The fight resembled a WWI battle, with artillery bombardments preceding bloody infantry assaults on fixed positions. Success was bought at the cost of more than 50,000 casualties on the Allied side. Today, the battle is mainly remembered for the destruction of the abbey of Monte Cassino (which was sheltering civilians) by more than 100 B-17 Flying Fortresses, when the Allies mistakenly believed the abbey to be a German artillery observation position.
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# 30 Major Battles of World War II That Shaped Modern Warfare Forever

World War II is the bloodiest conflict in history. These are the 30 most important battles and operations that took place between 1939 and 1945.

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World War II was the bloodiest conflict in history, and it was carried out on a scale almost impossible to grasp. In many ways, it was the first modern war, in which airpower played a vital role both on land and at sea—though many World War II battles were ultimately won through the sheer determination and grit of the foot soldier.

With that in mind, we rounded up the vast panoramic epic of World War II, presented in installments of its most noteworthy major battles.

## Battle of Dunkirk: May–June 1940

major battles of wwii, wwii battlesBettmann//Getty Images

Not every victory means you won a battle. Sometimes a victory can be a well-executed retreat, and that’s exactly what happened during the Battle of Dunkirk in late May 1940. With the expeditious collapse of French resistance against German forces during the Battle of France, British troops found themselves trapped in Dunkirk, a town in Northern France. A massive effort of both military and civilian vessels successfully ferried 338,000 British Expeditionary Force members across the channel to Britain. The maneuver became known as the “Miracle at Dunkirk,” and it proved a powerful rallying cry for the dark days ahead.

The greatest aid in the ally’s escape strangely came from Adolf Hitler himself, who, likely fearing an Allied counterattack, halted Nazi armored forces bearing down on Dunkirk for two days. Those 48 hours were vital in the Allied effort to rescue the soldiers cornered on the European continent. Although buoyed by the retreat, Winston Churchill also countered with a dose of reality that hard fighting was still ahead, saying “we must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory … Wars are not won by evacuations.”

## Battle of Okinawa: April–June 1945

an amphibious tractor battalion of a marine regiment forms into a line as the leathernecks start the dash for the shores of okinawa, april 1, 1945Interim Archives//Getty Images

On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945, the last major battle of the global conflagration known as World War II began on the island of Okinawa, some 400 miles south of mainland Japan. As part of Operation Iceberg, Allied forces landed on the beaches of Okinawa in the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific theater. As the U.S. and its allies pushed relentlessly toward the Japanese mainland, they first needed to conquer Ryukyu and Okinawa islands, and Japanese commanders knew if the islands fell, the country’s populated mainland would be next.

The battle for the islands lasted nearly three months, and is known today as a “ typhoon of steel” because of the fierce fighting. On April 7, U.S. carrier-based bombers sunk the Japanese battleship Yamato, considered to be one of the most powerful ships in the world. The bombers killed more than 2,000 of Yamato’s crew—eventually, Japan lost some 110,000 men in the battle. The Allied victory put Japan in striking distance of enemy artillery, but instead of risking a land assault, President Harry S. Truman dropped two atomic bombs and ended the war for good.

## Battle of Bataan: January–April 1942

american and filipino soldiers in a fox hole during the battle for the bataan peninsula in the pacific campaign of world war iiKeystone//Getty Images

After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Japanese launched a major offensive in the Philippines that eventually led to U.S. forces and soldiers of the Philippine Commonwealth to be cornered on the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines. Under direct orders from President Franklin Roosevelt, a reluctant General Douglas MacArthur escaped from Bataan to Australia, vowing one day to return and continue the fight.

Allied forces held off Japanese troops for three months, which stymied Japan’s hopes of growing its territorial gains in the Pacific theater. However, on April 9, 1942, 76,000 Allied troops surrendered to the Imperial Japanese Army; the transfer of those POWs from the battle became known as the Bataan Death March due to the physical abuse and arbitrary killings of prisoners along the way. “Remember Bataan” became a popular rallying cry for the U.S. war effort.

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## Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo: August 1942

american marines coming ashore from landing craft at guadalcanalKeystone//Getty Images

During the Guadalcanal campaign from August 1942 to February 1943, the Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu-Tanambogo—all small islands in the Solomons—became a grim prelude to the fierce island-hopping battles ahead. While the Allied land forces fighting on nearby Guadalcanal faced much less resistance, U.S. forces on these other three islands were met by an outnumbered Japanese force that fought to protect the island to the last man.

This fierce, almost suicidal Japanese resistance was common throughout the rest of the war in the Pacific, and Americans got their first taste of it on the remote island of Tulagi.

## Second Battle of El Alamein: October–November 1942

the nazi propaganda image depicts an italian tank convoy in the qattara depression during the battle of el alamein in egypt in november 1942picture alliance//Getty Images

With its conclusion nearly coinciding with Operation Torch in November 1942, the Second Battle of El Alamein put an end to Edwin Rommel, AKA “the Desert Fox,” and his offensive in the Western Desert Campaign. The hard-fought British victory stopped Germany’s advance into Egypt, and even inspired Prime Minister Winston Churchill to say “before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat.”

German and Italian troops suffered a decisive defeat by the British Eighth Army. But in the months leading up to the battle, it appeared Rommel, who was well adapted to desert warfare, would soon spill into the Middle East and conquer the region. British forces put a stop to Rommel’s plans, and decisively shifted the momentum of the North African campaign. After years of crushing setbacks and defeats, the Second Battle of El Alamein gave the United Kingdom a much needed shot of morale.

## The Attack on Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941

the american battleship arizona on fire sinking after the japanese attack on pearl harborMondadori Portfolio//Getty Images

Although the U.S. was not in a state of war during the surprise attack on its naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (then a U.S. territory), Pearl Harbor is one of the most consequential “battles” of World War II. That’s because it motivated the United States—then only tangentially involved in the conflict—to become a full-fledged enemy of the Axis powers.

Just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, 353 Japanese aircraft attacked the Pacific naval base, damaging eight battleships and killing 2,403 Americans. Luckily, the U.S.’s aircraft carriers—which would go on to prove vital to the war effort in the Pacific—were not at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. Because the attack was launched without any declaration of war, the Attack on Pearl Harbor was eventually tried as a war crime at the Tokyo Trials in 1946.

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## Operation Bagration: June–August 1944

hundreds of people on the streets of the capital held impromptu meetings and demonstrations greeting the army of liberation when the red army entered bucharestSovfoto//Getty Images

Victory in Europe could never have been achieved if not for the sacrifice of the Soviet Union in the eastern front. One of the Red Army’s major offensives came in the summer of 1944, and went by the name Operation Bagration. The offensive followed the events of D-Day on the Western Front and aimed to exact revenge for the Soviet losses suffered during the German blitzkrieg known as Operation Barbarossa three years earlier.

Soviet forces gathered 166 divisions on the Belorussian front, and attacked along a 450-mile expanse. The attack was so swift that the Red Army sometimes advanced as much as 15 miles a day. Although caught by surprise, the Germans still exacted a terrible price as Soviet forces suffered nearly 750,00 casualties during the two-month-long operation. But Operation Bagration was soon seen as the death knell of Nazi Germany.

## Operation Torch: November 1942

troops and ammunition for light guns being brought ashore from a landing craft assaultbon arzeau beach, algeria, north africa, whilst another lca approaches the beachIWM/Getty Images//Getty Images

Led by Lieutenant General Dwight Eisenhower, 33,000 U.S. troops landed on the shores of North Africa as part of a multi-pronged battle known as Operation Torch. In an attempt to dislodge Nazi Germany’s hold on the French North African Coast and open up the Mediterranean to the Allies, Operation Torch was also the first time U.S. troops saw combat against Germany in World War II.

On November 8, 1942, troops landed in Casablanca, Algiers, and Oran with mild resistance. By the end of the month, Allied forces were planning their assault on Tunis in Tunisia. The Allies had officially opened up another front in the war in northern Africa, a key demand of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

## Battle of Narva: February–August 1944

german air force jets seen flying over narva during wwii, world war, eastern front, german aqir force luftwaffeullstein bild Dtl.//Getty Images

This Battle of Narva is not to be confused with the other Battle of Narva that occurred between 1700 and 1721 during The Great Northern War (although both were fought in Narva, Estonia). The WWII Battle of Narva saw Germany and the Leningrad Front vying to control Narva Isthmus.

The battle consisted of two phases: the Battle for Narva Bridgehead and the Battle of Tannenberg Line. The USSR—Stalin in particular—wanted to take control of Estonia and use strategic locations in the country to attack Finland and Prussia via sea and air. German forces held their own and hampered the USSR’s attempts to build a stronghold in Narva. Both sides lost more than 500,000 soldiers combined.

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## The Siege of Leningrad: September 1941–January 1944

siege of leningrad soldier in a trenchKeystone//Getty Images

The Siege of Leningrad, also known as “the 900-day siege,” since it nearly lasted that long (in actuality, it lasted 872 days), occurred when German and Finnish forces surrounded Leningrad and took over the city.

The Soviet government had its citizenry work on building fortifications throughout the city, although the area was almost entirely encircled by invading forces by November. The siege claimed more than 650,000 Soviet lives in a single year alone due to starvation, disease, and shelling.

## Battle of Crete: May 1941

plane overhead bushes with paratroopers in backgroundCC BY-SA 3.0/Wiki-Ed

One of the most audacious operations in the German conquest of Europe was the air assault on the Greek island of Crete, the first action in which paratroopers were dropped in large numbers. Crete was defended by British and Greek forces who had some success against the lightly armed German soldiers jumping out of the sky.

However, delays and communication failures between Allies allowed the Germans to capture the vital airfield at Maleme and fly in reinforcements. Once the Nazis gained air superiority, landings by sea followed.

The Allies surrendered after two weeks of fighting.

## Battle of Iwo Jima: February–March 1945

soldiers raising flag in iwo jimaGetty

The Battle of Iwo Jima is an iconic event, largely due to Joe Rosenthal’s photograph of the American flag being raised. But military analysts still argue whether the island’s limited strategic value justified the costly action.

Twenty-thousand Japanese defenders were dug in to an elaborate system of bunkers, caves, and tunnels. The attack was preceded by a massive naval and air bombardment lasting several days and covering the entire island. Although outnumbered five-to-one and with no prospect of victory, the Japanese put up strong resistance and virtually none surrendered.

Many positions could be cleared out only by hand grenades and flamethrowers, including the fearsome M4A3R3 Sherman “Zippo” flamethrower tanks.

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## Battle of Anzio: January–June 1944

soldiers in front of a dockU.S. Army

The Allies invaded Italy in 1943, but by 1944, they had progressed only as far as the Gustav Line south of Rome. So, the Allies staged a massive amphibious operation to force the defenders to split their forces or be surrounded—but quick success depended on a rapid break-out from the beachhead.

Some 36,000 men landed to the enemy’s considerable surprise, but while the Allies consolidated, the Germans surrounded the area with equivalent forces and dug defensive positions. In February, after heavy fighting and failed advances, the Allies were pushed back almost to the beachhead. It took over 100,000 more reinforcements and five months of fighting to finally break out of Anzio.

## Battle of the Bulge: December 1944–January 1945

battle of the bulgeCC BY-SA 3.0-Bundesarchiv, Bild /Huschke

Following the D-Day invasion of June 1944, the Allies broke out of Normandy and advanced rapidly across France and Belgium.

Hitler aimed to halt them through a surprise Blitzkrieg. Several armored divisions massed in the Ardennes with the goal of breaking through Allied lines. American forces held on stubbornly in spite of heavy casualties—more than 19,000 died. The Germans had limited supplies, and could only fight for a few days before fuel and ammunition ran out, so the offensive soon ran out of steam. Allied lines bulged, but did not break, and hundreds of thousands of reinforcements poured into the area. Afterward, Germany lacked resources for another offensive. The end was inevitable.

## Battle of Monte Cassino: January–May 1944

monte cassinoCC BY-SA 3.0/Bundesarchiv, Bild/Wittke

After Anzio, the Germans occupied defensive positions known as the Winter Line, consisting of bunkers, barbed wire, minefields, and ditches. The four successive Allied assaults on these positions became known as the Battle of Monte Cassino.

The fight resembled a WWI battle, with artillery bombardments preceding bloody infantry assaults on fixed positions. Success was bought at the cost of more than 50,000 casualties on the Allied side. Today, the battle is mainly remembered for the destruction of the abbey of Monte Cassino (which was sheltering civilians) by more than 100 B-17 Flying Fortresses, when the Allies mistakenly believed the abbey to be a German artillery observation position.

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## Battle of Britain: July–October 1940

british royal air force planes in the skyB.J. Daventry, Royal Air Force

By late 1940, Britain faced the threat of a German invasion, but the incursion would succeed only with air superiority. What followed was the first major campaign fought by opposing air forces.

For four months, the German Luftwaffe carried out attacks on British airfields, radar stations, and aircraft factories, and bombed British cities, too. But the Stukas proved too vulnerable to being intercepted, and the Germans couldn’t mass enough planes to defeat the fighter pilots of the Royal Air Force in their Hurricanes and Spitfires. Heavy casualties forced the Luftwaffe to scale down operations. Hitler’s invasion plans were put on hold indefinitely.

## Battle of Sedan: May 1940

battle of sedanCC-BY-SA 3.0/Bundesarchiv Bild/Huschke

When Britain and France declared war on Germany following the Nazi invasion of Poland, many expected that war to be a retread of the infantry tactics of WWI.

That line of thinking clearly led to the French strategy of constructing the heavy concrete fortifications of the Maginot Line. Those expectations where shattered in May 1940, when the Germans launched a fast-paced “Blitzkreig” (“lightning war”) spearheaded by Panzer tanks. Lacking heavy artillery, the Germans attacked French positions at Sedan with massed Stuka dive bombers. The intense air assault quickly demoralized the defenders and the German forces easily broke through. France fell soon afterwards.

## Battle of Brody: June 1941

battle of brody tanksU.S. Army

Hitler’s plan to attack Soviet Russia was called Operation Barbarossa, and it sure looked wild on paper, given the Russian numerical superiority and the ignominious history of enemy forces invading Russia. Hitler, however, believed the Blitzkrieg was unstoppable, and the Battle of Brody in Western Ukraine would prove him right—for a time.

Seven-hundred-fifty German panzers faced four times as many Russian tanks. But the Russian air force had been annihilated on the ground, and the German Stukas were able to dominate the area. In addition to destroying tanks, they targeted Russian fuel and ammunition supplies and disrupted communications.

The confused Russian forces were completely outmaneuvered, and their numerical superiority made no difference.

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## Battle of Leyte Gulf: October 1944

ship on fire at seaU.S. Navy

The largest naval battle in history, the Battle of Leyte Gulf off the coast of the Philippines, was another step in the U.S. advance toward the Japanese home islands. All available Japanese forces were thrown into the area, but the separate units failed to unite, resulting in several actions scattered over a wide area.

All four Japanese light carriers were sunk, as were three battleships. Leyte Gulf also marked the first use of a desperate new tactic: the escort carrier USS St. Louis was sunk after a Japanese kamikaze carrying a bomb deliberately crashed on its deck.

## Battle of the Atlantic: September 1939–May 1943

battle of the atlanticU.S. Navy

Submarine warfare had some impact in the First World War, but became vastly more significant in WWII as the German U-boat packs aimed to blockade Europe. Merchant ships took to sailing in large convoys, protected by screens of destroyers and corvettes armed with depth charges and sonar. Daring U-Boat commanders carried out torpedo attacks within the defensive screen, and when several submarines attacked at once, the defenders had little chance of striking back.

In the end, the Battle of the Atlantic was eventually won by technology. Radar to detect U-Boats from the surface, radio interception, and code-breaking all played a part. By the end of the war, more than 3,000 merchant ships had been sunk, as well as almost 800 U-Boats.

Headshot of David Hambling

Contributor

Based in South London, David Hambling specializes in military technology, especially drones and counter-drone systems. He is the author of Swarm Troopers: How Small Drones Will Conquer the World.

Headshot of Darren Orf

Contributing Editor

Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.

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