List of World War II battles
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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.
Contents
- 1 Battles from 1941
- 2 African Front
- 3 Mediterranean Front
- 4 Western Front
- 5 Atlantic Ocean
- 6 Eastern Front
- 7 Indian Ocean
- 8 Pacific Front
- 9 China Front
- 10 Southeast Asia Front
- 11 Naval engagements
- 12 Major bombing campaigns
- 13 Operations
- 14 Defensive lines
- 15 Contemporaneous wars
- 16 References
- 17 See also
Battles from 1941
1941
| • Attack on Pearl Harbor | Surprise Japanese attack destroys almost all the US Pacific Fleet. |
| • Second Battle of Changsha | Failure of Japan's second attempt to take Changsha in China. |
| • Battle of Shanggao | Japanese 11th Army attacked the headquarters of the Chinese 19th Army |
| • Battle of Thailand | Japan invades and occupies Thailand. |
| • Battle of Hong Kong | Japan captures the British colony of Hong Kong. |
| • Battle of Guam (1941) | Japan captures the American territory of Guam. |
| • Battle of Wake Island | Japan captures the atoll of Wake Island. |
| • Malayan Campaign | |
| • Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse | Japanese defeat British naval forces. |
1942
| • Battle of Bataan | |
| • Battle of Dražgoše | First direct engagement between Slovenian partisans and German occupying forces. |
| • Battle of Makassar Strait | Japanese aircraft raid an American and Dutch convoy. |
| • Battle of Singapore | |
| • Battle of the Java Sea | Japanese forces destroy an Allied naval squadron. |
| • Battle of Badung Strait | Outnumbered Japanese forces defeat an Allied night-time naval attack. |
| • Battle of Java | Japanese forces invade the island of Java |
| • Indian Ocean raid | Allied naval forces and shipping suffer many losses during Japan's Fast Carrier Strike Force sortie. |
| • Battle of Christmas Island | The Japanese occupy Christmas Island unopposed. |
| • Battle of Corregidor | Philippines lost to Japan. |
| • Japanese capture of Burma | Burma lost to Japan. |
| • Battle of Nanos | Eight hundred Italian soldiers lay siege to fifty Slovene partisans. |
| • Doolittle Raid | First air raid on Tokyo. |
| • Battle of the Coral Sea | First aircraft-carrier vs. aircraft-carrier battle |
| • Battle of Gazala | German offensive in the desert south of Tobruk anticipated and nearly defeated but ends with many losses to British armour, forcing a withdrawal. In a surprise strike, Tobruk was taken in a day. Rommel exploited the success by pursuing the British into Egypt, denying them time to recover from the defeat but was checked at El Alamein. |
| • Battle of Midway | Defeat of Japanese naval forces in the Pacific; the Japanese lose four aircraft-carriers. |
| • Convoy PQ 17 | A convoy of thirty-five ships leaves Iceland on June 17, bound for Murmansk. Eleven arrive on July 5. |
| • Battle of the Aleutian Islands | Japanese invade and occupy two islands of Alaska's Aleutian archipelago as part of a feint to cover the Imperial Fleet's intended trap at Midway |
| • Attack on Sydney Harbour | Japanese midget submarines attack Sydney harbour. |
| • First Battle of El Alamein | British Eighth Army stops Rommel's Axis forces invading Egypt. |
| • Second Battle of El Alamein | Montgomery's Eighth Army forces Rommel out of Egypt. |
| • Battle of Sevastopol | Captured by Germans after eight-month siege. |
| • Battle of Changsha (1942) | Chinese claim victory over Japanese. |
| • Kokoda Track Campaign | Australians and U.S. for the first time in World War II stop a Japanese offensive (against Port Moresby) |
| • Battle of Guadalcanal | Beginning of Allied action in Solomon Islands. |
| • Battle of Savo Island | Japanese sink four US cruisers. |
| • Battle of Dieppe | Operation Jubilee was an Allied amphibious raid on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in France. A tactical disaster for the Allies. Lessons learned applied to later amphibious operations including D-Day. |
| • Battle of Stalingrad | City besieged by Paulus' German Sixth Army; from November 23 the Sixth Army is surrounded and destroyed by Soviets; bloodiest battle in history, 1.8 million dead approx. |
| • Battle of the Eastern Solomons | Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō sunk. |
| • Battle of Milne Bay | First time Japanese landing force had been driven back into sea. |
| • Battle of Buna-Gona | Australians and U.S. defeat Japanese on north coast of New Guinea. |
| • Battle of Cape Esperance | near Guadalcanal |
| • Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands | near Guadalcanal, USS Hornet (CV-8) sunk. |
| • Operation Torch | Allied landings in North Africa and putsch by French Resistance in Algiers to prevent Vichy forces opposition. |
| • Naval Battle of Guadalcanal | US defeats Japan, a turning point. |
| • Battle of Tassafaronga | off Guadalcanal |
| • Second Battle of Kharkov | Failed Soviet attempt to retake Kharkov. |
| • Battle of Changsha (1942) | Second Sino-Japanese War |
| • Battle of Madagascar | Allies capture Madagascar from Vichy France. |
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 | Allied and German scramble to occupy the Dodecanese Islands.
|
| • 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 |
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 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
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- North African campaign: June 1940 – May 1943
- Western Desert campaign: June 1940 – February 1943
- Battle of Gazala: May–June 1942
- Battle of Bir Hakeim: May–June 1942
- First Battle of El Alamein: July 1942
- Battle of Alam el Halfa: August–September 1942
- Second Battle of El Alamein: October–November 1942
- Battle of El Agheila: December 1942
- Battle of Gazala: May–June 1942
- Operation Torch: November 1942
- Operation Terminal: 8 November 1942
- Naval Battle of Casablanca
- Tunisia Campaign: November 1942 – May 1943
- Battle of the Kasserine Pass: February 1943
- Battle of Sidi Bou Zid: February 1943
- Battle of Medenine: March 1943
- Battle of the Mareth Line: March 1943
- Battle of El Guettar: March–April 1943
- Operation Flax: April 1943
- Battle of Longstop Hill (1943): April 1943
- Battle of Hill 609: April–May 1943
- Operation Vulcan: May 1943
- Operation Retribution: May 1943
- Operation Strike: May 1943
- Western Desert campaign: June 1940 – February 1943
Mediterranean Front
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- Battle of the Mediterranean Sea: June 1940–May 1945
- Operation Agreement: September 1942
- Operation Strangle: March 1943 – June 1944
- Allied invasion of Sicily: July–August 1943
- Allied invasion of Italy: September 1943
- Dodecanese Campaign: September–October 1943
- Battle of Naples: September 1943
- Volturno Line: October–November 1943
- Barbara Line: October–November 1943
- Air Raid on Bari: December 1943
- Battle of Ortona: December 1943
- Bernhardt Line: December 1943 – January 1944
- Moro River Campaign: December 1943
- Battle of Monte Cassino: January–May 1944
- Battle of Anzio: January–June 1944
- Trasimene Line: June–July 1944
- Battle of Ancona: June–July 1944
- Gothic Line: August–December 1944
- Battle of San Marino: September 1944
- Battle of Garfagnana: December 1944
- Battle of Monte Castello: November 1944 – February 1945
- Spring 1945 offensive in Italy: April–May 1945
Western Front
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- Aerial incidents in Switzerland in World War II (1940–1945)
- Operation Cerberus: February 1942
- Operation Donnerkeil: February 1942
- St. Nazaire Raid: March 1942
- Dieppe Raid: August 1942
- Battle of Berlin (air): November 1943 – March 1944
- Western Allied invasion of France: June 1944–March 1945
- Operation Overlord: June–August 1944
- Operation Valkyrie: July 1944
- Operation Dragoon: August–September 1944
- Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine: August 1944 – March 1945
- Clearing the Channel Coast: September–November 1944
- Lorraine Campaign: September–December 1944
- Operation Market Garden: September 1944
- Battle of Moerbrugge: September 1944
- Battle of Aachen: September–October 1944
- Battle of Overloon: September–October 1944
- Battle of Hürtgen Forest: September–December 1944
- Operation Clipper: November 1944
- Battle of Vianden: November 1944
- Battle of Kesternich: December 1944 – February 1945
- Battle of the Bulge: December 1944 – January 1945
- Operation Nordwind: January 1945
- Colmar Pocket
- Operation Blackcock: January 1945
- Operation Veritable: February 1945
- Operation Grenade: February 1945
- Operation Lumberjack
- Western Allied invasion of Germany: March–May 1945
- Liberation of Arnhem
- Battle of Groningen
- Battle of Otterlo
Atlantic Ocean
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- Battle of the Atlantic: 1939–1945
- Battle of Torpedo Alley
- Action of 27 March 1942
- Battle of the St. Lawrence
- Action of 6 June 1942
- Convoy PQ 17
- Naval Battle of Casablanca
- Battle of the Barents Sea
- Battle of Sept-Îles
- Battle of the North Cape
- Operation Stonewall
- Operation Teardrop
- Battle of Ushant
- Battle of Pierres Noires
- Action of 9 February 1945
- Battle of Point Judith
Eastern Front
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- Soviet Winter counter-offensive: December 1941 – May 1942
- Operation Kremlin
- Axis Summer offensive: June–November 1942
- Operation Uranus: November 1942
- Operation Mars: November–December 1942
- Operation Little Saturn: December 1942 – February 1943
- Operation Winter Storm: December 1942
- Battle for Velikiye Luki (1943)
- Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda
- Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh Operation
- Battle of Voronezh (1943)
- Third Battle of Kharkov
- Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
- Operation Citadel:[2] July–August 1943
- Battle of Smolensk (1943)
- Fourth Battle of Kharkov
- Białystok Ghetto Uprising: August 1943
- Battle of the Dnieper: August–December 1943
- Operation Concert: September 1943
- Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive: December 1943 – April 1944
- Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive
- Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket
- Battle of Narva (1944): February–August 1944
- Operation Margarethe
- Crimean Offensive (1944)
- Shyaulyay Offensive
- Battle of Someri
- Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive
- Operation Bagration: June–August 1944
- Battle of Tali-Ihantala
- Battle of the Bay of Viipuri: June–July 1944
- Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive
- Battle of Radzymin (1944)
- Warsaw Uprising
- Battle of Studzianki
- Operation Doppelkopf
- Romanian campaign: August–December 1944
- Slovak National Uprising
- Battle of the Dukla Pass
- Baltic Offensive
- Belgrade Offensive
- Operation Nordlicht (1944–1945)
- Battle of Debrecen
- Operation Panzerfaust
- Courland Pocket
- Gumbinnen Operation
- Budapest Offensive: October 1944 – February 1945
- Siege of Budapest: December 1944 – February 1945
- Anti-Soviet resistance by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army: April 1944 – October 1945
- Vistula–Oder Offensive: January–February 1945
- East Prussian Offensive
- Defense of Schwedt Bridgehead
- Silesian Offensives
- Lower Silesian Offensive
- Siege of Breslau: February–May 1945
- Upper Silesian Offensive
- Lower Silesian Offensive
- Operation Solstice
- East Pomeranian Offensive
- Operation Spring Awakening
- Nagykanizsa–Körmend Offensive
- Vienna Offensive
- Bratislava–Brno offensive
- Samland Offensive
- Battle of Berlin: April–May 1945
- Battle of Bautzen (1945): April 1945
- Prague Offensive
- Battle of Odzak: 19 April – 25 May 1945
Indian Ocean
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- Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands: 1942–1945
- Battle of Christmas Island: March–April 1942
- Indian Ocean raid: March–April 1942
- Easter Sunday Raid: April 1942
- Battle of Madagascar: May–November 1942
- Cocos Island Mutiny: May 1942
- Battle of La Réunion: November 1942
- Indian Ocean raid (1944): March 1944
Pacific Front
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- Japanese attacks on the U.S. or U.S. unincorporated territories
- Japanese occupation of Philippines: December 1941 – May 1942
- Battle of Bataan (1942), January–April 1942
- Battle of Corregidor: May 1942
- Battle of Dutch Harbor: June 1942
- Battle of Midway: June 1942
- Japanese occupation of Kiska: June 1942
- Japanese occupation of Attu: June 1942
- Japanese occupation of Philippines: December 1941 – May 1942
- Japanese occupation of Dutch East Indies: December 1941 – March 1942
- Battle of Borneo (1941–42)
- Battle of Manado (1942)
- Battle of Ambon (1942)
- Battle of Makassar Strait (1942)
- Battle of Palembang (1942)
- Battle of Badung Strait (1942)
- Battle of Timor (1942–43)
- Battle of the Java Sea (1942)
- Battle of Sunda Strait (1942)
- Battle of Java (1942)
- Second Battle of the Java Sea (1942)
- Japanese Invasion of Rabaul, January–February 1942
- Japanese attacks on Australia: February–June 1942
- Bombing of Darwin: February 1942
- Attack on Broome: March 1942
- Attack on Sydney Harbour: May–June 1942
- Raid on Darwin: May 1943
- Japanese Invasion of Salamaua-Lae, March 1942
- Japanese Invasion of Tulagi, May 1942
- Battle of the Coral Sea, May 1942
- Battle of Midway, June 1942
- Japanese Invasion of Buna-Gona, July 1942
- Kokoda Track campaign, July–November 1942
- Battle of Kokoda
- Battle of Isurava, August 1942
- First Battle of Eora Creek – Templeton's Crossing, August–September 1942
- Battle of Mission Ridge – Brigade Hill,
- Battle of Ioribaiwa, September 1942
- Second Battle of Eora Creek – Templeton's Crossing, October 1942
- Battle of Oivi–Gorari, November 1942
- Battle of Milne Bay, August–September 1942
- Guadalcanal Campaign: August 1942 – February 1943
- Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo, August 1942
- Battle of Savo Island, August 1942
- Makin Island raid, August 1942
- Battle of the Tenaru: August 1942
- Battle of the Eastern Solomons, August 1942
- Battle of Edson's Ridge: September 1942
- Actions along the Matanikau: September–October 1942
- Battle of Cape Esperance, October 1942
- Battle for Henderson Field: October 1942
- Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, October 1942
- Matanikau Offensive: November 1942
- Koli Point action: November 1942
- Carlson's Patrol: November–December 1942
- Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. November 1942
- Battle of Tassafaronga, November 1942
- Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse: December 1942
- Battle of Rennell Island: January 1943
- New Guinea campaign: October 1942 – August 1945
- Battle of Goodenough Island, October 1942
- Battle of Buna–Gona, November 1942 – January 1943
- Battle of Wau, January 1943
- Battle of the Bismarck Sea, March 1943
- Salamaua–Lae campaign, April–September 1943
- Battle of Mubo, April–July 1943
- Battle of Bobdubi, April–August 1943
- Battle of Lababia Ridge, June 1943
- Landing at Nassau Bay, June–July 1943
- Battle of Roosevelt Ridge, July–August 1943
- Battle of Mount Tambu, July–August 1943
- Landing at Lae, September 1943
- Landing at Nadzab, September
- Finisterre Range campaign, September 1943 – April 1944
- Huon Peninsula campaign, September 1943 – March 1944
- Landing at Scarlet Beach, September–October 1943
- Battle of Finschhafen, September–October 1943
- Battle of Sattelberg, November 1943
- Battle of Wareo, November–December 1943
- Landing on Long Island, December 1943
- Battle of Sio, December 1943 – March 1944
- Landing at Saidor, January–February 1944
- Battle of Madang, February–April 1944
- Bougainville Campaign, November 1943 – August 1945
- New Britain campaign, December 1943 – August 1945
- Battle of Cape Gloucester: December 1943 – April 1944
- Admiralty Islands campaign, February–May 1944
- Western New Guinea campaign, April 1944 – August 1945
- Aitape–Wewak campaign, November 1944 – August 1945
- Aleutian Islands Campaign, March–August 1943
- Battle of the Komandorski Islands: March 1943
- Battle of Attu: May 1943
- Operation Vengeance: April 1943
- Solomon Islands Campaign, June–November 1943
- New Georgia Campaign, June–August 1943
- Battle of Kula Gulf: July 1943
- Battle of Kolombangara: July 1943
- Battle of Vella Gulf: August 1943
- Land Battle of Vella Lavella: August–October 1943
- Naval Battle of Vella Lavella: October 1943
- Battle of Empress Augusta Bay: November 1943
- Battle of Cape St. George: November 1943
- Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, November 1943 – February 1944
- Battle of Tarawa, November 1943
- Battle of Kwajalein, February 1944
- Battle of Eniwetok, February 1944
- Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, June–November 1944
- Battle of Saipan, June 1944
- Battle of the Philippine Sea, June 1944
- Battle of Guam (1944), July–August 1944
- Battle of Tinian, July–August 1944
- Battle of Peleliu, September–November 1944
- Battle of Angaur, September–October 1944
- Battle of Noemfoor: July–August 1944
- Battle of Morotai: September–October 1944
- Philippines Campaign (1944–45): October 1944 – September 1945
- Battle of Leyte: October–December 1944
- Battle of Leyte Gulf: October 1944
- Battle off Samar: 25 October 1944
- Battle of Ormoc Bay: November–December 1944
- Battle of Luzon: January–August 1945
- Battle of Manila (1945): February–March 1945
- Battle of Bacsil Ridge: March 1945
- Battle of Mindanao: March–Aug 1945
- Battle for Cebu City: March–Apr 1945
- Battle of Iwo Jima: February–March 1945
- Battle of Okinawa: April–June 1945
- Battle of Balikpapan (1945): July 1945
- Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: August 1945
- Soviet invasion of Manchuria August 1945
- Kyūjō incident
China Front
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- 1931–1945 Sino-Japanese War (September 1931 – September 1945)
- Japanese invasion of Manchuria September 1931 – February 1932
- Mukden Incident September 1931
- Jiangqiao campaign November 1931
- Resistance at Nenjiang Bridge November 1931
- Jinzhou Operation December 1931 – January 1932
- Defense of Harbin January 1932 – February 1932
- January 28 incident January–March 1932
- Pacification of Manchukuo November 1931 – February 1942
- Inner Mongolian campaign April 1933 – December 1936
- Defense of the Great Wall February–March 1933
- Battle of Rehe February–March 1933
- Suiyuan campaign October–November 1936
- Defense of the Great Wall February–March 1933
- Marco Polo Bridge Incident July 1937
- Battle of Beiping–Tianjin July–August 1937
- Battle of Shanghai August 1937
- Defense of Sihang Warehouse October 26, 1937
- Beiping–Hankou Railway Operation August 1937
- Tianjin–Pukou Railway Operation August 1937
- Battle of Taiyuan September 1937
- Battle of Pingxingguan September 1937
- Battle of Xinkou September 1937
- Battle of Nanjing December 1937
- Battle of Xuzhou December 1937
- Bombing of Chongqing February 1938 – August 1943
- Taihoku Air Strike February 1938
- Battle of Taierzhuang March 1938
- Northern and Eastern Honan 1938 January 1938
- Battle of Lanfeng May 1938
- Amoy Operation May 1938
- Battle of Wuhan June 1938
- Battle of Wanjialing August 1938
- Canton Operation October 1938
- Hainan Island Operation February 1939
- Battle of Nanchang March 1939
- Battle of Suixian-Zaoyang May 1939
- Swatow Operation June 1939
- First Battle of Changsha September–October 1939
- Battle of South Guangxi November 1939
- Battle of Kunlun Pass December 1939
- 1939–1940 Winter Offensive November 1939
- Battle of West Suiyuan January–February 1940
- Battle of Wuyuan March 1940
- Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang May 1940
- Hundred Regiments Offensive August 1940
- Central Hupei Operation November 1940
- Battle of South Henan January 1941
- New Fourth Army Incident January 1941
- Western Hopei Operation March 1941
- Battle of Shanggao March 1941
- Battle of South Shanxi May 1941
- Second Battle of Changsha September–October 1941
- Japanese invasion of Manchuria September 1931 – February 1932
- Third Battle of Changsha December 1941 – January 1942
- Battle of Zhejiang-Jiangxi May–September 1942
- Battle of West Hubei May–June 1943
- Linnan Campaign August 1943
- Battle of Changde November–December 1943
- Operation Ichi-Go April–December 1944
- Battle of Central Henan April 1944
- Fourth Battle of Changsha May–June 1944
- Defense of Hengyang June–August 1944
- Battle of Guilin–Liuzhou August–November 1944
- Battle of Mount Song June–September 1944
- Battle of West Henan–North Hubei March 1945 — May 1945
- Battle of West Hunan April 1945 – June 1945
- Second Guangxi Campaign April–August 1945
- Soviet invasion of Manchuria August 1945
- Battle of Mutanchiang August 1945
Southeast Asia Front
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- Japanese invasion of Thailand: December 1941
- Battle of Prachuap Khiri Khan: December 1941
- Japanese-Thai occupation of Malaya: December 1941 – January 1942
- Bombing of Bangkok: 1942–1945
- Japanese occupation of Singapore: February 1942
- Burma Campaign
- Japanese-Thai occupation of Burma: January–May 1942
- Burma Campaign 1942–43
- Burma Campaign 1944
- Japanese invasion of India: March–June 1944
- Burma Campaign 1944–1945
- Allies bombing of South-East Asia: 1944–1945
- Operation Matterhorn: 1944
- Battle of the Malacca Strait: May 1945
- Operation Tiderace: September 1945
General
- Arctic Convoys
- Battle of the Atlantic – the name given to the conflict in the Atlantic Ocean between 1939 and 1945.
- Battle of the Mediterranean
- Battle of the Indian Ocean
Specific
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
Major bombing campaigns
General
- Strategic bombing during World War II
- Strategic bombing survey for the overall impact of the bombing.
Specific
- Baedeker raids
- Chungking
- Coventry
- Operation Retribution (1941) – bombing of Belgrade during 1941.
- Broome – Japanese raid on the town of Broome, targeting the airfield.
- Dresden
- Darwin – Japanese target the harbour.
- Hamburg
- Helsinki – February 1944, was mostly ineffective due to air defence and deception.
- Hiroshima – One nuclear weapon, Little Boy dropped from a B-29, devastating a city.
- Kassel
- London – "The Blitz" and the V-1 and V-2 campaigns
- Lübeck
- Nagasaki – One nuclear weapon, Fat Man dropped from a B-29, devastating a city.
- Narva – March 1944. Evacuated town was destroyed by Soviet ADD.
- Pearl Harbor
- Rostock – Heinkel Airplane Construction Plant, Seaport, and City
- Rotterdam
- Stalingrad – 23 August 1942
- Tallinn – February–March 1944. Bombed by Soviet ADD. Large-scale damage.
- Tokyo – Several devastating raids.
- Warsaw
Operations
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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.
- Allied
- Operation Colossus
- 10 February 1941
- Experimental raid by 38 British Commandos on a fresh water aqueduct near Calitri in southern Italy.
- Operation Claymore
- 4 March 1941
- 1000 Men from the British Commandos and belonging to the Norwegian Independent Company 1 destroy fish oil factories on the remote islands off the coast of Norway.
- Operation Archery
- 27 December 1941
- 570 men from the British Commandos and belonging to the Norwegian Independent Company 1 raid and attack German positions on Vågsøy Island in Norway.
- Battle of Timor
- 19 February 1942 – 10 February 1943
- Continuous raids from Australian commandos against the occupying Japanese.
- Operation Chariot
- 28 March 1942
- 196 Royal Navy and Army Commando units raid and destroy the heavily defended docks of St. Nazaire in occupied France.
- Dieppe Raid
- Makin Island raid, 17–18 August 1942
- Operation Jaywick, September 1943
- Operation Jedburgh, 1944
- Operation Roast, April 1945
- Operation Colossus
- Axis
- Operation Greif, December 1944
Raiding units
- Allied
- Multinational
- Australia
- France
- Greece
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Axis
Defensive lines
- Atlantic Wall
- Caesar Line
- GHQ Line
- Gothic Line
- Gustav Line
- Maginot Line
- Mannerheim Line
- Metaxas Line
- Siegfried Line
- Taunton Stop Line
Contemporaneous wars
- Chinese Civil War
- Ecuadorian–Peruvian War
- Greek Civil War
- Second Italo-Abyssinian War
- Soviet-Japanese Border War (1939)
- Spanish Civil War
- Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947
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