Battle of Britain The Germans needed to control the English Channel to launch her invasion of Britain (which the

Germans code-named Operation Sealion). They needed this control of the Channel so that the British Navy would not be able to attack her invasion barges Britain had a number of advantages over the Luftwaffe. Britain had RADAR which gave the British early warning of the approach of the German planes. By the Spring of 1940, fifty-one radar bases had been built around the coast of southern Britain. We also had the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) which used such basics as binoculars to do the same job. By 1940, over 1000 ROC posts had been established. British fighter planes could spend more time in the air over Kent and Sussex as we could easily land for fuel whereas the German fighters could not. German bombers could fly for longer distances than their fighter planes could cover and therefore, the bombers could not always count on fighter cover for protection. The German fighters were also limited in that they could not reload their guns if they ran out of ammunition while over Kent etc. British fighters could. Without sufficient fighter cover, the German bombers were open to attack from British fighter planes. The battle started on July 10th 1940 when the Luftwaffe attempted to gain control of the Straits of Dover. The aim of the Luftwaffe was to tempt the RAF out for a full-scale battle. By the end of July, the RAF had lost 150 aircraft while the Luftwaffe had lost 268. In August, the Luftwaffe started to attack Fighter Command's airfields, operation rooms and radar stations - the idea being that the RAF could be destroyed on the ground so that the Luftwaffe need not fight them in the air. Without radar the RAF would be seriously hampered in terms of early warning and the destruction of operation rooms would cut off communications between fighter bases and those at the heart of the battle controlling the movement of fighter planes. Destroyed runways would hamper the chances of a fighter plane taking off. Bad weather stopped the Luftwaffe from daily raids in August but August 15th is seen as a key date as nearly all the German dive-bombers were destroyed by this date as they fell easy prey to the British fighter planes. Therefore, pin-point bombing of radar stations was all but impossible. From August 23rd to September 6th, the Luftwaffe started night time bombing raids on cities. The RAF was also badly hit with 6 out of 7 main fighter bases in south-eastern England being put out of action. However, for all this apparent success, the Luftwaffe was losing more planes than the RAF was - 1000 German losses to 550 RAF. One event did greatly aid the British. The head of the Luftwaffe - Herman Goering ordered an end to the raids on radar bases as he believed that they were too unimportant to matter. Albert Speer - a leading Nazi throughout the war - claimed in his book "Inside the Third Reich" that a number of important decisions were made based on Goering's ignorance. As Goering did not understand the importance of something, it was dismissed as unnecessary for success. As a result of this, the radar station at

Ventnor on the Isle of Wight functioned throughout the battle and gave Fighter Command vital information regarding German targets. The change to bombing the cities also gave Fighter Command time to recover from its losses and for pilots to recover from the many hours a day they operated which took many to the brink of exhaustion. On September 15th came the last major engagement of the battle. On that day, the Luftwaffe lost 60 planes while the RAF lost 28. On September 17th, Hitler postponed indefinitely the invasion of Britain though the night time raids - the Blitz - continued. London, Plymouth and Coventry were all badly hit by these raids. Recent research indicates that Hitlers heart was not in an attack on Brita in but that he wanted to concentrate his countrys strength on an attack on communist Russia. However, no-one in Britain in the autumn of 1940 would have known about this and all indications from April 1940 onwards, were that Hitler did intend to invade Britain.

The Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway, fought in June 1942, must be considered one of the most decisive battles of World War Two. Yamamoto's, Japans Commander in Chief, plan for the attack on Midway was complex and relied on perfect timing and diversionary tactics to lure parts of the American force away from Yamamoto's main battle fleet. It also required that four out of Japan's eight aircraft carriers were in the vicinity. The Japanese fleet also included the biggest battleship in the world, the 'Yamato' the smaller battleships 'Nagato' and 'Mutsu', and numerous cruisers and destroyers. Yamamoto's plan was ingenious but too intricate. It also contained two defects: The first US attacks took place after a Catalina flying boat, on patrol, spotted the Japanese main fleet. Land based B-17 bombers attacked the fleet and claimed to have sunk two battleships. In fact, the ships that were spotted were transport ships and tankers and no hits were scored by the B-17's. This occurred 800 miles from Fletcher's task force and he realized from the intelligence reports he had that, that such incidents were peripheral to the main task he had. Fletcher knew that the Japanese carriers were just 400 miles from his force. During the night of June 3rd, Fletcher moved the two task forces 200 miles north of Midway - something the Japanese would not know about thus setting up his scouting force for "one of the great decisive battles in history. Early on June 4th, both fleets launched some of their planes primarily for scouting missions. The Japanese also prepared a number of dive-bombers and escort Zero fighters for an actual attack on Midway. At 05:34 am, the Americans received a report from their scout planes that the Japanese main fleet, including the carriers, was 200 miles west-south-west of the 'Yorktown. Midway was attacked by Japanese planes at 06:16 with power plants and oil installations being the main target. Ten torpedo-bombers had taken off from Midway to attack the Japanese carriers. Another attack by B-17's from 20,000 feet and Vindicator scout-bombers also failed to find their target - though this attack had achieved one result as many Zero fighters were put into the air to protect the fleet. Now they needed to be re-fuelled and re-armed which left the Japanese fleet commanded by Nagumo very vulnerable as it had neither fighter cover nor were his carriers in a position to do a great deal other than re-equip the planes. It was at this moment, when his carriers were all-but defenseless against an air attack, that Nagumo received news of an incoming aerial attack from planes from both the 'Hornet' and 'Enterprise'. All that Spruance had left behind were sufficient planes to give his ships aerial cover - the rest were sent to attack the Japanese fleet. Unknown to them, Nagumo had changed course and when the planes arrived at the point that they believed the Japanese would be at - they found nothing. Some planes searched in vain; a lot of the fighters had to ditch as they simply ran out of fuel. However, the torpedo squadrons, flying low over the water, did find the Japanese carriers - but they had no

fighter cover for the attack. Regardless of this, the attack went ahead despite the extreme danger of it. The first attack took out the flight deck of the flagship 'Akagi' detonating a store of torpedoes. The flames soon reached fuel supplies and within minutes the 'Akagi' was doomed, though it was another seven hours before the ship was abandoned. Other dive bombers attacked the 'Kaga'. Here again, fuel was soon ignited and the ship suffered severe damage, even if it took two hours to sink. More divebombers attacked the 'Soryu' with the same deadly impact. In the space of five minutes, the Japanese Navy had lost half of its carrier force, ships that were deemed to be crewed by the Navy's elite. At a stroke Japan had lost four vital aircraft carriers that were considered to be vital for the Pacific campaign. Regardless of finding new carriers, experienced crew would also be needed and the Japanese had lost many experienced crewmen during the battle.

Battle of Guadalcanal The Joint Chiefs-of-Staff in Washington gave the go-ahead for the first American offensive campaign since Pearl Harbor in December 1941. On August 7th, the Americans started their attack on Guadalcanal. The Americans achieved complete tactical surprise. When the Marines landed on 'Red Beach', they expected major Japanese defenses. They found nothing. As the Americans advanced inland towards where the airfield was being built, they came across another major problem - the climate. The hot and humid jungle climate quickly took its toll on soldiers carrying heavy equipment. The climate also did a great deal to affect radios and radio communication. Regardless of these issues, the Americans made no contact with the Japanese and for the first 24 hours there was no fighting on Guadalcanal. The Marines encountered fierce resistance and it took the US Marine Raiders 24 hours to eliminate the Japanese who had been based at Tulagi. This was a sign of what was to come. US paratroopers attacked Gavutu and met a similar response from the Japanese and it required fire from nearby naval ships to alleviate the problem The Americans arrived at the airfield on Guadalcanal late on August 8th. Once again, there were no Japanese there as they had fled into the jungle. On the night of August 8th/9th, a Japanese cruiser force attacked the Allied naval force at Guadalcanal and forced it to withdraw. The Marines on Guadalcanal were on their own. Though the landing of equipment had been chaotic at times, equipment had been landed. In this sense, Vandergrifts men were not in a hopeless situation. Vandergrift hoped that planes could land at the airfield that they now controlled. However, vital equipment such as barbed wire to defend the base and anti-personnel mines had not been landed in quantity. The Japanese had landed men on Guadalcanal on August 18th. A regiment led by Colonel Ichiki and a special naval landing force were assigned the task of defeating the Marines. He decided to attack on August 21st. Ichiki ordered a simple bayonet attack on the American positions. Carefully placed machine gun posts meant that many Japanese were killed. Ichiki ordered his men to withdraw but Vandergrift had ordered one of his reserve battalions to encircle the Japanese. In what became known as the 'Battle of Tenaru', the Marines slowly pushed the Japanese back to the sea. It was here that the Americans first found out that the

Japanese did not surrender and that they were willing to die for the emperor. Only a handful got away. Despite this triumph, Vandergrift knew that another stronger Japanese force would soon be landing on Guadalcanal - the men that Ichiki had not waited for; the XXXVth Brigade. The attack began on September 12th. Japanese bombers attacked US positions to the south of the airfield and as night fell, Japanese destroyers and a cruiser shelled the same positions. The assault on September 12th was a failure and the Japanese had to re -new their attack the following day. 2,000 Japanese soldiers attacked the American lines but well placed US machine guns and artillery took their toll. By the end of the night, Kawaguchi had lost 1,200 men killed or wounded. The Marines and paratroopers had also taken heavy casualties with 446 being On October 23rd, 5,600 Japanese soldiers attacked US positions on the east of the defensive zone. Pin point artillery fire ensured the failure of this attack. On October 24th, the Japanese launched a major attack from the south with 7,000 men. When Kawaguchi ordered a withdrawal, he had lost 3,500 men - 50% of the force that had attacked. Japan refused to admit defeat and ordered yet more men to Guadalcanal. In midNovember 1942, planes from Henderson attacked a convoy of ships bringing Japanese reinforcements to Guadalcanal. Of eleven transport ships, six were sunk, one was severely damaged and four had to be beached. Only 2,000 men ever reached Guadalcanal. On December 1942, the emperor ordered a withdrawal from Guadalcanal.

Battle of Normandy
In the months and weeks before D-Day, the Allies carried out a massive deception operation intended to make the Germans think the main invasion target was Pas-de-Calais (the narrowest point between Britain and France) rather than Normandy. In addition, they led the Germans to believe that Norway and other locations were also potential invasion targets. Many tactics was used to carry out the deception, including fake equipment; a phantom army commanded by George Patton and supposedly based in England, across from Pas-de-Calais; double agents; and fraudulent radio transmissions. Eisenhower selected June 5, 1944, as the date for the invasion; however, bad weather on the days leading up to the operation caused it to be delayed for 24 hours. On the morning of June 5, after his meteorologist predicted improved conditions for the following day, Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for Operation Overlord. He told the troops: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. Later that day, more than 5,000 ships and landing craft carrying troops and supplies left England for the trip across the Channel to France, while more than 11,000 aircraft were mobilized to provide air cover and support for the invasion. By dawn on June 6, thousands of paratroopers and glider troops were already on the ground behind enemy lines, securing bridges and exit roads. The amphibious invasions began at 6:30 a.m. The British and Canadians overcame light opposition to capture beaches codenamed Gold, Juno and Sword, as did the Americans at Utah Beach. U.S. forces faced heavy resistance at Omaha Beach, where there were over 2,000 American casualties. However, by day's end, approximately 156,000 Allied troops had successfully stormed Normandys beaches. According to some estimates, more than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day invasion, with thousands more wounded or missing. Less than a week later, on June 11, the beaches were fully secured and over 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and some 100,000 tons of equipment had landed at Normandy.

In the ensuing weeks, the Allies fought their way across the Normandy countryside in the face of determined German resistance, as well as a dense landscape of marshes and hedgerows. By the end of June, the Allies had seized the vital port of Cherbourg, landed approximately 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy, and were poised to continue their march across France. By the end of August 1944, the Allies had reached the Seine River, Paris was liberated and the Germans had been removed from northwestern France, effectively concluding the Battle of Normandy. The Allied forces then prepared to enter Germany, where they would meet up with Soviet troops moving in from the east.

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad is considered by many historians to have been the turning point in World War Two in Europe. The battle at Stalingrad bled the German army dry in Russia and after this defeat; the Germany Army was in full retreat. Some historians believe that Hitler ordered the taking of Stalingrad simply because of the name of the city and Hitler's hatred of Joseph Stalin. For the same reason Stalin ordered that the city had to be saved. The Battle for Stalingrad was fought during the winter of 1942 to 1943. In September 1942, the German commander of the Sixth Army, General Paulus, assisted by the Fourth Panzer Army, advanced on the city of Stalingrad. His primary task was to secure the oil fields in the Caucasus and to do this, Paulus was ordered by Hitler to take Stalingrad. The Germans final target was to have been Baku. Stalingrad was also an important target as it was Russias center of communications in the south as well as being a center for manufacturing. In early September 1942, the German Army advanced to the city. The Russians, already devastated by the power of Blitzkrieg during Operation Barbarossa, had to make a stand especially as the city was named after the Russian leader, Joseph Stalin. For simple reasons of morale, the Russians could not let this city fall. Likewise, the Russians could not let the Germans get hold of the oil fields in the Caucasus. Stalins order was "Not a step backwards." The battle for the city descended into one of the most brutal in World War Two. Individual streets were fought over using hand-to-hand combat. The Germans took a great deal of the city but they failed to fully assert their authority. Areas captured by the Germans during the day, were re-taken by the Russians at night. On November 19th, the Russians were in a position whereby they could launch a counter-offensive. Marshal Zhukov, USSR army commander, used six armies of one million men to surround the city. The bulk of the Sixth Army some 250,000 to 300,000 men - was in the city and Zhukov, having used his resources to go around the city, north and south, had trapped the Germans in Stalingrad. Unable to break out, the Germans also had to face the winter. Temperatures dropped to well below zero and food, ammunition and heat were in short supply. The failure of the German Army was nothing short of a disaster. A complete army group was lost at Stalingrad and 91,000 Germans were taken prisoner. With such a massive loss of manpower and equipment, the Germans simply did not have enough manpower to cope with the Russian advance to Germany when it came.

Despite resistance in parts such as a Kursk they were in retreat on the Eastern Front from February 1943 on. In his fury, Hitler ordered a days national mourning in Germany, not for the men lost at the battle, but for the shame von Paulus had brought on the Wehrmacht and Germany. Paulus was also stripped of his rank to emphasize Hitlers anger with him.

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, fought over the winter months of 1944 1945, was the last major Nazi offensive against the Allies in World War Two. The battle was a last ditch attempt by Hitler to split the Allies in two in their drive towards Germany and destroy their ability to supply themselves. The Battle of the Bulge started on December 16th 1944. Hitler had convinced himself that the alliance between Britain, France and America in the western sector of Europe was not strong and that a major attack and defeat would break up the alliance. Therefore, he ordered a massive attack against what were primarily American forces. The attack is strictly known as the Ardennes Offensive but because the initial attack by the Germans created a bulge in the Allied front line, it has become more commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge. Hitlers plan was to launch a massive attack using three armies on the Allies which would, in his mind, destabilize their accord and also take the huge port of Antwerp through which a great deal of supplies was reaching the Allies. Hitler believed that his forces would be able to surround and cut off Canadas First Army, Americas First and Ninth Armies and Britains Second Army. On paper, it was a seemingly absurd plan especially as Germany had been in retreat since D-Day, her military was depleted of supplies and was facing the awesome might of the Allies. However, Hitler, as commander-in-chief of the military, decreed that the attack should take place. The battle started with a two hour bombardment of the Allies lines that was followed by a huge armored attack with the majority of the German armored might base at the Schnee Eifel. The Germans experienced great success to start with. The Allies were surprised by the attack. They had received little intelligence that such an attack would take place. Before the attack started, English speaking German soldiers dressed in American uniforms went behind the lines of the Allies and caused havoc by spreading misinformation, changing road signs and cutting telephone lines. Those who were caught were shot after a court martial. The weather was also in Hitlers favor. Low cloud and fog meant that the superior air force of the Allies could not be used especially the tank-busting Typhoons of the RAF or Mustang fighters from the USAAF which would have been used against the German tanks. Though the weather was typical for the Ardennes in winter, the ground was hard enough for military vehicles to cross and this suited the armored attack Hitler envisioned. However, the success of the Germans lasted just two days. Despite punching a bulge into the Allies front line, the Germans could not capitalize on this. The Germans had based their attack on a massive armored onslaught. However, such an attack required fuel to maintain it and the Germans simply did not possess such quantities of fuel. By December 22nd, the weather started to clear, thus allowing the Allies to bring their

air power into force and on the following day, the Americans started a counter-attack against the Germans. On Christmas Eve, the Allies experienced the first ever attack by jet bombers. Sixteen German Me-262s attacked rail yards in an attempt to upset the ability of the Allies to supply themselves. However, without fuel for their armored vehicles, any success in the air was meaningless. The Germans had advanced 60 miles in two days but from December 18th on, they were in a position of stalemate. By mid-January 1945, the effect of lack of fuel was becoming evident as the Germans had to simply abandon their vehicles. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle fought by the Americans in World War Two. 600,000 American troops were involved in the battle. The Americans lost 81,000 men while the Germans lost 100,000 killed, wounded and captured.