List of World War II battles
USS Lexington explodes during the Battle of the Coral Sea .A formation of Spitfires shortly before World War II. This is a list of World War II battles encompassing 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. Battles generally refer to short periods of intense combat localised to a specific area and over a specific period. 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.
Battles from 1941
1941
1942
1943
• Battle of Osankarica
About 2,000 Germans massacred all 69 men and women of the Pohorje Battalion. Germans lost 19 men dead and had 31 wounded.
• Battle of Rennell Island
Japanese bombers sink a cruiser.
• Third Battle of Kharkov
Germans retake Kharkov .
• Battle of the Kasserine Pass
Battle between US and German armored forces in Tunisia .
• Battle of Neretva
German Army offensive in southern Bosnia . Offensive launched to encircle and destroy Yugoslavian Communist Partisan forces. Supporting the German forces in this effort were Italian , Ustaše and Serbian Royalist Chetnik units. The partisans were badly mauled but managed to escape encirclement.
• Battle of the Komandorski Islands
Naval engagement between US and Japan in the Bering Sea .
• Battle of the Ruhr
British strategic bombing of the industrial Ruhr Area, which had coke plants, steelworks and ten synthetic oil plants. Targets included the Krupp armament works (Essen), the Nordstern synthetic-oil plant (Gelsenkirchen), and the Rheinmetal–Borsig plant in Düsseldorf.
• Battle of the Bismarck Sea
U.S. and Royal Australian Air Force planes attack and sink most of a Japanese convoy carrying troops to reinforce Lae, New Guinea.
• Battle of the Bering Sea
United States and Japanese navies fight an inconclusive battle.
• Operation Cartwheel
Operation to neutralize the Japanese base at Rabaul.
• Battle of Attu
United States troops defeat and drive the Japanese off the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.
• Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
5,000 Jews and 2,000 Germans die, Jews confined.
• Battle of Sutjeska
Another attempt by German forces in Yugoslavia , this time supported by Italian , Bulgarian , and Serbian units, to encircle and destroy the Yugoslavian Communist Partisan forces in southern Bosnia . Again, the partisans were mauled but escaped.
• 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. A very big tank battle.
• Allied invasion of Sicily
Allies take Sicily from the Italians and German armies.
• Allied invasion of Italy
Landings at Calabria , Taranto and Salerno .
• Dodecanese Campaign
Battle of Kos Battle of Leros
Allied and German scramble to occupy the Dodecanese Islands .
German amphibious and airborne operation to capture Kos.
German amphibious and airborne operation to capture Leros.
• Battle of Smolensk
The Soviets attack 850,000 German troops near Smolensk Fortified Region , drive them back inflicting severe losses.
• 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 big daylight air battle, first shuttle mission.
• Battle of Berlin
Germany defend Berlin from the British.
• Battle of Tarawa
First major American amphibious landing in the Pacific.
• Battle of Makin
Americans capture the atoll of Makin Atoll .
• Salamaua-Lae campaign
Australian and U.S. forces capture two major Japanese bases at Lae and at Salamaua.
• Battle of Wau
Australians defeat Japanese attempts to capture Wau, New Guinea.
• Battle of the Bernhardt Line
U.S. 5th Army sustains 16,000 casualties fighting through the Mignano Gap to reach the Cassino defenses.
• Moro River Campaign
Battle of Ortona
1944
• Battle of Meiktila
• Battle of Monte Cassino
Four battles in Italy Jan - May. Allies finally breakthrough towards Rome .
• Battle of Monte Castelo
An unsuccessful attempt to break through the Northern Apennines. The battle marked the Brazilian Expeditionary Force 's entry into the land war in Europe.
• Battle of Anzio
Battle of Cisterna
• Battle of Kwajalein
American forces assault the islands of Kwajalein and Roi-Namur.
• Battle of the Admin Box
Japanese attempt a local counter-attack against an Allied offensive.
• Battle of Eniwetok
Battle between American and Japanese on Eniwetok Atoll .
• Battle of Imphal and Battle of Kohima
Attempted Japanese invasion of India fails with heavy losses.
• U Go offensive
Allied successfully defend Manipur from the Axis
• Operation Ichi-Go
Successful Japanese campaign to capture American air bases in China capable of sending bombers to Japan.
• Operation Rösselsprung
German attempt to capture Tito using airborne troops.
• Battle of Normandy
Allies invade northern France (Operation Overlord ), hard fighting from Cherbourg to Caen, Germans surrounded and destroyed at Falaise.
• Battle of Saipan
The battle was fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands and resulted disastrous for Japanese forces since most died.
• Second Battle of Guam
American forces capture back Guam .
• Battle of Tinian
American forces capture Tinian .
• Operation Bagration
Soviet offensive destroys German Army Group Center on the Eastern Front .
• Battle of Philippine Sea
Major carrier battle; US lose 123 planes and destroy 315 Japanese planes.
• 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
Allied invasion of Southern France.
• Battle of Debrecen
Soviets gain ground in Hungary but German and Hungarian forces manage to withdraw relatively intact after both sides suffer similar losses.
• Gothic Line offensive
British 8th Army and U.S. 5th Army attempt unsuccessfully to break into the north Italian plains.
• 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 Peleliu
A fight to capture an airstrip on a speck of coral in the western Pacific .
• Battle of Aachen
Aachen was the first major German city to face invasion during World War II.
• 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 Crucifix Hill
The 18th Infantry, U.S. 1st Infantry Division take Crucifix Hill , a crucial position to help surround Aachen . Cpt. Bobbie E. Brown is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroics.
• Battle of Angaur
American forces capture an island in Palau .
• Battle of Hurtgen Forest
Stubborn German defense, appalling losses to US army .
• Battle of Leyte
American and Filipino guerrillas forces capture Leyte .
• Battle of Leyte Gulf
The largest air-sea battle in history.
• Operation Queen
was a joint British-American operation during World War II at the Western Front between Aachen and the Rur river.
• Battle of Mindoro
• Battle of Vianden
The only major open battle fought between the Luxembourgish Resistance against German forces.
• Battle of the Bulge
German counterattack in Ardennes ; General McAuliffe says "NUTS" at Bastogne .
1945
• Operation Elephant
Allied offensive against a German bridgehead at Kapelsche Veer in the Netherlands .
• Raid at Cabanatuan
US Army Rangers rescue Bataan and Corregidor POWs from Japanese prison camp.
• Prague Offensive
1st, 4th, and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts of the Soviet Army crushed the last concentration of German troops (over 1,000,000 men in two army groups) in southeastern Germany and Czechoslovakia. These troops were Army Group Centre and the remnants of Army Group Ostmark .
• Operation Spring Awakening
The last German offensive of the war, launched around Lake Balaton, in Hungary.
• Battle of Bataan
U.S. and Philippine Forces retake the historic Bataan Peninsula.
• Battle of Manila
City totally devastated after month-long battle between the American, Filipino and Japanese forces; 100,000 civilians killed.
• Battle of Luzon
The battle where Mexico entered World War II , contributing pilots to help the United States and the Philippines defeat Japan in the South Pacific, with a loss of 37,870 Allied soldiers and 217,000 Japanese soldiers ; an Allied victory
• Battle of Corregidor
Spectacular combined U.S. and Philippine assault retakes island bastion from Japanese forces.
• Raid at Los Baños
U.S. Airborne Task Force rescues more than 2,000 Allied POWs and civilian internees held by Japanese.
• Battle of Mindanao
U.S. Eighth Army together with the Philippine Commonwealth troops completes the recapture of Southern Philippines.
• Operation Varsity
134 Allied gliders land troops in Weisel.
• Battle of the Visayas
U.S. Eighth Army together with the Philippine Commonwealth troops retakes central Philippine islands.
• Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay
Japanese defeated in Central Burma
• Battle of Iwo Jima
After a month, U.S. Forces take main offshore Japanese island.
• Operation Encore
10th Mountain Division and the Brazilian Expeditionary Force forced the German LI Mountain Corps from their positions in the Northern Apennines, leading to the start of the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy
• Battle of West Henan–North Hubei
Indecisive battle between China and Japan. Japan controls airbases after battle.
• Battle of Halbe
Part of Battle of Berlin, Germans unable to break out.
• Battle of Berlin
Soviet forces encircle and capture German capital; Hitler commits suicide.
• Battle of Hamburg
British forces capture German city.
• Battle for Castle Itter
Troops of the 23rd Tank Battalion of the 12th Armored Division , Wehrmacht , SS-Hauptsturmführer Kurt Siegfried Schrader , and recently freed French prisoners of war defended Itter Castle against an attacking force from the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division .
• Battle of Trieste
British army and Yugoslav Partisans capture the city.
• Battle of Tarakan
Allied attack as part of the Borneo campaign.
• Battle of Poljana
(14–15 May 1945) Battle between Yugoslav partisans and HOS (Croatia), German Wehrmacht , Slovene Home Guard...
• Battle of Odžak
Last battle of World War II in Europe. Between Yugoslav partisans and HOS (Croatia) from 19 April to 25 May 1945.
• Battle of West Hunan
Chinese victory in final battle to expel Japan .
• Battle of Okinawa
US takes Japanese Island in the Ryūkyūs; many casualties to both sides.
• Battle of North Borneo
Australian victory during final stages of World War II in the Pacific.
• Battle of Balikpapan
Allied victory over Japan .
• Battle of Manchuria
Soviet forces liberate Manchuria .
• Battle of Groningen
Canadian forces capture Dutch city from SS troops
• Battle of Otterlo
German forces attempt to break an encirclement by attacking Canadian and British forces
African Front
Mediterranean Front
Western Front
Atlantic Ocean
Eastern Front
Indian Ocean
Pacific Front
Japanese attacks on the U.S. or U.S. unincorporated territories
Japanese occupation of Dutch East Indies : December 1941 – March 1942
Japanese Invasion of Rabaul , January–February 1942Japanese attacks on Australia : February–June 1942
Japanese Invasion of Salamaua-Lae , March 1942Japanese Invasion of Tulagi , May 1942Battle of the Coral Sea , May 1942Battle of Midway , June 1942Japanese Invasion of Buna-Gona , July 1942Kokoda Track campaign , July–November 1942
Battle of Milne Bay , August–September 1942Guadalcanal Campaign : August 1942 – February 1943
New Guinea campaign : October 1942 – August 1945
Battle of Goodenough Island , October 1942Battle of Buna–Gona , November 1942 – January 1943Battle of Wau , January 1943Battle of the Bismarck Sea , March 1943Salamaua–Lae campaign , April–September 1943
Finisterre Range campaign , September 1943 – April 1944Huon Peninsula campaign , September 1943 – March 1944
Bougainville Campaign , November 1943 – August 1945New Britain campaign , December 1943 – August 1945Battle of Cape Gloucester : December 1943 – April 1944Admiralty Islands campaign , February–May 1944Western New Guinea campaign , April 1944 – August 1945Aitape–Wewak campaign , November 1944 – August 1945Aleutian Islands Campaign , March–August 1943
Operation Vengeance : April 1943Solomon Islands Campaign , June–November 1943
Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign , November 1943 – February 1944
Mariana and Palau Islands campaign , June–November 1944
Battle of Noemfoor : July–August 1944Battle of Morotai : September–October 1944Philippines Campaign (1944–45) : October 1944 – September 1945
Battle of Iwo Jima : February–March 1945Battle of Okinawa : April–June 1945Battle of Balikpapan (1945) : July 1945Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki : August 1945Soviet invasion of Manchuria August 1945
Kyūjō incident
China Front
Southeast Asia Front
Military engagements during occupations
Resistances
Naval engagements
General
Specific
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
Major bombing campaigns
General
Specific
Operations
Raids
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.
Raiding units
Defensive lines
Contemporaneous wars
References
See also
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