map

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

• Date: January 14–24, 1943

• Outcome: Strategic decision-making by the Allied leaders

• Key Characteristics: The first major meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt. It resulted in the declaration of “unconditional surrender” from the 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.