The biggest battles of the Second World War. Battles of World War II

It is not easy to compile a list of the most important battles in the history of World War 2. Every battle, every inch of land inhabited by the enemy brought the Allies closer to victory over Nazism, no matter where the battle took place and how large it was. The feat of every war-liberator is equally priceless.

Nevertheless, we tried to highlight the 10 largest and significant battles World War II, the outcome of which significantly influenced the further course of the war.

TOP 12 most powerful battles of World War II(list sorted chronologically):

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1. Battle of the Atlantic

(September 1, 1939 - May 1945)

US Navy ship USS Spencer. During the Second World War, he sank several German submarines. Was a convoy ship.

And although this battle cannot be called the most massive and bloody, its significance was very high. For Germany, the purpose of this battle was to disrupt Allied communications in the Atlantic. First of all, for the weakening of Great Britain.

During the battles, the German fleet tried to sink all possible Allied ships, from military to transport and food. Germany's main weapon was submarines; they proved themselves successful from the very beginning of the battles. During World War II, Germany built more than a thousand submarines various types, which dominated the Atlantic until the spring of 1943.

By this time, despite the colossal losses, the Allies were still trying to improve the protection of their communications, as well as increase the number of anti-submarine forces. This made it possible to break the dominance of German troops in the waters of the Atlantic.

Already from mid-1944, Allied dominance in the Atlantic was obvious. Germany suffered defeat not only on land, but also at sea. The opening of a second front forced the enemy to go on the defensive.

The losses of the sides during the Battle of the Atlantic vary in many sources. Germany lost more than 30 thousand people and 789 submarines in submariners alone. On the other hand, 179 Allied warships and 2,828 ships were sunk by German forces.

# # #

(10 May – 25 June 1940)

This is a successful operation by the Axis countries of the Nazi bloc to seize the Benelux countries, as well as France, with the goal of complete domination in Europe. German troops used rapid warfare tactics, during which the armies of Belgium, the Netherlands and France were completely defeated in a short period of time with the help of a massive attack.

Allied losses during the French campaign amounted to more than 112 thousand killed, 245 thousand wounded and 1.5 prisoners. The Wehrmacht troops lost about 45 thousand people killed and about 110 thousand people were wounded.

# # #

(9 July – 30 October 1940)

It was a nearly four-month battle for air supremacy between the Wehrmacht and the British armed forces. The Germans aimed to gain air superiority over the British Isles in order to subsequently provide air cover for the bombing of British territory and the ground operation to invade Great Britain.

On the part of the Third Reich, the main forces were Messerschmitt fighters of the Bf.109E and Bf.110C modifications, which in many respects were superior to the British Hurricane Mk I and Spitfire Mk I. Nevertheless, the Germans failed this battle, losing about 3 thousands of its pilots. The British lost 1,800 pilots in the battle and about 120,000 islanders were killed in bombing raids. Also, German bombs destroyed at least 2 million buildings and structures.

The British victory in this battle strengthened the morale of the British soldiers and inspired the Allies. By the end of the battle, the Germans realized that their plan had failed and redeployed their forces to the opening east direction- USSR.

Introduction.

Theme of World War II 1939-1945. has always interested historians. Its study began during the war itself and has not stopped to this day.

The largest in history Second world war was prepared by the forces of international reaction and unleashed by the main aggressive states - Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and militaristic Japan. It began on September 1, 1939 with the German attack on Poland. The leaders of the Nazi state viewed the seizure of Poland as initial stage armed struggle for world domination. At the same time, the task of creating a springboard for an attack on Soviet Union.

The Second World War lasted 6 years. In terms of its scale and ferocity of the struggle, it has no equal in history. Humanity is faced with criminals who have set themselves the goal of exterminating or enslaving entire races and peoples. Fascism intended to impose its notorious " new order“With the help of concentration camps and prisons, through the enslavement and colonization of occupied countries, not only Europe. He planned to settle in Africa, prepared for the invasion of England, the USA, Canada, Latin America, the Near and Middle East, and to divide Asia with Japan. The aggressors intended to conquer world domination.

The war pulled into its orbit 61 states with a population of 1 billion 700 million people, i.e. more than 80% of the world's population. Military operations took place in 40 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and in vast areas of the Atlantic, Arctic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Equipped with the latest military equipment, the armies of the warring parties numbered over 110 million people in their ranks. Its sacrifices and suffering cannot be compared with all previous wars. This most destructive war in world history claimed about 57 million lives, of which over 27 million were our compatriots, and almost half of them were civilians. Thousands of cities and tens of thousands of villages were wiped off the face of the earth, hundreds of thousands of plants and factories were turned into ruins, enormous damage was caused agriculture, historical and cultural values.

The total material costs associated with waging the Second World War and eliminating its consequences could feed the entire population of the globe for 50 years. The world still feels the consequences of this war today. The most significant events on the path to victory were on the Soviet-German front. It was they who radically changed the course of World War II in favor of anti-fascist forces.

Thousands of books, encyclopedias, stories, films, TV series, museums, memorial sites, streets, district names, and that’s not all, are dedicated to the Second World War. How many Heroes we remember and know, how many of our grandparents shed blood defending our lives and our future.

The purpose of this test work is an examination of the main battles during the Second World War.

To achieve this goal, we face the following tasks:

Study the available literature on the topic;

Analyze sources and highlight the largest battles of World War II;

Determine the significance of these battles for victory in World War II.

The assault began on April 16, 1945. At 3 a.m. Berlin time, under the light of 140 searchlights, tanks and infantry attacked German positions. After four days of fighting, the fronts commanded by Zhukov and Konev, with the support of two armies of Polish troops, closed a ring around Berlin. 93 enemy divisions were defeated, about 490 thousand people and a huge amount of captured military equipment and weapons were captured. On this day, a meeting of Soviet and American troops took place on the Elbe.

Hitler's command declared: “Berlin will remain German,” and everything possible was done for this. Hitler refused to surrender and threw old people and children into street battles. He hoped for discord between the allies. The prolongation of the war led to numerous casualties.

On April 21, the first assault troops reached the outskirts of the German capital and started street battles. German soldiers put up fierce resistance, surrendering only in hopeless situations.

On May 1, at 3 o’clock, the Chief of the General Staff of the German Ground Forces, General Krebs, was delivered to the command post of the 8th Guards Army. He stated that Hitler had committed suicide on April 30 and proposed that armistice negotiations begin.

The next day, Berlin Defense Headquarters ordered an end to resistance. Berlin has fallen. When it was captured, Soviet troops lost 300 thousand killed and wounded.

2. Ten Stalinist blows of 1944 in TSB, second edition, T. 14, pp. 118-122; M., 1952

3. History of the Great Patriotic War Soviet Union 1941-1945 in 6 volumes. Volume 2. Reflection by the Soviet people of the treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR. Creating conditions for a radical change in the war (June 1941 - November 1942) - M.: Voenizdat, 1961. - 682 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: http://militera.lib.ru/h/6/2/index.html (10.22.2015)

4. History of the Second World War 1939 - 1945 in 12 volumes. Volume 12. Results and lessons of the Second World War. – M.: Voenizdat, 1982. - 610 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: (10.22.2015)

5. Kiselev A.F., Shchagin E.M. Recent history Fatherland. XX century Volume 2. Textbook for university students: in 2 volumes. M.: Publisher: Vlados, 1998, 496 pp. [Electronic resource] Access mode: (10.22.2015)

6. Rodriguez A.M., Ponomarev M.V. Recent history of European and American countries. XX century Part 1. 1900-1945. Textbook for universities. - M.: Vlados, 2003. - 464 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: (10.22.2015)

Rodriguez A.M., Ponomarev M.V. Recent history of European and American countries. XX century Part 1. 1900-1945. Textbook for universities. - M.: Vlados, 2003. - 464 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: http://www.twirpx.com/file/349562/ (10.22.2015)

History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945. in 6 volumes. Volume 2. Reflection by the Soviet people of the treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR. Creating conditions for a radical change in the war (June 1941 - November 1942) - M.: Voenizdat, 1961. - 682 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: http://militera.lib.ru/h/6/2/index.html (05/12/2015)

Rodriguez A.M., Ponomarev M.V. Recent history of European and American countries. XX century Part 1. 1900-1945. Textbook for universities. - M.: Vlados, 2003. - 464 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: http://www.twirpx.com/file/349562/ (10.22.2015)

Vernigorov V.I. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people (in the context of the Second World War): textbook. allowance / V.I. Vernigorov. - Mn.: New knowledge, 2005. - 160 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: http://www.istmira.com/vtoraya-mirovaya-vojna/ (10.22.2015) History of the Second World War 1939 - 1945 in 12 volumes. Volume 12. Results and lessons of the Second World War. – M.: Voenizdat, 1982. - 610 p. [Electronic resource] Access mode: http://militera.lib.ru/h/12/12/index.html (10.22.2015)

World War II, Great Patriotic War. It was the most brutal and bloody war in human history.

During this massacre, more than 60 million citizens of the most different countries peace. Historian scientists have calculated that every war month, an average of 27 thousand tons of bombs and shells fell on the heads of military and civilians on both sides of the front!

Let's remember today, on Victory Day, the 10 most formidable battles of World War II.

Source: realitypod.com/

It was the largest air battle in history. The Germans' goal was to gain air superiority over the British Royal Air Force in order to invade the British Isles without opposition. The battle was fought exclusively by combat aircraft of the opposing sides. Germany lost 3,000 of its pilots, England - 1,800 pilots. Over 20,000 British civilians were killed. Germany's defeat in this battle is considered one of decisive moments in World War II - it did not allow the elimination of the Western allies of the USSR, which subsequently led to the opening of a second front.

Source: realitypod.com/

The longest long battle of World War II. During naval battles, German submarines attempted to sink Soviet and British supply ships and warships. The Allies responded in kind. Special significance Everyone understood this battle - on the one hand, Western weapons and equipment were supplied to the Soviet Union by sea, on the other hand, Britain was supplied with everything necessary mainly by sea - the British needed up to a million tons of all kinds of materials and food in order to survive and continue the fight. The cost of the victory of the members of the anti-Hitler coalition in the Atlantic was enormous and terrible - about 50,000 of its sailors died, and the same number of German sailors lost their lives.

Source: realitypod.com/

This battle began after German troops, at the end of World War II, made a desperate (and, as history shows, last) attempt to turn the tide of hostilities in their favor, organizing an offensive operation against Anglo-American troops in the mountainous and wooded areas of Belgium under the code called Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein (Watch on the Rhine). Despite all the experience of British and American strategists, the massive German attack took the Allies by surprise. However, the offensive ultimately failed. Germany lost more than 100 thousand of its soldiers and officers killed in this operation, and the Anglo-American allies lost about 20 thousand military personnel killed.

Source: realitypod.com/

Marshal Zhukov wrote in his memoirs: “When people ask me what I remember most from the last war, I always answer: the battle for Moscow.” Hitler considered the capture of Moscow, the capital of the USSR and the largest Soviet city, as one of the main military and political goals of Operation Barbarossa. In German and Western military history it is known as "Operation Typhoon". This battle is divided into two periods: defensive (September 30 - December 4, 1941) and offensive, which consists of 2 stages: counteroffensive (December 5-6, 1941 - January 7-8, 1942) and general offensive Soviet troops(January 7-10 - April 20, 1942). The losses of the USSR were 926.2 thousand people, the losses of Germany were 581 thousand people.

ALLIED LANDING IN NORMANDY, OPENING OF THE SECOND FRONT (FROM JUNE 6, 1944 TO JULY 24, 1944)

Source: realitypod.com/

This battle, which became part of Operation Overlord, marked the beginning of the deployment of a strategic group of Anglo-American allied forces in Normandy (France). British, American, Canadian and French units took part in the invasion. The landing of the main forces from Allied warships was preceded by a massive bombardment of German coastal fortifications and the landing of paratroopers and gliders on the positions of selected Wehrmacht units. Allied Marines landed on five beaches. Considered one of the largest landing operations in history. Both sides lost more than 200 thousand of their troops.

Source: realitypod.com/

The last strategic offensive operation of the armed forces of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War turned out to be one of the bloodiest. Made possible as a result of a strategic breakthrough German front units of the Red Army carrying out the Vistula-Oder offensive operation. It ended with complete victory over Nazi Germany and the surrender of the Wehrmacht. During the battles for Berlin, the losses of our army amounted to more than 80 thousand soldiers and officers, the Nazis lost 450 thousand of their troops.

From the very beginning of World War II, the United States provided England with the maximum possible assistance. Hitler had every reason to declare war on the United States, but he held back for fear of the country entering the war. It is quite possible that the American government would not have been able to find sufficient reasons to enter the war in Europe if the war in the Pacific had not broken out. Conflict in the Pacific had been brewing since the outbreak of the war in Europe. Japan, taking advantage of the weakening of France, penetrated into Indochina. At the same time, she continued the war in China and developed plans to conquer Malaysia, hoping to establish control over the rubber plantations of that country.

The United States treated all these Japanese actions with restraint, not wanting to provoke a Japanese attack on Southeast Asia and Indonesia. The Japanese capture of Indochina in July 1941 changed US policy. The United States froze Japanese assets and cut off Japan from oil sources; the British and Dutch did the same. Japan could not continue the war without Indonesian oil and Malaysian rubber and tin.

While Japanese representatives were negotiating in Washington, events took a turn for the worse. unexpected turn. On December 7, 1941, a squadron of Japanese aircraft made a surprise raid on the US naval base in Pearl Harbor (Hawaii Islands), where the US Pacific Fleet was concentrated. The results of the attack were horrifying: 4 of 8 battleships were sunk, 18 warships were disabled, 188 aircraft were destroyed and 128 were damaged, and 3 thousand military personnel were killed. December 8 USA. declared war on Japan. In response, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, and on the same day the United States declared war on Germany and Italy. The United States became directly involved in the war.

America was not prepared for war. Although universal conscription was introduced in the United States in 1940, the army was small, untrained, and poorly equipped. American industry had not yet been transferred to a war footing, and the Japanese, taking advantage of the weakness of the American fleet, achieved rapid success.

At the first stage of the war main task The Japanese wanted to cut off Southeast Asia from England, so the main blow was dealt to Singapore, which was the most powerful British naval base, which controlled all sea routes from Europe to the Pacific Ocean. On the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese aircraft raided Singapore and landed troops in Kota Bharu, 200 km from Singapore. Japanese troops reached Singapore within two months.
Singapore capitulated on February 15, 1942, offering virtually no resistance. The English garrison, which had powerful fortifications and was well armed, threw out the white flag without a fight. 100 thousand British soldiers surrendered, the Japanese received 740 guns, 2,500 machine guns and 200 tanks.

The fall of Singapore led to the collapse of the entire defensive system in the Pacific. By May 1942, Japan occupied Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Burma, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Guam, and the Solomon Islands, i.e., a territory inhabited by 400 million people. real threat for India and Australia. However German offensive on the Soviet-German front in the summer of 1942 changed the strategic direction of the Japanese offensive. In anticipation of the fall of Stalingrad in November 1942, the best Japanese divisions were transferred to Manchuria. Half of all artillery was concentrated here Japanese army and 2/3 tanks. This was a mistake by the Japanese leadership. The situation in the Pacific Ocean began to gradually change. The United States took advantage of the respite and concentrated its armed forces and re-equipped its air force and navy. Japan switched to defensive actions in the Pacific. The United States seized the initiative and maintained it until the end of the war.

Battle of Stalingrad

In the summer of 1942, the main events of World War II unfolded in Europe. The German army resumed its offensive in the Soviet Union on all fronts, but achieved success only on the Southern Front, where it reached the Caucasus ridge and captured oil-bearing areas North Caucasus and went to Stalingrad. Major General Sabir Rakhimov took an active part in the battles in the Caucasus.

The Battle of Stalingrad lasted six months, from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943, and marked the beginning of a fundamental change in the course of World War II. As a result of this battle, five armies of Nazi Germany were completely surrounded, and the encircled group of German troops was destroyed. The total losses of the Wehrmacht during the Battle of Stalingrad amounted to about 1.5 million people. 91 thousand soldiers, 26 thousand officers, 24 generals led by the commander of the 6th Army, Field Marshal Paulus, were captured. It was a disaster that signaled the beginning of the end of Hitler's Germany. Three days of mourning were declared in Germany.

After the Battle of Stalingrad, the strategic initiative in the war passed to the Red Army. The front rolled non-stop to the west. In the fall of 1944, German troops were expelled from the territory of the Soviet Union. Soviet troops began offensive operations in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe occupied by the Nazis.

Liberation of the territory of the USSR

From July 5 to August 23, 1943, the Battle of Kursk took place. The goal was to disrupt the advance of German troops in the Kursk ledge area. After a tank battle near the village of Prokhorovka

On July 12, in which 1,200 tanks took part on both sides, the enemy’s retreat began. In the Battle of Kursk, Wehrmacht losses amounted to about 500 thousand people, 1.5 thousand tanks, over 3.7 thousand aircraft, and more than 3 thousand guns were destroyed.

From August to December 1943, the battle for the Dnieper continued. The Soviet troops were opposed by Army Group Center and the main forces of Army Group South. These two groups formed the Eastern Wall defensive line, the main part of which ran along the banks of the Dnieper. During the Battle of the Dnieper, Soviet troops captured a strategic bridgehead on the Dnieper and liberated over 38 thousand settlements, including 160 cities.

From July 10, 1941 to August 9, 1944, the defense of Leningrad lasted. Army Group North (29 divisions) had the task of defeating Soviet troops in the Baltic states and, interacting with part of the forces of Army Group Center, capturing Leningrad and Kronstadt. On September 8, 1941, German troops cut off Leningrad from land. The blockade of the city began. Only on January 18, 1943 did Soviet troops break through the blockade, and in January 1944 they completely liquidated it. On August 10, 1944, the battle for Leningrad ended.

From June 23 to August 29, 1944, the Belarusian operation to liberate Belarus continued. During this operation, the main forces of Army Group Center were surrounded and destroyed, the liberation of Belarus, parts of Lithuania and Latvia was completed

Offensive in Western Europe

On July 20, 1944, during a meeting held by Hitler at the main headquarters, an explosion occurred, as a result of which four officers were killed. Hitler himself was not injured. The assassination attempt was organized by Wehrmacht officers, and the bomb was planted by Colonel Stauffenberg. A series of executions followed, during which more than 5 thousand people involved in the conspiracy were shot.

Time was working for the allies of the Soviet Union. By 1942, the United States transferred industrial production to wartime mode. During the entire war, the United States supplied 300 thousand aircraft, 86 thousand tanks and 2.1 million guns and machine guns to England and the USSR. Deliveries were carried out in accordance with Lend-Lease. The United States supplied England and the USSR with $50 billion worth of products during the war. US supplies and the increase in their own production of military equipment allowed the Allies to achieve superiority in military equipment over Nazi Germany already in 1942. In 1943, US industry was operating at full capacity. New technology and tactics made it possible to destroy almost the entire German submarine fleet in the Atlantic Ocean. American technology moved to Europe in a huge stream.

In November 1942, the Anglo-American landing began on the coasts of Algeria and Morocco. About 450 warships and transport vessels ensured the transfer of people and equipment across the ocean from the USA and England to the ports of Casablanca, Algiers and Oran. French troops, under the command of the Vichy government, did not resist. English American troops under the command of General D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) launched an attack on Tunisia.

A little earlier, near the small town of El Atmein. located 90 km from Alexandria, a battle took place in which British troops under the command of Field Marshal B. Montgomery (1887-1976) inflicted a decisive defeat on the Afrika Korps under the command of Field Marshal E. Rommel (1891 - 1944). After Stalingrad, it was one of the most crushing defeats for Germany and Italy in World War II. The Battle of El Alamein began on October 23 and ended on November 4, 1942. Of the 249 tanks, Rommel only had 36 left; he lost 400 guns and several thousand vehicles. 20 thousand German soldiers surrendered to the British. After this battle, the Germans retreated non-stop for 2.5 thousand km. In May 1943, British troops and the Anglo-American Expeditionary Force met in Tunisia and inflicted a new defeat on the Italian-German forces. North Africa was cleared of Nazi troops, and the Mediterranean Sea came completely under Allied control.

Without giving the enemy the opportunity to recover after severe lesions, Anglo-American troops in July-August 1943 carried out a landing in Sicily. The Italians did not offer serious resistance. In Italy there was a crisis of the fascist dictatorship. Mussolini was overthrown. The new government led by Marshal Badoglio signed an armistice on September 3, 1943, according to which the Italian troops stopped resistance and capitulated.

Saving Mussolini's regime, German troops moved to the center of Italy, captured Rome, disarmed Italian units and established a brutal occupation regime in Italy. Having fled to the protection of the Allied forces, the Badoglio government declared war on Germany on October 13, 1943.

On June 6, 1944, American-British troops began landing in northern France, in Normandy. This was a practical step in the long-promised opening of a second front by the Allies. By July 24, the number of Allied troops amounted to over 1.5 million people. The Allied forces outnumbered the enemy in personnel and tanks by 3 times, in aircraft by more than 60 times, they completely dominated the sea and air. On August 15, 1944, American and French troops landed in the south of France. August 25 parts French Resistance By agreement with the American command, they entered Paris, and the national banner soared over the capital of France.

The opening of the second front was an important event during the Second World War. Now Germany had to fight a war on two fronts in Europe, which limited the possibilities for strategic maneuver. American and British aviation completely dominated the air of Western Europe. All roads and communications were controlled by Allied aviation.

The scale of strategic bombing of Germany expanded, and large Anglo-American aviation forces began to be involved. During the day, American aircraft carried out raids on industrial facilities, railways, bridges, submarine bases, factories for the production of synthetic gasoline and rubber. At night, British aircraft bombed mainly cities, trying to suppress the morale of the civilian population. As a result of the bombing, most of the defense enterprises located on German territory were destroyed, the air defense system was suppressed, and German aviation did not undertake active actions. Civilians suffered the most from air raids. By the spring of 1945, almost a quarter of Berlin was destroyed by bombing. The transport system and the work of the rear of the fascist troops were practically destroyed and disorganized.

At the beginning of 1943, a turning point came in the war in the Pacific. Japan's economic situation deteriorated sharply. The food supply to the population first decreased and then stopped completely. Strikes began in the country. Anti-war sentiments were openly expressed. Thus, the military defeat was combined with a deep internal crisis. The political crisis in the country was expressed in a change of government. In July 1944, the Tojo cabinet, which started the war in the Pacific, was dismissed in April
1945 there was a new change in the Japanese government.

• Resume
  December 7, 1941 - Japanese bombing of the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands. US declaration of war on Japan
  December 11, 1941 - Italy and Germany declare war on the United States
  February 15, 1942 - Japanese capture of the British naval base on the island of Singapore. Collapse of the defense system in the Pacific Ocean
  1942 - Japanese occupation of Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea. Burma, Philippines, Hong Kong and other territories
  July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943 - Battle of Stalingrad - a turning point in the Second World War
  October 23 - November 4, 1942 - defeat of the Italo-German troops at El Apamein (Egypt), transfer of strategic initiative to the British army
  May 1943 - liberation of North Africa from Italian-German troops
  July 5 - August 23, 1943 - Battle of Kursk
  August-December 1943 - Battle of the Dnieper
  September 3, 1943 - the capitulation of Italy marked the beginning of the collapse of the Nazi bloc
  June 6, 1944 - opening of the second front
  July 20, 1944 - unsuccessful attempt on Hitler's life
  August 10, 1944 - end of the Battle of Leningrad

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The main battles of the Second World War in 1941-1944. Updated: January 27, 2017 By: admin

Fighting took place all over the globe; some lasted days, others months or even years. But which were the most important battles of World War II?

“Most important” does not necessarily mean “decisive,” nor does it mean “largest,” “most glorious,” “bloodyest,” “most skillful,” or “most successful.” When we say "important" we mean that the battle was great influence on later military and political events, if not on the final outcome of the war. The shortest of them lasted 90 minutes, the longest - three months.

1. France, May 1940

The rapid and unexpected capture of the Low Countries and northern France, which was achieved in just four weeks, was the best example of German maneuver warfare skills.

French army broke the spine. Hitler was able to gain control of Western Europe, after which Fascist Italy entered the war). All other events from 1940 to 1945 were a consequence of this victory.

The German army made a blunder, which also turned out to be extremely significant: the British expeditionary force was allowed to escape through Dunkirk. As a result, Britain remained a tangible threat and Hitler's victory was incomplete.

However, Stalin's hope for a long, mutually destructive conflict between the capitalist powers did not materialize; The Soviet Union itself was under threat.

2. Battle of Britain, August-September 1940

In an attempt to prepare for the invasion, Luftwaffe forces bombed RAF bases and later London to gain air superiority and force peace.

However, Britain had an air defense system that used radar equipment and a powerful fleet. Community morale remained high. The Germans suffered serious losses, and by mid-September they were forced to switch from daytime bombing to sporadic and less effective night bombing. The autumn turned out to be cold, which made a possible invasion difficult.

The Battle of Britain showed Germany (and the USA) that England was not so easily taken out of the war. The Americans sent help, and Hitler decided that it would be better to switch to the USSR.

3. Operation Barbarossa, June-July 1941

The surprise attack on the USSR was Hitler's most devastating victory of the entire war; The fighting took place over a vast territory. The Wehrmacht's first goal was achieved: the rapid destruction of the Red Army in western Russia.

However, the more global goal - the overthrow of Soviet power and the seizure of the entire European part of Russia - remained unfulfilled. The monstrous attack eventually forced the defenders to retreat almost 1000 km, to the outskirts of Leningrad and Moscow. The Red Army needed time to recover; She would be able to drive out the invaders from the USSR only in the fall of 1944.

4. Moscow, December 1941

The unexpected and successful counter-offensive of the Red Army near Moscow, which began on December 5, became the second most important battle of the entire war.

The Soviet troops still had many heavy defeats ahead, and the Germans would suffer much more serious losses at Stalingrad in 1942-1943. But this defeat near Moscow meant that Hitler's blitzkrieg strategy had failed; The USSR lost its combat capability for only a few months.

Now, on the northern and central fronts, Soviet troops held firm, and the Third Reich could not wage a “war of attrition.”

5. Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941

The battle lasted only 90 minutes and was one-sided, but undoubtedly remained one of the most important battles. Six aircraft carriers and more than 400 aircraft attacked main base American Navy.

Having paralyzed the enemy fleet, Japan was able to easily capture all of Southeast Asia. But American society, which had been cautious before the “Day of Infamy,” decisively changed its tune, starting a full-fledged war with Japan and Germany - although the need to repel the enemy in the Pacific did not allow American troops to be sent to Europe in a timely manner.

Three years later, anti-Japanese sentiment, which flourished in the United States, led to a willingness to use incendiary and nuclear weapons.

6. Midway, June 1942

The Japanese fleet headed to Midway Island (northwest of Hawaii) in hopes of luring the Americans into a trap. In fact, the Japanese themselves fell into the trap, losing four of their best aircraft carriers.

Of all the 10 battles listed here, this is the only one that could have actually ended completely differently. Victory at Midway allowed the Americans to take the strategic initiative in the southern part Pacific Ocean.

There was still a year and a half left before the active US offensive through the central Pacific Ocean, but the Japanese did not have time to strengthen their line of defense.

7. Operation Torch, November 1942

The Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria were easy battles: soldiers of the French Vichy government initially fought against Hitler, and quickly switched sides. But Torch was the first successful strategic offensive operation, and it was also the first time American troops crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

The operation was followed by victory in Tunisia, the invasion of Sicily and the capitulation of Italy. But the success of the Torch and the Mediterranean strategy developed by the British and adopted by Roosevelt led to the fact that the Allied landings in Normandy did not occur in 1943.

The Battle of El Alamein, which took place later that November, was much bloodier and determined British victory, but the Torch proved more important in historical perspective.

8. Stalingrad, November 1942 - January 1943

The three-month battle is often called the turning point of the war. After Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht failed to conquer new territories in the USSR. The operation in mid-November 1942, which cut off German troops in the city from aid, was a demonstration of the military skill of the Red Army's restored strength.

The surrender of the Sixth Army at Stalingrad on January 31 was the first major German surrender. Both the German leadership and the population of occupied Europe were well aware of the meaning of this: the Third Reich was now on the defensive.

9. Bryansk/Orel and Belgorod/Kharkov, July-August 1943

The Battle of Kursk (July 1943) is usually cited as one of the three great Soviet victories. This was the first victory that was achieved in the summer (unlike Moscow and Stalingrad).

Hitler's offensive on the Kursk Bulge (Operation Citadel) was indeed stopped, but it turned out to be of little strategic importance, and the Soviets suffered heavy losses. More important were the counter-offensives that followed the “Citadel”: north of Kursk (Bryansk / Orel - Operation Kutuzov) and south of it (Belgorod / Kharkov - Operation Commander Rumyantsev).

The Red Army took and managed to maintain the initiative along the entire southern front. Its advance to the Dnieper through Western Ukraine - to the pre-war border - would continue almost without pause until February 1944.

10. Normandy, June-July 1944

In Britain, D-Day (6 June) and the following six weeks of fighting in Normandy are considered the most obvious "crucial battle": it made possible the rapid liberation of Western Europe.

From a technical point of view, transporting a huge number of soldiers across the English Channel, many of whom were not tested in battle, was extremely difficult. The Germans thought they could repel almost any invasion.

After D-Day, Hitler decided to strengthen the defenses of Normandy, but when the US launched its main offensive in late July, the seriously damaged Wehrmacht troops had no choice but to quickly retreat to the German border itself.

11. Operation “Bagration”, June-July 1944

The Soviet offensive in Belarus, which began three weeks after D-Day, was even larger than the Battle of Normandy.

Taken by surprise by the choice of attack site, the Germans were finally overwhelmed by the pace of the continuous advance - in six weeks the entire army was destroyed, most of Soviet territory was liberated, and the attacking units advanced into central Poland. "Bagration" helped consolidate the success of the Anglo-American troops in Normandy.

The offensive (combined with the defeat of Romania in August) was so important because it left the Red Army in control of all of Eastern Europe by the end of the war.