz (Germany)

• Key Characteristics: The longest continuous military campaign in WWII, involving naval and air forces. The primary objective was to secure Atlantic shipping lanes from German U-boats.

Operation Torch

• Date: November 8 – November 16, 1942

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: General Dwight D. Eisenhower (USA), General Bernard Montgomery (UK)

  • Axis: General Erwin Rommel (Germany)

• Key Characteristics: The Allied invasion of North Africa, aiming to gain control of the region and prepare for further assaults on Axis-controlled Europe.

Battle of Stalingrad

• Date: August 23, 1942 – February 2, 1943

• Outcome: Soviet victory

• Commanders:

  • Soviet: General Vasily Chuikov, General Georgy Zhukov

  • Axis: General Friedrich Paulus (Germany)

• Key Characteristics: A turning point in the war; the Germans suffered a devastating defeat, marking the beginning of a Soviet offensive in the East.

Casablanca Conference

A meeting held in January 1943 between Allied leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill to plan the next phase of the war, including the strategy for the invasion of Italy and the demand for unconditional surrender from Axis powers.

Sicily (Operation Husky)

• Date: July 9 – August 17, 1943

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Bernard Montgomery

  • Axis: General Hans-Valentin Hube (Germany)

• Key Characteristics: The Allied invasion of Sicily to knock Italy out of the war and establish a foothold in Southern Europe.

Battle of Britain

• Date: July 10 – October 31, 1940

• Outcome: British victory

• Commanders:

  • British: Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding

  • German: Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring

• Key Characteristics: The first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces, preventing a German invasion of Britain.

Tehran Conference

• Date: November 28 – December 1, 1943

• Outcome: Strategic agreement between the Allies

• Key Characteristics: The first meeting of the "Big Three" (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) to plan the final strategy for the war, including the invasion of Normandy (D-Day)

Battle of the Bulge

• Date: December 16, 1944 – January 25, 1945

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Bernard Montgomery

  • Axis: Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (Germany)

• Key Characteristics: The last major Nazi offensive against the Allies in the Western Front, aiming to split the Allied forces. The Allies eventually contained and repelled the attack

Operation Overlord (D-Day)

• Date: June 6 – August 1944

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Bernard Montgomery

  • Axis: Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (Germany)

• Key Characteristics: The Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France through Normandy, which led to the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control.

Battle of the Coral Sea

• Date: May 4 – May 8, 1942

• Outcome: Tactical draw, strategic Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (USA), Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher (USA)

  • Japanese: Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

• Key Characteristics: The first major naval battle fought entirely by aircraft, preventing a Japanese invasion of Port Moresby in New Guinea.

Battle of Midway

• Date: June 4 – June 7, 1942

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (USA)

  • Japanese: Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

• Key Characteristics: A pivotal naval battle that turned the tide of the war in the Pacific, with the US sinking four Japanese carriers.

Battle of Guadalcanal

• Date: August 7, 1942 – February 9, 1943

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: General Alexander Vandegrift (USA)

  • Japanese: General Harukichi Hyakutake

• Key Characteristics: The first major Allied offensive in the Pacific, marking the beginning of the Allied island-hopping campaign.

Philippine Islands

• Date: December 8, 1941 – September 2, 1945

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: General Douglas MacArthur (USA)

  • Japanese: General Masaharu Homma

• Key Characteristics: The Japanese invaded and occupied the Philippines, leading to the infamous Bataan Death March. It was recaptured by the Allies in 1945.

Pearl Harbor

• Date: December 7, 1941

• Outcome: Japanese victory

• Commanders:

  • USA: Admiral Husband Kimmel

  • Japan: Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

• Key Characteristics: A surprise attack by Japan on the US naval base in Hawaii, leading to the United States entering WWII.

Saipan

• Date: June 15 – July 9, 1944

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (USA)

  • Japanese: General Yoshitsugu Saito

• Key Characteristics: A critical battle in the Pacific War, opening the way for Allied forces to attack Japan itself.

Iwo Jima

• Date: February 19 – March 26, 1945

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: General Holland Smith (USA)

  • Japanese: General Tadamichi Kuribayashi

• Key Characteristics: Known for intense fighting and the iconic image of American Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi.

Okinawa

• Date: April 1 – June 22, 1945

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • Allied: General Simon Bolivar Buckner (USA)

  • Japanese: General Mitsuru Ushijima

• Key Characteristics: The last major battle of the Pacific War, providing a base for Allied forces to launch an invasion of Japan.

Manchuria & China

• Date: 1937 – 1945

• Outcome: Allied victory

• Commanders:

  • China: Chiang Kai-shek

  • Japan: General Iwane Matsui, General Hideki Tojo

• Key Characteristics: Japan's invasion of China and Manchuria led to prolonged conflict, including atrocities such as the Nanking Massacre.

Tokyo

• Date: March 9 – 10, 1945 (Bombing)

• Outcome: Destructive Allied bombing raids

• Commanders:

  • USA: General Curtis LeMay

  • Japan: Emperor Hirohito (Japan)

• Key Characteristics: Destruction of Tokyo through firebombing raids, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians

Hiroshima

• Date: August 6, 1945

• Outcome: Atomic bombing by the USA

• Key Characteristics: The first atomic bomb used in warfare, contributing to Japan’s eventual surrender

Nagasaki

• Date: August 9, 1945

• Outcome: Atomic bombing by the USA

• Key Characteristics: The second atomic bomb dropped on Japan, leading to Japan’s formal surrender.

Potsdam Conference

• Date: July 17 – August 2, 1945

• Outcome: Post-war agreements

• Key Characteristics: The last meeting of the Big Three (Churchill, Truman, and Stalin) where they set terms for Japan’s surrender and post-war reconstruction.

Austria

• Date: 1938 – 1945

• Outcome: Allied occupation post-WWII

• Key Characteristics: Annexed by Nazi Germany in the Anschluss; liberated by the Allies in 1945.

Poland

• Date: 1939 – 1945

• Outcome: Allied victory, post-war division

• Key Characteristics: Invasion by Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939. Post-war Poland was under Soviet influence.

Czechoslovakia

• Date: 1939 – 1945

• Outcome: Occupied by Nazi Germany

• Key Characteristics: Occupied by Germany; liberated by the Soviets and Allies after WWII.

Axis Powers

• Key Members: Germany, Italy, Japan

• Characteristics: Opposed the Allied Powers, seeking territorial expansion and maintaining totalitarian regimes.

Allied Powers

• Key Members: United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, China, France

• Characteristics: A coalition formed to defeat the Axis Powers and restore peace to the world.