World War II Operations, Campaigns and Battles

This section of the Olive-Drab.com history of World War II contains pages that focus on the most important battles and operations, events that will be long remembered from the war. The Olive-Drab.com page of World War II Maps will be helpful to follow the action. The page on Recommended Books about World War II provides sources for in-depth history as do books recommended on the pages for individual topics.

Directory of World War II Operations and Battles

• Overviews
  • Pacific Theater of Operations
  • European Theater of Operations
• Western Europe
  • 1939-1940: Blitzkrieg
  • May-Jun 1940: Dunkirk
  • Jul-Oct 1940: Battle of Britain
  • Jun 1944: Normandy/Overlord
  • Aug 1944: Operation Dragoon, Invasion of Southern France
  • Sep 1944: Operation Market Garden, Battle of Arnhem
  • Oct 1944 - Feb 1945: Hürtgen Forest
  • Dec 1944 - Jan 1945: Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge
• Mediterranean Theater
  • May 1941: Battle of Crete
  • North Africa
    • 1940-1942: British-German North African Campaign
    • Nov 1942: Operation Torch, Allied Invasion of North Africa
    • Nov 1942 - May 1943: Tunisia, Battle of Kasserine Pass
  • Italian Campaign
    • Jul-Aug 1943: Operation Husky, Invasion of Sicily
    • Sep 1943 - Jan 1944: Invasion of Southern Italy
    • Jan-Jun 1944: Monte Cassino
    • Jan-May 1944: Anzio to Rome
    • 1944-1945: Rome to North Apennines
    • 1945: Po Valley Campaign
• Pacific Islands
  • Dec 1941: Pearl Harbor
  • Dec 1941: Wake Island
  • 1942: Fall of the Philippine Islands
  • 1942-1944: Solomon Islands
    • Aug 1942: Guadalcanal
    • June 1943: Central Solomons, New Georgia
    • Nov 1943: Bougainville
  • Jul 1942 - Jan 1943: Papua New Guinea
  • 1943-1944: New Guinea Campaign
  • Nov 1943: Gilbert Islands (Tarawa, Makin)
  • Jan 1944 - Feb 1944: Marshall Islands (Kwajalein, Eniwetok)
  • Jun 1944 - Aug 1944: Mariana Islands
    • Jun 1944: Saipan
    • Jul 1944: Guam
    • Jul 1944: Tinian
  • Sep 1944 - Nov 1944: Palaus (Peleliu)
  • 1944-1945: Philippines Campaign
  • 1945: Iwo Jima
  • Apr-Jun 1945: Okinawa
• Eastern Europe, Russia
  • Jun 1941: Operation Barbarossa, German assault on the Soviet Union
  • Aug 1942 - Feb 1943: Battle of Stalingrad
  • 1941–1944: Siege of Leningrad
  • Jul 1943: Battle of Kursk
  • Apr 1945: Battle of Berlin
• China/Burma/India
  • Dec 1937: Rape of Nanking
  • 1942-1945: Singapore and Malaya
  • 1942-1945: Defense of China
  • 1942-1945: Burma and India
• Atlantic Ocean
  • 1939-1943: Battle of the Atlantic
• Pacific Ocean
  • May 1942: Battle of the Coral Sea
  • Jun 1942: Battle of Midway
  • Feb 1944: Battle of Truk
  • Jun 1944: Battle of the Philippine Sea
  • Oct 1944: Battle of Leyte Gulf
• Americas
  • 1942-1943: Aleutian Islands Campaign

Find More Information on the Web

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World War II Battles

The global scope of World War II meant that something was going on every day from the mid-1930s to the end in September 1945. From the great Theaters of the Pacific, Europe, Mediterranean and the Eastern Front down to individual battles that changed the course of the war, the scope was truly worldwide. While no source can cover everyting that happened in WW II, all the important events, battles and campaigns are here in this section.

Explosions aboard destroyer USS Shaw (DD-373) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 7 December 1944.
Click photo for larger image.

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