The Battle of the Somme is one of the largest battles of World War I, with over 1,000,000 killed and wounded, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. But, according to some reports, up to 100 thousand people were killed during the battle and died later from wounds. During it, every hour, about 6 thousand people died or were injured, according to the most conservative estimates.

Nazi Germany lost 841,000 soldiers in the battle. By the middle of the summer of 1942, the battles of the Great Patriotic War had reached the Volga. The German command also included Stalingrad in the plan for a large-scale offensive in the south of the USSR (Caucasus, Crimea). It included 13 divisions, where there were about 270,000 people, 3 thousand guns and about five hundred tanks.

From that day on, fascist aviation began to systematically bomb the city. On the ground, battles did not stop either. All houses were turned into fortresses. On September 12, 1942, at the height of the battles for the city, the General Staff began to develop the offensive operation "Uranus". It was planned by Marshal G.K. Zhukov. The plan was to hit the flanks of the German wedge, which was defended by the Allied troops (Italians, Romanians and Hungarians).

Having overturned Germany's allies, on November 23, Soviet troops closed the ring, surrounding 22 divisions numbering 330 thousand soldiers. Hitler rejected the retreat option and ordered the commander-in-chief of the 6th Army, Paulus, to start defensive battles in the encirclement.

4. The bloodiest one-day battle

Each side unsuccessfully tried to break through the enemy's defenses and launch a decisive offensive. 305,000 soldiers and officers from both sides lost their lives in a useless confrontation.

7. The most bloody sacking of the city

After a massive 8-hour artillery preparation, the German troops went on the offensive on the right bank of the Meuse River, but met stubborn resistance. The German infantry was advancing in tight battle formations. During the first day of the offensive, the German troops advanced 2 km and took the first position of the French. During the period from February 27 to March 6, about 190,000 soldiers and 25,000 tons of military cargo were delivered to Verdun by motor vehicles.

Only on the first day of the campaign, July 1, 1916, the English landing lost 60,000 people. German losses amounted to more than 465,000 people, of which 164,055 were killed and missing. The offensive plan on all fronts, including the Western one, was developed and approved as early as early March 1916 in Chantilly. As a result, the length of the front was reduced from 70 to 40 kilometers. Already a month after the start of the battle, the British and French lost so many soldiers that 9 additional divisions were brought into battle, while Germany transferred as many as 20 divisions to the Somme.

From October 16 to October 19, 1813, a battle took place near Leipzig between the armies of Napoleon I and the sovereigns united against him: Russian, Austrian, Prussian and Swedish. The forces of the latter were divided into three armies: the Bohemian (main), Silesian and northern, but only the first two of them participated in the battle on October 16. On October 17, both warring parties remained inactive, and only on the north side of Leipzig did a cavalry skirmish occur.

3. The most bloody creation of an empire

About one o'clock in the afternoon, the allied monarchs could already enter the city, in some parts of which fierce fighting was still in full swing. Due to a disastrous mistake for the French, the bridge on the Elster was blown up prematurely. But the new head of the Russian army also preferred to retreat: on the one hand, he wanted to wear down the enemy, on the other, Kutuzov was waiting for reinforcements to give a general battle. At 6 am, the French artillery opened fire on the entire front.

Ahead, the huntsmen also lined up in a cordon. The division of Major General Neverovsky took up positions behind the flushes. This area was attacked by the cavalry of Marshal Murat, the troops of Marshals Ney and Davout, and the corps of General Junot. The number of attackers reached 115 thousand people. The course of the Battle of Borodino after the repulsed attacks of the French at 6 and 7 o'clock continued with another attempt to take flushes on the left flank. However, subsequent attacks (at 8 and 9 in the morning) were, despite the incredible intensity of the fighting, completely unsuccessful.

At the same time, the one-day battles that took place in the 20th century were still less bloody than the Battle of Borodino.

Konovnitsin withdrew his troops to Semyonovskoye only after the holding of these fortifications ceased to be a necessity. The barrow height was attacked at the same time that the battle for the capture of flushes was in full swing on the left flank.

It can be considered that this was the first case in the history of the use of biological weapons.

Platov was able to reach the rear of the French (the Valuevo area), which suspended the offensive in the central direction. Uvarov made an equally successful maneuver in the Bezzubovo area. The battle of Borodino lasted all day and gradually began to subside only by 6 pm.

Galeas San Lorenzo, flagship of the Holy League, at the Battle of Lepanto. The Battle of Lepanto was the largest naval battle of the 16th century, involving more than 500 galleys. Photo taken from the archives of the National Maritime Museum Greenwich (London). During the Iran-Iraq war, chemical weapons were used. Over 8 years of hostilities, about 900 thousand people died, which makes this war one of the most brutal since World War II.

Perhaps the bloodiest battle took place on July 1, 1916 during the First World War. We talk about him and about six more bloody battles in history. On October 7, 1571, the bloodiest battle in the history of naval battles took place - the Battle of Lepanto between the Spanish-Venetian fleet and the fleet of the Ottoman Empire.

It is not easy to make 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 big it was. The feat of every war-liberator is equally priceless.

And yet, we tried to highlight the 10 largest and most significant battles of the Second World War, the outcome of which significantly influenced the further course of the war.

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

# # #

1. Battle of the Atlantic

(September 1, 1939 – May 1945)

USS Spencer. During World War II, he sank several German submarines. It 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, to weaken the UK.

During the battles, the German fleet tried to sink all possible allied ships, from military to transport and food. The main weapon of Germany were submarines, they have successfully proven themselves from the very beginning of the battles. During World War II, Germany built more than a thousand submarines of various types, which dominated the Atlantic until the spring of 1943.

By this time, despite the colossal losses, the Allies still tried 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 the middle of 1944, the dominance of the Allies in the Atlantic was obvious. Germany was defeated 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 parties during the Battle of the Atlantic differ in many sources. Germany alone lost more than 30,000 submariners and 789 submarines. On the other hand, 179 Allied warships and 2,828 ships were sunk by German forces.

# # #

(May 10 - June 25, 1940)

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

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

# # #

(July 9 - October 30, 1940)

It was an almost four-month battle for air supremacy between the Wehrmacht and the armed forces of Great Britain. The Germans pursued the goal of gaining 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.

From the side of the Third Reich, the main forces were Messerschmitt (Messerschmitt) fighters of the Bf.109E and Bf.110C modifications, which in many respects surpassed 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 the bombardment. Also, at least 2 million buildings and structures were destroyed by German bombs.

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 opened eastern direction - the USSR.

Perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to say that the tank battles of the Second World War are one of its main images. How are the trenches an image of the First World War or nuclear missiles of the post-war confrontation between the socialist and capitalist camps. Actually, this is not surprising, since the tank battles of World War II largely determined its nature and course.

Not the last merit in this belongs to one of the main ideologists and theorists of motorized warfare, the German General Heinz Guderian. He largely owns the initiatives of the most powerful blows with a single fist of the troops, thanks to which the Nazi forces achieved such dizzying successes on the European and African continents for more than two years. The tank battles of the Second World War especially gave brilliant results at its first stage, defeating outdated morally Polish equipment in record time. It was Guderian's divisions that ensured the breakthrough of the German armies near Sedan and the successful occupation of French and Belgian territories. Only the so-called "Dunker miracle" saved the remnants of the armies of the French and British from total defeat, allowing them to reorganize in the future and protect England in the sky at first and prevent the Nazis from concentrating absolutely all their military power in the east. Let's take a closer look at the three largest tank battles of this whole massacre.

Prokhorovka, tank battle

Tank battles of World War II: the battle of Senno

This episode took place at the very beginning of the German invasion of the territory of the USSR and became an integral part of the Vitebsk battle. After the capture of Minsk, the German units advanced to the confluence of the Dnieper and Dvina, intending to launch an offensive against Moscow from there. From the side of the Soviet state, two combat vehicles numbering more than 900 participated in the battle. The Wehrmacht had at its disposal three divisions and about a thousand serviceable tanks, backed up by aircraft. As a result of the battle on July 6-10, 1941, the Soviet forces lost more than eight hundred of their combat units, which opened up the opportunity for the enemy to continue their advance without changing plans and launch an offensive towards Moscow.

The largest tank battle in history

In fact, the biggest battle took place even earlier! Already in the first days of the Nazi invasion (June 23-30, 1941) between the cities of Brody - Lutsk - Dubno, in Western Ukraine, there was a clash involving more than 3200 tanks. In addition, the number of combat vehicles here was three times greater than near Prokhorovka, and the battle lasted not one day, but a whole week! As a result of the battle, the Soviet corps were literally crushed, the armies of the Southwestern Front suffered a quick and crushing defeat, which opened the way for the enemy to Kyiv, Kharkov and further occupation of Ukraine.

From the very beginning of World War II, the United States provided Britain with the greatest possible assistance. Hitler had every reason to declare war on the United States, but he held back, fearing that country would enter the war. It is quite possible that the American government could not have found sufficient grounds for entering the war in Europe if the Pacific War had not broken out. The conflict in the Pacific has been brewing since the beginning 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 for the conquest of Malaysia, hoping to establish control over the rubber plantations of this country.

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

While the Japanese representatives were negotiating in Washington, events took an unexpected turn. On December 7, 1941, a squadron of Japanese aircraft made a surprise raid on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), where the US Pacific Fleet was concentrated. The results of the attack were horrendous: 4 out of 8 battleships were sunk, 18 warships disabled, 188 aircraft destroyed and 128 damaged, and 3,000 servicemen were killed. December 8 USA. declared war on Japan. In response, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, on the same day the United States declared war on Germany and Italy. The US was directly involved in the war.

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

At the first stage of the war, the main task of the Japanese was to cut off Southeast Asia from England, so the main blow was delivered 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 15 February 1942 with little to no resistance. The English garrison, heavily fortified and well-armed, flew the white flag without a fight. 100 thousand British soldiers surrendered, the Japanese received 740 guns, 2500 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 had occupied Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Burma, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Guam, the Solomon Islands, that is, a territory inhabited by 400 million people. There was a real threat to India and Australia. However, the 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 the entire artillery of the Japanese army and 2/3 of the tanks were concentrated here. This was the mistake of the Japanese leadership. The situation in the Pacific began to gradually change. The United States took advantage of the respite and concentrated its armed forces, re-equipped its air force and navy. Japan switched to defensive operations in the Pacific. The US seized the initiative and kept it until the end of the war.

Battle of Stalingrad

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

The battle for Stalingrad lasted six months, from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943, and marked the beginning of a radical turning point in the course of World War II. As a result of this battle, five armies of fascist Germany were completely surrounded, and the encircled grouping 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 were taken prisoner, led by Field Marshal Paulus, commander of the 6th Army. It was a catastrophe that marked the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany. Three days of mourning has been declared in Germany.

After the Battle of Stalingrad, the strategic initiative in the war passed to the Red Army. The front rolled unceasingly to the west. In the autumn of 1944, German troops were expelled from the territory of the Soviet Union. Soviet troops switched to offensive operations on the territory of 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 offensive of the German troops in the area of ​​the Kursk salient. After a tank battle near the village of Prokhorovka

On July 12, in which 1,200 tanks took part on both sides, the enemy retreat began. In the Battle of Kursk, the losses of the Wehrmacht 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 the Army Group "Center" and the main forces of the 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 for the Dnieper, Soviet troops captured a strategic foothold on the Dnieper and liberated over 38,000 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, capture Leningrad and Kronstadt. September 8, 1941 German troops cut off Leningrad from the land. The blockade of the city began. Only on January 18, 1943 did the Soviet troops break through the blockade, and in January 1944 it was completely liquidated. 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 hurt. 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 5,000 people involved in the conspiracy were shot.

Time worked for the allies of the Soviet Union. By 1942, the United States transferred industrial production to a military regime. During the entire war, the United States delivered to England and the USSR 300,000 aircraft, 86,000 tanks, and 2.1 million guns and machine guns. Deliveries were carried out in accordance with Lend-Lease. The United States supplied England and the USSR during the war with products worth 50 billion dollars. Deliveries by the United States and the increase in their own production of military equipment allowed the Allies to achieve superiority in military equipment over Nazi Germany as early as 1942. In 1943, US industry was 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, an Anglo-American landing began on the coast 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. The French troops, under the command of the Vichy government, offered no resistance. Anglo-American troops under the command of General D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) launched an offensive against Tunisia.

Somewhat earlier near the small town of El-Atmein. located 90 km from Alexandria, a battle took place in which the British troops under the command of Field Marshal B. Montgomery (1887-1976) inflicted a decisive defeat on the African Corps 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 had only 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 Italo-German troops. North Africa was cleared of Nazi troops, and the Mediterranean Sea completely came under the control of the allies.

Not allowing the enemy to recover from heavy defeats, the Anglo-American troops in July-August 1943 made an amphibious landing in Sicily. The Italians put up no serious resistance. In Italy, there was a crisis of the fascist dictatorship. Mussolini was overthrown. The new government, headed by Marshal Badoglio, signed an armistice on September 3, 1943, according to which the Italian troops ceased resistance and capitulated.

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

On June 6, 1944, the landing of American-British troops began in northern France, in Normandy. It was a practical step in the opening of a second front long promised by the allies. By July 24, the number of Allied troops amounted to over 1.5 million people. The allied troops had an advantage over the enemy in personnel and tanks by 3 times, in aircraft - more than 60 times, they completely dominated the sea and in the air. On August 15, 1944, American and French formations landed in southern France. On August 25, parts of the French Resistance, in agreement with the American command, entered Paris, and the national banner was hoisted 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 of strategic maneuver. The air of Western Europe was completely dominated by American and British aviation. All roads and communications were controlled by Allied aviation.

The scale of strategic bombing of Germany expanded, in which large Anglo-American aviation forces began to be involved. During the day, American aircraft raided industrial facilities, railroads, bridges, submarine bases, synthetic gasoline and rubber plants. 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 defeated, the air defense system was suppressed, and German aviation did not take active steps. The civilian population suffered the most from the air raids. By the spring of 1945, almost a quarter of Berlin had been 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 Pacific War. Japan's economic situation deteriorated sharply. The supply of food to the population first decreased, and then completely stopped. Strikes began in the country. Anti-war sentiments were openly manifested. 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 of the Japanese government.

• Summary
  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 - the capture of the naval base of England on the island of Singapore by Japan. The collapse of the defense system in the Pacific
  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 course of World War II
  October 23 - November 4, 1942 - the defeat of the Italo-German troops at El Apamein (Egypt), the transition of the strategic initiative to the British army
  May 1943 - liberation of the territory of North Africa from the Italo-German troops
  July 5 - August 23, 1943 - Battle of Kursk
  August-December 1943 - battle for the Dnieper
  September 3, 1943 - the capitulation of Italy marked the beginning of the disintegration of the Nazi bloc
  June 6, 1944 - opening of the second front
  July 20, 1944 - Failed assassination attempt on Hitler
  August 10, 1944 - the end of the battle for Leningrad

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

The Second World War was the most terrible and bloody war in the history of mankind. The world was in a state of "total war". The anti-fascist coalition won, but some of these battles did not always end in victory. The article discusses ten battles that changed the course of the war.

Battle for France

After the Germans conquered Poland in September 1939, Hitler turned his attention to the west. Invading the territory of the Soviet Union was his main goal, but he knew that, first of all, he needed to capture Western Europe in order to avoid a war on two fronts. First, it was necessary to capture the Netherlands (Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium) and France. Hypothetically, Germany could conquer Britain by re-deploying its troops in the East, and then launch military operations against the Russians. The German army outnumbered the armies of the anti-fascist coalition. However, this did not matter, as the German plan was very effective. After the Germans invaded the Netherlands, the French army and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) moved north, coming face to face with German forces. This allowed the German army to break through the coalition defenses in the Ardennes and advance towards the English Channel, but it was a trap. The Germans captured Paris, France fell, and the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated at Dunkirk. The country was divided into German occupation zones, in which the Vichy regime was introduced. Now Germany could concentrate and strike at Britain

Operation Overlord

By the summer of 1944, the Red Army was already on the doorstep of Germany. There is no doubt that the Russians could single-handedly defeat Nazi Germany, but Stalin pressured the West to set up a second front there and try to distract the Germans and end the war quickly. Since 1942, the US Air Force and the Royal Air Force of Great Britain have carried out a massive bombardment. The coalition led the Mediterranean operation and in 1943 invaded Italy. However, it was necessary to recapture France in order to destroy the main strength of the German army in Northern Europe. Operation Overlord began with the Normandy landings in June 1944. By August, there were about 3 million troops of the anti-fascist coalition in France. Paris was liberated on August 25, and the German army was driven back and on September 30 they retreated to the Seine River. Germany was forced to reinforce its Western Front by taking reinforcements from the Eastern Front. The anti-fascist coalition won a strategic victory. By September, the western coalition forces were close to the German border. Nazi Germany surrendered less than a year later. It was important that Western Europe could not govern Russia, which was already going through hard times.

Battle of Guadalcanal

The Battle of Guadalcanal, or Operation Watchtower, took place from August 7, 1942 - February 9, 1943 in the Pacific theater of operations. The war was between the forces of the Allies and Japan. The fighting took place on the island of Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands). On August 7, 1942, the first Allied units landed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Florida in order to prevent the Japanese from using them as their bases, which were a threat to the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The Allies intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi as a foothold. The initial landing caught the Japanese by surprise. The Allies immediately managed to capture the islands of Tulagi and Florida, as well as the airfield on Guadalcanal (which was then called Henderson Field). Not expecting such an onslaught from the Allies, the Japanese made several attempts to retake Henderson Field. These attempts led to major battles, and ended up with the Japanese without support. In December 1942, the Japanese began to evacuate their troops. The Battle of Guadalcanal was of great significance as it marked the loss of Japan's strategic initiative and the Allies switched from defensive to offensive.

Battle of Leyte Gulf

This is the largest naval battle in history. The battle took place in the seas on the Philippine island from October 23 to October 26, 1944. The battle was between the American and Japanese fleets. The Japanese tried to push back the Allied forces that were located on the island of Leyte. For the first time in the war, kamikaze tactics were used. As a result, the Allied fleet won a significant victory and was able to sink one of the largest battleships in the world - Musashi and damaging another battleship - Yamato. After this battle, the Japanese Combined Fleet did not undertake major operations.

Battle for Moscow

Hitler intended to capture Moscow. This capital was considered an extremely important point militarily and politically. The original plan was to capture Moscow within four months. Hitler and his coalition make the decision to capture the capital before the onset of winter. Weather conditions prevented the Germans, but in December they were practically 19 miles from Moscow. Then there were heavy torrential rains. And the temperature dropped sharply and reached -40. The German troops did not have winter clothing, and the tanks were not designed to operate in such low temperatures. On December 5, 1941, the Russians counterattacked, driving the German forces back. For the first time, the Germans retreated, and Operation Barbarossa was a failure.

Battle of Kursk

The Battle of Kursk took place after the Battle of Stalingrad. The Germans wanted to break through the northern and southern flanks in order to encircle the Soviet troops. However, the Soviet Union knew about Hitler's intentions, and began to prepare for defense. The Germans delayed the offensive as they were waiting for the tanks: the Tiger and the Panther, thus giving the Red Army more time to dig and gather forces for a counterattack. The defense around Kursk was 10 times deeper than the Maginot Line. German troops went on the offensive on 5 July. This was the first time that a blitzkrieg plan had been defeated without even breaking through the defenses. After the failed attack, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive. The war in Europe would continue for another two years, but the Battle of Kursk was over, the Americans and the British could invade Italy. At Kursk, the Germans lost 720 tanks, 680 aircraft and killed 170,000 people. This battle was the largest tank battle in history. After three years of war, the Allies finally gained a strategic advantage.

Battle of Midway

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan began preparations for the next operation against the United States in the Pacific. The goal of the Japanese was to destroy US aircraft carriers and capture the strategically important Midway Atoll, located equidistant from Asia and North America. The Americans managed to decipher the encrypted messages of the Japanese, and now the United States could prepare for the attack. On June 3, 1942, the Battle of Midway began. Combat aircraft took off from Midway Atoll, they began bombing and torpedoing during the battles like in the air. The battle was won by the United States, and it was a turning point in the Pacific War.

Operation Barbarossa

The Nazi invasion of the USSR began on June 22, 1941. The operation involved 8.9 million soldiers, more than 18,000 tanks, 45,000 aircraft, and 50,000 artillery pieces. When the Germans went on the offensive, the Red Army was caught by surprise. The non-aggression pact was signed prior to the German and Soviet invasion of Poland. Both countries invaded and occupied Poland, but Hitler always saw Russia as a source of agriculture, slave labor, oil and other raw materials. Three army groups were formed; each of which had its own task. The group in the north was supposed to capture Leningrad. The central group was to take Moscow, and the group in the south was to take the Ukraine and move east towards the Caucasus. The Germans advanced quickly. The main battles took place in Smolensk, Uman, and in Kyiv. Panzer divisions could surround and capture three million Soviet soldiers by the time they got to Moscow. By December, they surrounded Leningrad from the north, reached the outskirts of Moscow in the center, and occupied the Ukraine in the south.

Battle of Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad is the decisive battle of the Second World War, in which the Soviet troops won the biggest victory. This battle marked the beginning of a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War and World War II in general. The Battle of Stalingrad is usually divided into two periods: defensive (from July 17 - November 18, 1942) and offensive (from November 19, 1942 - February 2, 1943). The battle of Stalingrad surpassed all the battles in world history: in duration, in the number of people and military equipment. The battle took place on a vast territory. According to the results, this battle also surpassed all previous ones. Near Stalingrad, Soviet troops defeated the armies of the Germans, Romanians and Italians. In this battle, the Germans lost 800,000 soldiers and officers, as well as a large amount of military equipment and equipment.

Battle of Britain

If Great Britain were withdrawn from the war, then Hitler could concentrate the entire military potential of Germany on the Soviet Union. America and the Soviet Union would have to fight the Nazi coalition, and Operation Overlord might not have taken place at all. For these reasons, the Battle of Britain is without a doubt the most important battle of the Second World War. The British Expeditionary Force was successfully evacuated to Dunkirk. However, most of their equipment remained in France. Germany gained air supremacy over Great Britain, and could launch Operation Sea Lion (invasion of the British Isles). The Royal Navy would have been ineffective without air cover. The original strategy of the Luftwaffe was to destroy the RAF. It was quite a good idea, but then the strategy changed. And that gave the Royal Air Force a chance to win. Radar was important to America. Without it, the RAF would have to keep its aircraft in the air. They lacked the resources to do so. The radar would have allowed the troops to wait and coordinate the German attack. By October 1940, the Luftwaffe had a shortage of combat equipment and crew. Hitler did not get an advantage in the air and Operation Sea Lion failed. This battle allowed Great Britain to rebuild its forces. After the victory was on the side of the Allies, Winston Churchill said: “Human conflicts have never been so acute as they are now.