List of military engagements of World War II

This is a list of military engagements of World War II 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.

USS Lexington explodes during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

A formation of Spitfires shortly before World War II.

Battles

1939

• Invasion of Poland Battle of the Bzura Battle of Mława Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski Battle of Kock Siege of Warsaw	Poland invaded by Nazi Germany.
• Soviet invasion of Poland Battle of Lwów Battle of Wilno Battle of Grodno Battle of Szack Battle of Wytyczno	Poland invaded by Soviet Union.
• Slovak invasion of Poland	Poland invaded by Slovakia
• Saar Offensive	French attack on Saarland.
• Winter War Battle of Tolvajärvi Battle of Suomussalmi	Finland invaded by the Soviet Union and, initially, resists successfully.
• First Battle of Changsha	First Japanese attempt to take Changsha in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
• 1939–40 Winter Offensive	First large-scale Chinese counter-offensive operation.
• Battle of the River Plate	The Admiral Graf Spee chased into Montevideo harbour and later scuttled.

1940

• Battle of the Atlantic	Name given to the conflicts in the Atlantic Ocean between 1940 and 1945.
• Winter War Battle of Kollaa Battle of Honkaniemi	The only tank battle during the Winter War.
• German invasion of Denmark
• Battle of Drøbak Sound	Took place on the first day of the German invasion of Norway.
• Battles of Narvik	Minor Allied victory in Norway.
• Battle of Namsos	Failed Allied attempt to halt the Germans in Norway.
• Invasion of Iceland
• German invasion of the Netherlands	Germany defeats the Dutch in Europe during the opening stages of the first operation of the Battle of France, "Case Yellow" (Fall Gelb).
• Invasion of Luxembourg	Germany defeats Luxembourg during the continuation of Fall Gelb.
• German invasion of Belgium	Germany defeats Belgium during the continuation of Fall Gelb.
• Battle of France Battle of Dunkirk Dunkirk evacuation Battle of Arras Battle of Boulogne
• Attack on Mers-el-Kébir	Operation "Catapult". Feared by the possibility of some French ships moored in the French Algeria could fall in Axis hands, the Royal Navy proceed to a bombardment of Mers-El-Kebir. One French warship is sunk and three others damaged. The operation is in fine a failure as most of the French ships leave to Toulon, southern France.
• Battle of Britain	The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) fails to defeat the British Royal Air Force as the precondition for the invasion of Britain.
• British Somaliland	Italian conquest of British Somaliland
• First Battle of French Indochina	The forces of Imperial Japan successfully invade French Indochina but leave the Vichy French forces in control.
• Battle of Dakar	An unsuccessful attempt by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar from Vichy French control.
• Greco-Italian War Battle of Pindus	Italian forces invade Greece from Albania and are repelled. Greek counter-attack drives Italians back into Albania.
• Battle of Gabon	Free French forces under General Charles De Gaulle take Libreville, Gabon, from Vichy French forces.
• Battle of Taranto	British carrier-based planes destroy the Italian fleet in Taranto Harbor.
• Hundred Regiments Offensive	Major offensive by the Chinese Red Army against the Imperial Japanese Army.
• Battle of Sidi Barrani	The first big British attack of the Western Desert campaign.

1941

• Thailand during French-Thai War.
• Battle of the Litani River	Australian forces cross the Litani River to begin the Syria-Lebanon Campaign against Vichy French forces.
• Battle of Damascus	Commonwealth and Allied forces take Damascus from the Vichy French.
• Battle of Beirut	Commonwealth and Allied forces take Beirut and the Vichy French surrender all forces in Syria and Lebanon.
• Battle of Keren	Commonwealth and Allied forces defeat Italian forces at Keren of the East African Campaign.
• Battle of Cape Matapan	British fleet defeats Italian fleet.
• Battle of Denmark Strait	The German battleship Bismarck sinks HMS Hood.
• Last battle of the battleship Bismarck	The German battleship Bismarck is sunk by the Royal Navy after the sinking of HMS Hood.
• Invasion of Yugoslavia	Germany and Axis allies invade Yugoslavia via Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Albania.
• German Invasion of Greece Battle of the Metaxas Line Battle of Vevi Battle of Thermopylae
• Battle of Crete	German paratroopers capture Crete but suffer many casualties.
• Operation Barbarossa Battle of Smolensk Battle of Kiev Battle of Moscow	German invasion of the Soviet Union. The German advance is halted temporarily. The German Army Group Centre is driven back from Moscow.
• Battle of Gondar	The final defeat of organized Italian resistance in Italian East Africa by Commonwealth and Allied forces.
• 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 Japanese Invasion of Malaya Operation Krohcol Bombing of Singapore Battle of Jitra Battle of Kampar Battle of Slim River Battle of Muar Battle of Gemas Battle off Endau
• 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 Sarimbun Beach Battle of Kranji Battle of Bukit Timah Battle of Pasir Panjang
• 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) March 5, 1943 – July 31, 1943 – The Battle of the Ruhr of 1943 was a 5-month British campaign of strategic bombing during the Second World War against the Nazi Germany Ruhr Area, which had coke plants, steelworks and ten synthetic oil plants. The campaign bombed 26 major Combined Bomber Offensive targets.[8] The targets included the Krupp armament works (Essen), the Nordstern synthetic-oil plant (Gelsenkirchen), and the Rheinmetal–Borsig plant in Düsseldorf. The latter was safely evacuated during the Battle of the Ruhr.[5] Although not strictly part of the Ruhr area, the battle of the Ruhr included other cities such as Cologne which were within the Rhine-Ruhr region[9] and considered part of the same "industrial complex".[4] Some targets were not sites of heavy industrial production but part of the production and movement of materiel.
• Battle of the Bismarck Sea	U.S. and Royal Australian Air Force planes attack and sink most of a Japanese convoy carrying troops to reinforce Lae, New Guinea.
• Battle of the Bering Sea	United States and Japanese navies fight an inconclusive battle.
• Operation Cartwheel	Operation to neutralize the Japanese base at Rabaul.
• Battle of Attu	United States troops defeat and drive the Japanese off the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.
• Warsaw Ghetto Uprising	5,000 Jews and 2,000 Germans die, Jews confined.
• Battle of Sutjeska	Another attempt by German forces in Yugoslavia, this time supported by Italian, Bulgarian, and Serbian units, to encircle and destroy the Yugoslavian Communist Partisan forces in southern Bosnia. Again, the partisans were mauled but escaped.
• Battle of Castle Turjak	Slovene partisans took the castle guarded by the Slovene village sentries.
• Battle of Kursk	Germans attack Kursk salient at Orel and Belgorod, Russians drive them back. A very big tank battle.
• Allied invasion of Sicily	Allies take Sicily from the Italians and German armies.
• Allied invasion of Italy	Landings at Calabria, Taranto and Salerno.
• Dodecanese Campaign Battle of Kos Battle of Leros	Allied and German scramble to occupy the Dodecanese Islands. German amphibious and airborne operation to capture Kos. German amphibious and airborne operation to capture Leros.
• Battle of Smolensk	The Soviets attack 850,000 German troops near Smolensk Fortified Region, drive them back inflicting severe losses.
• Battle of Kiev (1943)	Kiev retaken by Soviets.
• Raid on Schweinfurt	milestone air battle between the Luftwaffe and the USAAF known as "Black Thursday"
• Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission	another big daylight air battle, first shuttle mission.
• Battle of Berlin	Germany defend Berlin from the British.
• Battle of Tarawa	First major American amphibious landing in the Pacific.
• Battle of Makin	Americans capture the atoll of Makin Atoll.
• Salamaua-Lae campaign	Australian and U.S. forces capture two major Japanese bases at Lae and at Salamaua.
• Battle of Wau	Australians defeat Japanese attempts to capture Wau, New Guinea.
• Battle of the Bernhardt Line	U.S. 5th Army sustains 16,000 casualties fighting through the Mignano Gap to reach the Cassino defenses.
• Moro River Campaign Battle of Ortona

1944

• Battle of Meiktila
• Battle of Monte Cassino	Four battles in Italy Jan - May. Allies finally breakthrough towards Rome.
• Battle of Monte Castelo	Also called Operation Encore, 25 November 1944 - 22 February 1945. The battle marked the Brazilian Expeditionary Force's entry into the land war in Europe.
• Battle of Anzio Battle of Cisterna
• Battle of Kwajalein	American forces assault the islands of Kwajalein and Roi-Namur.
• Battle of the Admin Box	Japanese attempt a local counter-attack against an Allied offensive.
• Battle of Eniwetok	Battle between American and Japanese on Eniwetok Atoll.
• Battle of Imphal and Battle of Kohima	Attempted Japanese invasion of India fails with heavy losses.
• U Go offensive	Allied successfully defend Manipur from the Axis
• Operation Ichi-Go	Successful Japanese campaign to capture American air bases in China capable of sending bombers to Japan.
• Operation Rösselsprung	German attempt to capture Tito using airborne troops.
• Battle of Normandy	Allies invade northern France (Operation Overlord), hard fighting from Cherbourg to Caen, Germans surrounded and destroyed at Falaise.
• Battle of Saipan	The battle was fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands and resulted disastrous for Japanese forces since most died.
• Second Battle of Guam	American forces capture back Guam.
• Battle of Tinian	American forces capture Tinian.
• Operation Bagration	Soviet offensive destroys German Army Group Center on the Eastern Front.
• Battle of Philippine Sea	Major carrier battle; US lose 123 planes and destroy 315 Japanese planes.
• Battle of Tali-Ihantala	Finnish stop Soviet offensive.
• Warsaw Uprising	20,000 armed Poles against 55,000 Wehrmacht and SS. 90% of city destroyed, more than 250,000 casualties.
• Operation Dragoon	Allied invasion of Southern France.
• Battle of Debrecen	Soviets gain ground in Hungary but German and Hungarian forces manage to withdraw relatively intact after both sides suffer similar losses.
• Gothic Line offensive	British 8th Army and U.S. 5th Army attempt unsuccessfully to break into the north Italian plains.
• Battle of Arnhem	The major battle of Operation Market Garden; Allies reach but fail to cross the Rhine; British First Airborne Division destroyed.
• Battle of Peleliu	A fight to capture an airstrip on a speck of coral in the western Pacific.
• Battle of Aachen	Aachen was the first major German city to face invasion during World War II.
• Battle of the Scheldt	Decisive Canadian victory, solved the logistical problems of the Allies, and opened the port of Antwerp for supplies directly to the front.
• Battle of Crucifix Hill	The 18th Infantry, U.S. 1st Infantry Division take Crucifix Hill, a crucial position to help surround Aachen. Cpt. Bobbie E. Brown is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroics.
• Battle of Angaur	American forces capture an island in Palau.
• Battle of Hurtgen Forest	Stubborn German defense, appalling losses to US army.
• Battle of Leyte	American and Filipino guerrillas forces capture Leyte.
• Battle of Leyte Gulf	The largest air-sea battle in history.
• Operation Queen	was a joint British-American operation during World War II at the Western Front between Aachen and the Rur river.
• Battle of Mindoro
• Battle of Vianden	The only major open battle fought between the Luxembourgish Resistance against German forces.
• Battle of the Bulge	German counterattack in Ardennes; General McAuliffe says "NUTS" at Bastogne.

1945

• Operation Elephant	Allied offensive against a German bridgehead at Kapelsche Veer in the Netherlands.
• Raid at Cabanatuan	US Army Rangers rescue Bataan and Corregidor POWs from Japanese prison camp.
• Prague Offensive	1st, 4th, and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts of the Soviet Army crushed the last concentration of German troops (over 1,000,000 men in two army groups) in southeastern Germany and Czechoslovakia. These troops were Army Group Centre and the remnants of Army Group Ostmark.
• Operation Spring Awakening	The last German offensive of the war, launched around Lake Balaton, in Hungary.
• Battle of Bataan	U.S. and Philippine Forces retake the historic Bataan Peninsula.
• Battle of Manila	City totally devastated after month-long battle between the American, Filipino and Japanese forces; 100,000 civilians killed.
• Battle of Luzon	The battle where Mexico entered World War II, contributing pilots to help the United States and the Philippines defeat Japan in the South Pacific, with a loss of 37,870 Allied soldiers and 217,000 Japanese soldiers; an Allied victory
• Battle of Corregidor	Spectacular combined U.S. and Philippine assault retakes island bastion from Japanese forces.
• Raid at Los Baños	U.S. Airborne Task Force rescues more than 2,000 Allied POWs and civilian internees held by Japanese.
• Battle of Mindanao	U.S. Eighth Army together with the Philippine Commonwealth troops completes the recapture of Southern Philippines.
• Operation Varsity	134 Allied gliders land troops in Weisel.
• Battle of the Visayas	U.S. Eighth Army together with the Philippine Commonwealth troops retakes central Philippine islands.
• Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay	Japanese defeated in Central Burma
• Battle of Iwo Jima	After a month, U.S. Forces take main offshore Japanese island.
• 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

Sieges

Naval engagements

General

Arctic Convoys
Battle of the Atlantic – the name given to the conflict in the Atlantic Ocean between 1939 and 1945.
- see also Timeline of the Battle of the Atlantic
Battle of the Mediterranean
Battle of the Indian Ocean

Specific
1939

The Battle of the River Plate

1940

1941

1942

1943

Battle of the Komandorski Islands

1944

Battle of Leyte Gulf

1945

Operation Ten-Go

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

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
  - 19 August 1942
  - Over 6,000 infantrymen, mostly Canadian attempted to seize and hold the port of Dieppe.
- Makin Island raid, 17–18 August 1942
- Operation Jaywick, September 1943
- Operation Jedburgh, 1944
- Operation Roast, April 1945
Axis
- Operation Greif, December 1944

Raiding units

Allied
- Multinational
- Australia
  - Australian Army Independent Companies
- France
  - Far East French Expeditionary Forces
  - Intervention Light Corps
- Greece
  - Sacred Band
- United Kingdom
- United States
Axis
- Nazi Germany
  - Brandenburger Regiment
  - Waffen-SS (commando force led by Otto Skorzeny).
- Fascist Italy
  - Decima Flottiglia MAS
- Empire of Japan
  - Special Naval Landing Forces