Art and Culture/Wars and Battles - 20th C
From Quiz Revision Notes
War | Campaign | Date Started | Date Ended | Protaganists | Major Battles/Sieges | Treaty/Armistice | Comments | |||||||||
Year or Date Started | Year or Date Ended | Location | Commanders | Victor | Date | Location | ||||||||||
Boer Wars | 1st | 1880 | 1881 | Britain | Boer Republics | 28 January 1881 | Laing's Neck | Sir George Colley | British | P J Joubert | Boers | Boers | 3August 1881 | Pretoria | British attack repulsed | |
27 February 1881 | Majuba Hill | Sir George Colley | British | P J Joubert | Boers | Boers | British driven off the hill | |||||||||
2nd | 1899 | 1902 | British Empire | Boer Republics | 13 October 1899 | 17 May 1900 | Mafeking | Robert Baden-Powell | British | Piet Cronje | Boers | British | 31 May 1902 | Vereeniging | Relieved by combined mounted columns. Use of "concentration" camps borrowed from Cuban War | |
Orange Free State | 15 October 1899 | 15 February 1900 | Kimberley | Robert Kekewich | British | Wessels | Boers | British | Siege broken cavalry division under Sir John French | |||||||
Transvaal | 2 November 1899 | 28 February 1900 | Ladysmith | Sir George White | British | P J Joubert | Boers | British | Siege broken by Sir Redvers Buller | |||||||
28 November 1899 | Modder River | Lord Methuen | British | Piet Cronje | Boers | British | Relief force for Kimberley held up | |||||||||
10 December 1899 (Black Week) | Stormberg | Sir William Gatacre | British | J H Olivier | Boers | Boers | British force got lost and attacked a strong Boer position | |||||||||
10 December 1899 (Black Week) | 11 December 1899 | Magersfontein | Lord Methuen | British | Piet Cronje | Boers | Boers | Relief force for Kimberley turned back | ||||||||
15 December 1899 (Black Week) | Colenso | Redvers Buller | British | Louis Botha | Boers | Boers | Buller was replaced by Roberts. Ghandi was a stretcher bearer for British | |||||||||
19 January 1900 | 24 January 1900 | Spion Kop | Redvers Buller | British | Louis Botha | Boers | Boers | Relief force for Ladysmith turned back | ||||||||
18 February 1900 | 27 February 1900 | Paardeberg | Lord Roberts | British | Piet Cronje | Boers | British | Cronje surrendered and his army was destroyed | ||||||||
31 March 1900 | Sanna's Post | Robert Broadwood | British | Christiaan De Wet | Boers | Boers | British column destroyed near Bloemfontein | |||||||||
11 June 1900 | 12 June 1900 | Diamond Hill | Lord Roberts | British | Louis Botha | Boers | British | Boer guerrillas driven off from Pretoria | ||||||||
Boxer Rebellion | 1900 | 1900 | Foreign Diplomats in Peking | Boxers | 20 June 1900 | 14 August 1900 | Peking | Sir Claude MacDonald | Foreign Diplomats | Prince Tuan | Boxers | Foreign Diplomats | Siege broken by international relief expedition | |||
Russo - Japanese | 1904 | 1905 | Russia | Japan | 30 April 1904 | 1 May 1904 | Yalu River | Alexei Kuropatkin | Russia | Iwao Oyama | Japan | Japan | 5 September 1905 | Portsmouth (USA) | First "industrialised" war - trenches, barbed wire, machine guns etc. Japanese crossed river and invaded Manchuria | |
25 May 1904 | Nanshan | Alexei Kuropatkin | Russia | Iwao Oyama | Japan | Japan | Japanese opened way to Port Arthur | |||||||||
1 June 1904 | 2 January 1905 | Port Arthur | Anatoli Stroessel | Russia | Maresuke Nogi | Japan | Japan | Port Arthur surrendered after 6 month siege | ||||||||
25 August 1904 | 3 September 1904 | Liaoyang | Alexei Kuropatkin | Russia | Iwao Oyama | Japan | Japan | Russians withdrew towards Mukden | ||||||||
5 October 1904 | 17 October 1904 | Sha-Ho River | Alexei Kuropatkin | Russia | Iwao Oyama | Japan | Inconclusive | |||||||||
26 January 1905 | 27 January 1905 | Sandepu | Alexei Kuropatkin | Russia | Iwao Oyama | Japan | Inconclusive | |||||||||
21 February 1905 | 10 March 1905 | Mukden | Alexei Kuropatkin | Russia | Iwao Oyama | Japan | Japan | Russians forced to withdraw | ||||||||
May 1905 | Tsushima | Rozhdestvenskiy | Russia | Togo | Japan | Japan | Russian Baltic fleet defeated after circumnavigation | |||||||||
World War I | Western Front | 28 July 1914 | 11 November 1918 | Triple Entente | Triple Alliance | 14 August 1914 | 23 August 1914 | Lorraine | Noel de Castenau | France | Pince Rupprecht | Germany | Germany | 11 November 1918 | Versailles | French elan failed to overcome German firepower and Plan XVII (invasion of Germany) failed |
Brittish Empire | Germany | 23 August 1914 | Mons | Horace Smith-Dorrien | Britain | von Kluck | Germany | Britain | British checked but failed to halt German advance | |||||||
France | Austria-Hungary | 26 August 1914 | Le Cateau | Horace Smith-Dorrien | Britain | von Kluck | Germany | Britain | British fought out of potential envelopement and withdrew to the South. Smith-Dorrien was a survivor of Isandhlwana | |||||||
Russia | Turkey | 29 August 1914 | Guise | Joseph Joffre | France | von Kluck | Germany | France | Germans wheeled towards Paris prematurely. Also known as St Quentin | |||||||
Italy | 5 September 1914 | 10 September 1914 | Marne (1st) | Joseph Joffre | Allies | von Moltke | Germany | Allies | Germans outmanoeuvred and forced to withdraw to Noyon-Verdun line. Von Moltke replaced by von Falkenhayn | |||||||
Romania | 13 September 1914 | 27 September 1914 | Aisne | Joseph Joffre | Allies | von Falkenhayn | Germany | Allies | Once Allied advance stopped both sides began to entrench | |||||||
Japan | 18 October 1914 | 30 November 1914 | Ypres (1st) | Joseph Joffre | Allies | von Falkenhayn | Germany | Stalemate | The end of the "Race to the Sea" as each side tried to turn the other's northern flank | |||||||
22 April 1915 | 25 May 1915 | Ypres (2nd) | Sir John French | Allies | von Falkenhayn | Germany | Stalemate | 1st use of gas by Germans in West failed to eliminate Ypres salient | ||||||||
25 September 1915 | 8 October 1915 | Loos | Sir John French | Allies | von Falkenhayn | Germany | Stalemate | 1st use of gas by British. Haig replaced French | ||||||||
21 February 1916 | 18 December 1916 | Verdun | Joseph Joffre | Allies | von Falkenhayn | Germany | Stalemate | Germans failed to take this important fortress with each side suffering over 300,000 casualties | ||||||||
1 July 1916 | 18 November | The Somme | Sir Douglas Haig | Allies | von Falkenhayn | Germany | Stalemate | Allies gained strip of land 20 miles long and 7 miles wide at a cost of over 600,000 casualties | ||||||||
9 April 1917 | 14 June 1917 | Arras, Vimy, Messines | Sir Douglas Haig | Allies | Erich Ludendorff | Germany | Britain | Vimy Ridge captured by Canadian troops. Messines Ridge was captured after successful mining operation. Nivelle Offensives failed leading to mutiny in French army | ||||||||
31 July 1917 | 6 November 1917 | Ypres (3rd) (Passchendaele) | Sir Douglas Haig | Allies | Prince Rupprecht | Germany | Stalemate | Allied offensive stalled in heavy mud and ended with the capture of Passchendale ridge and village | ||||||||
20 November 1917 | 3 December 1917 | Cambrai | Sir Douglas Haig | Allies | Erich Ludendorff | Germany | Stalemate | 1st use of tanks. Early gains not exploited and untimately lost | ||||||||
21 March 1918 | 13 June 1918 | Ludendorf Offensives | Sir Douglas Haig | Allies | Erich Ludendorff | Germany | Allies | "Michael", "Georgette", "Blucher" and "Gneisenau". Progressively desparate attempts by the Germans to use troops released from Russian front to finally break Allied lines before arrival of United States | ||||||||
30 May 1918 | 17 June1918 | Chateau Thierry | Denis Duchene | Allies | von Bohn | Germany | Allies | Counter-attack by US Divisions threw Germans back over The Marne | ||||||||
15 July 1918 | 7 August 1918 | Marne (2nd) | Ferdinand Foch | Allies | Erich Ludendorff | Germany | Allies | French counter-attack against 5th Ludndorff Offensive ("Marneschutz-Rheims") forced Germans to retreat | ||||||||
8 August 1918 | 11 August 1918 | Amiens | Ferdinand Foch | Allies | Erich Ludendorff | Germany | Allies | Massed tank attack achieved progressive breakthrough. Ludedorff described 8 August as "The Black Day of the German Army" | ||||||||
12 September 1918 | 16 September 1918 | St Mihiel | Ferdinand Foch | Allies | Erich Ludendorff | Germany | Allies | 1st major action by US troops under Pershing | ||||||||
26 September 1918 | 11 November 1918 | Meuse-Argonne | Ferdinand Foch | Allies | Erich Ludendorff | Germany | Allies | Allied advance reached Sedan | ||||||||
27 September 1918 | 17 October 1918 | Hindenburg Line | Ferdinand Foch | Allies | Erich Ludendorff | Germany | Allies | German defences breached | ||||||||
Eastern Front | 20 August 1914 | Gumbinnen | Pavel Rennenkampf | Russia | von Prittwitz | Germany | Russia | Early succes for Russians led to replacement of Prittwitz by Paul von Hindenburg | ||||||||
26 August 1914 | 30 August 1914 | Tannenberg | Alexnader Samsonov | Russia | von Hindenburg | Germany | Germany | Russian Second Army destroyed. | ||||||||
3 September 1914 | 11 September 1914 | Rava Russkaya | Nikolai Ivanov | Russia | von Hotzendorff | Austria | Russia | Austrian defeat led them to ask for German assistance | ||||||||
9 September 1914 | 14 September 1914 | Masurian Lakes | Pavel Rennenkampf | Russia | von Hindenburg | Germany | Germany | Russian First Army forced to retreat into Russia | ||||||||
29 December 1914 | 3 January 1915 | Sarikamesh | Vorontsov-Dashkov | Russia | Enver Pasha | Turkey | Russia | Turkish invasion of Russia through the Caucasus thwarted | ||||||||
2 May 1915 | 27 June 1915 | Gorlice-Tarnow | Nikolai Ivanov | Russia | von Falkenhayn, von Hotzendorff | Austria | Austria | Combined Austro-German army recovered lost ground and turned war on Eastern Front. Tsar repleced Grand Duke Nicholas with himself as overall commander | ||||||||
18 March 1916 | 14 April 1916 | Lake Narotch | Alexei Kuropatkin | Russia | von Hindenburg | Germany | Stalemate | Massive Russian attack requested by French to relieve pressure on Verdun was a failure | ||||||||
4 June 1916 | 20 September 1916 | Brusilov Offensive | Alexei Brusilov | Russia | von Hotzendorff | Austria | Russia | Most successful Russian operation brought the collapse of both the Austrian and its own Empires closer | ||||||||
1 September 1917 | 5 September 1917 | Riga | Klembovsky | Russia | Oskar von Hutier | Germany | Germany | Riga captured by Germans | ||||||||
Italian Front | 23 June 1915 | 15 September 1917 | Isonzo (11 battles) | Luigi Cadorna | Italy | von Hotzendorff | Austria | Stalemate | Constant pressure by the Italians brought few gains but forced the Austrians to seek German aid | |||||||
15 May 1916 | 17 June 1916 | Asiago | Luigi Cadorna | Italy | von Hotzendorff | Austria | Stalemate | Austrian gains retaken by Italian reinforcements | ||||||||
24 October 1917 | 7 November 1917 | Caporetto | Luigi Cadorna | Italy | Archduke Eugen | Austria | Austria | Italians routed and forced back to Piave. Erwin Rommel 1st distinguished himself at Caporetto | ||||||||
15 June 1918 | 22 June 1918 | Piave | Armando Diaz | Italy | Arz von Straussenburg | Austria | Allies | Austrians forced to abandon attempt to cross the Piave | ||||||||
24 October 1918 | 4 November 1918 | Vittorio Veneto | Armando Diaz | Italy | Arz von Straussenburg | Austria | Allies | Austrians decisively defeated and an armistice signed | ||||||||
Turkish Front | 25 April 1915 | 9 January 1916 | Gallipoli | Sir Ian Hamilton | Allies | von Sanders | Turkey | Turkey | Good strategy ruined by terrible execution. Allies forced to evacuate after 8 months | |||||||
22 November 1915 | 25 November 1915 | Ctesiphon | Sir Charles Townshend | Britain | Nur-ed-Din Pasha | Turkey | Britain | British advance on Baghdad stalled followed by withdrawal to Kut-al-amara | ||||||||
8 December 1915 | 26 April 1916 | Kut-al-Amara | Sir Charles Townshend | Britain | Khalil Pasha | Turkey | Turkey | British army starved into surrender. 1st attempt to supply a besieged garrison by air | ||||||||
3 August 1916 | 5 August 1916 | Romani | Sir Archibald Murray | Britain | Kress von Kressenstein | Turkey | Britain | Turkish forces pushed into Sinai | ||||||||
13 December 1916 | 11 March 1917 | Baghdad | Sir Frederick Maude | Britain | Khalil Pasha | Turkey | Britain | British forces captured Baghdad | ||||||||
28 October 1917 | 7 November 1917 | Gaza (3rd) | Sir Edmund Allenby | Britain | von Falkenhayn | Turkey | Britain | Turkish line broken and Jerusalem captureed | ||||||||
18 September 1918 | 31 October 1918 | Megiddo | Sir Edmund Allenby | Britain | Liman von Sanders | Turkey | Allies | One of the most complete victories in the history of warfare. Three Turkish armies destroyed | ||||||||
Naval | 31 May 1916 | Jutland | Jellicoe | Britain | Scheer | Germany | Britain | Only major naval engagement of the war | ||||||||
Russo-Polish | 1920 | 1921 | Russia | Poland | 16 August 1920 | 25 August 1920 | Warsaw | Tukhachevsky | Russia | Pilsudski | Poland | Poland | March 1921 | Riga | Red Army defeated by Polish counter-attack | |
Graeco - Turkish | 1920 | 1922 | Greece | Turkey | 10 January 1920 | 30 March 1920 | Inonu (1st and 2nd) | Papoulas | Greece | Ismet Pasha | Turkey | Turkey | 24 July 1923 | Lausanne | Greek advances halted | |
24 August 1921 | 16 September 1921 | Sakaria River | King Constantine | Greece | Kemal Ataturk | Turkey | Turkey | Narrow Turkish victory | ||||||||
Spanish Civil War | 1936 | 1939 | Nationalists | Republicans | 8 March 1937 | 16 March 1937 | Guadalajara | Moscarda | Nationalists | Pavlov | Republicans | Republicans | Nationalist offensive defeated | |||
1 April 1937 | 18 June 1937 | Bilbao | Mola | Nationalists | Encomienda | Republicans | Nationalists | Guernica bombed by German squadron 25 April 1937. Republican "Ring of Steel" broken | ||||||||
Sino-Japanese | 1937 | 1945 | China | Japan | April 1938 | Taierchwang | Li Tsung-jen | China | ? | Japan | China | First Japanese defeat in modern history | ||||
World War II | Western Front | 1 September 1939 | 16 September 1945 | Allies | Axis | 10 May 1940 | 25 June 1940 | France, Belgium and Holland | Maurice Gamelin | France | Walter von Brauchitsch | Germany | Germany | Operation "Sichelschnitt" (Sickle-Cut). Germany invaded France via Holland and Belgium thus cutting off BEF. | ||
British Empire | Germany | 21 May 1940 | Arras | H E Franklyn | Allies | Erwin Rommel | Germany | Germany | Allied counter-attack failed but did allow breathing space for Dunkirk evacuation | |||||||
United States | Italy | 26 May 1940 | 4 June 1940 | Dunkirk | Lord Gort | Allies | Gerd von Rundstedt | Germany | Germany | Successful evacuation of 400,000 allied troops from envelopment | ||||||
France | Japan | 11 November 1940 | 12 November 1940 | Taranto | Cunningham | Allies | ? | Italy | Allies | Air attack which crippled the Italian fleet in harbour. Blue print for Pearl Harbor | ||||||
Russia | Finalnd | 28 March 1941 | Cape Matapan | Cunningham | Allies | Iachino | Italy | Allies | Italian fleet routed in Mediterranean | |||||||
Poland | 19 August 1942 | Dieppe | H F Roberts | Allies | Konrad Hasse | Germany | Germany | Apparently an expensive failure but achieved political objective of persuading Stalin that a 2nd Front was not yet possible | ||||||||
6 June 1944 | D-Day | Bernard Montgomery | Allies | Erwin Rommel | Germany | Allies | Operation "Overlord" secured beach-head in Normandy. "Utah", "Omaha", "Gold", "Juno" and "Sword" | |||||||||
7 June 1944 | 25 July 1944 | Caen | Bernard Montgomery | Allies | Erwin Rommel | Germany | Allies | Montgomery employed attritional tactics to allow US armour to perform breakout | ||||||||
17 September 1944 | 25 September 1944 | Arnhem | Bernard Montgomery | Allies | Walter Model | Germany | Germany | A bridge too far. Airborne assault failed to capture objectives. Operation "Market Garden" | ||||||||
4 October 1944 | 1 December 1944 | Aachen | Omar Bradley | Allies | Walter Model | Germany | Stalemate | Siegfried Line breached but Allied offensive abandoned in face of strong German resistance | ||||||||
9 October 1944 | 8 November 1944 | Scheldt Estuary | Bernard Montgomery | Allies | Walter Model | Germany | Allies | Cleared the shipping lanes and opened Antwerp to Allied shipping | ||||||||
13 August 1944 | 21 August 1944 | Falaise Gap | Dwight Eisenhower | Allies | Gunther von Kluge | Germany | Allies | German armies in Normandy destroyed | ||||||||
16 December 1944 | 16 January 1945 | The Bulge | Dwight Eisenhower | Allies | Gerd von Rundstedt | Germany | Germany | Operation "Christrose" or "Wacht am Rhein" enjoyed initial surprise but soon bogged down | ||||||||
8 February 1945 | 3 March 1945 | Reichswald | Bernard Montgomery | Allies | Johannes Blaskowitz | Germany | Allies | Clearing of left bank of the Rhine prior to crossings. Operations "Veritable" and "Grenade" | ||||||||
7 March 1945 | 31 March 1945 | Rhine Crossings | Dwight Eisenhower | Allies | Albrecht Kesselring | Germany | Allies | Capture of Bridge at Remagen precipitated final battles in the West after which German armies were a spent force | ||||||||
Eastern Front | 9 September 1939 | 15 September 1939 | The Bzura | Smigly-Ridz | Poland | Brauchitsch | Germany | Germany | Poles failed to break out of double envelopment | |||||||
30 November 1939 | 13 February 1940 | Mannerheim Line | Timoshenko | Russia | Carl Mannerheim | Finland | Russia | Russians suffered massive casualties but drove Finns to sue for peace | ||||||||
11 December 1939 | 6 January 1940 | Suomossalmi | Semyon Timoshenko | Russia | Carl Mannerheim | Finland | Finland | Russian army destroyed | ||||||||
25 June 1941 | 30 June 1941 | Brody-Dubno | Mikhail Kirponos | Russia | Gerd von Rundstedt | Germany | Germany | Russians slowed but could not stop Operation "Barbarossa" | ||||||||
17 July 1941 | 5 August 1941 | Smolensk | Semyon Timoshenko | Russia | Fedor von Bock | Germany | Germany | Russian army trapped in pocket. Hitler began to use this tactic to detriment of forward momentum of invasion | ||||||||
1 September 1941 | 27 January 1944 | Leningrad | L A Govorov | Russia | Ernst Busch | Germany | Russia | City relieved after siege lasting 900 days | ||||||||
9 September 1941 | 26 September 1941 | Kiev | Semen Budenny | Russia | Gerd von Rundstedt | Germany | Germany | Over 600,000 Russioan troops trapped in pocket and captured | ||||||||
5 October 1941 | 20 October 1941 | Vyazma-Bryansk | Semyon Timoshenko | Russia | Fedor von Bock | Germany | Germany | Closing of Vyazma and Bryansk pockets | ||||||||
8 October 1941 | 30 April 1942 | Moscow | Josef Stalin | Russia | Adolf Hitler | Germany | Russia | Failure to capture Moscow and Russian counter offensive can be seen as turning point of the war | ||||||||
29 October 1941 | 3 July 1942 | Sevastopol | Semyon Budenny | Russia | Gerd von Rundstedt | Germany | Germany | Sevastopol captured and Crimea occupied | ||||||||
12 May 1942 | 22 May 1942 | Kharkov (1) | Semyon Timoshenko | Russia | Ewald von Kleist | Germany | Germany | Major Russian defeat with 250,000 troops captured in pocket | ||||||||
19 August 1942 | 2 February 1943 | Stalingrad | Andrei Yeremenko | Russia | Freiherr von Weichs | Germany | Russia | von Paulus in command of the German 6th Army was trapped and forced to surrender | ||||||||
16 February 1943 | 15 March 1943 | Kharkov (2) | Filipp Golikov | Russia | Erich von Manstein | Germany | Germany | Russian attempt to recapture Kharkov thwarted by German counter-attack. Last major German victory on the Russian Front | ||||||||
5 July 1943 | 17 July 1943 | Kursk | Georgi Zhukov | Russia | Erich von Manstein | Germany | Russia | Largest tank battle in history. German attempt to eliminate the Kursk Salient. Operation "Zitadelle" | ||||||||
22 June 1944 | 27 August 1944 | "Bagration" | I K Bagramyan | Russia | Ernst Busch | Germany | Russia | Byelorussia recaptured and German Army Group Centre destroyed | ||||||||
1 August 1944 | 2 October 1944 | Warsaw | Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski | Poland | Erich von Bach-Zelewski | Germany | Germany | Polish Home Army uprising ruthlessly put down by the SS | ||||||||
20 August 1944 | 30 August 1944 | Jassy-Kishinev | Rodion Malinovsky | Russia | Johannes Freissner | Germany | Russia | German 6th Army isolated by double envelopment | ||||||||
16 April 1945 | 2 May 1945 | Berlin | Georgi Zhukov | Russia | Adolf Hitler | Germany | Russia | Berlin isolated by double envelopment. Hitler committed suicide | ||||||||
North Africa | 9 December 1940 | 12 December 1940 | Sidi Barrani | Archibald Wavell | Allies | Rudolfo Graziani | Italy | Allies | Italian forces routed | |||||||
3 January 1941 | 5 January 1941 | Bardia | Richard O'Connor | Allies | Bergonzoli | Italy | Allies | Comprehensive defeat for Italian army in North Africa | ||||||||
21 January 1941 | 22 January 1941 | Tobruk (1) | Richard O'Connor | Allies | Pitassi Mannella | Italy | Allies | Major Italian defeat | ||||||||
5 Febraury 1941 | 7 Febraury 1941 | Beda Fomm | Richard O'Connor | Allies | Rodolfo Graziani | Italy | Allies | Italian 10th Army trapped and destroyed | ||||||||
20 May 1941 | 1 June 1941 | Crete | Freyberg | Allies | Alexander Lohr | Germany | Germany | Airborne invasion captured island. Operation "Merkur" | ||||||||
18 November 1941 | 7 December 1941 | Tobruk (2) | Alan Cunningham | Allies | Erwin Rommel | Germany | Allies | Relieved Tobruk after fierce fighting. Operation "Crusader" | ||||||||
26 May 1942 | 21 June 1942 | Gazala | Claude Auchinleck | Allies | Erwin Rommel | Axis | Germany | 8th Army defeated and forced to withdraw to Egypt. Tobruk captured | ||||||||
1 July 1942 | 27 July 1942 | El Alamein (1) | Claude Auchinleck | Allies | Erwin Rommel | Axis | Stalemate | Germans unable to break through but British unable to counter-attack | ||||||||
30 August 1942 | 2 September 1942 | Alam Haifa | Bernard Montgomery | Allies | Erwin Rommel | Axis | Britain | Germans unable to break through used up most of their resources in the attempt | ||||||||
23 October 1942 | 4 November 1942 | El Alamein (2) | Bernard Montgomery | Allies | Erwin Rommel | Axis | Britain | Decisive British victory which spelled beginning of end of Axis campaign in North Africa | ||||||||
14 February 1943 | 22 February 1943 | Kasserine Pass | Dwight Eisenhower | Allies | Erwin Rommel | Germany | Allies | Early German success contained and Rommel forced to withdraw | ||||||||
6 March 1943 | Medenine | Bernard Montgomery | Allies | Erwin Rommel | Germany | Allies | German counter-attack repulsed and Rommel replaced | |||||||||
20 March 1943 | 27 March 1943 | Mareth Line | Bernard Montgomery | Allies | Giovanni Messe | Italy | Allies | Messe forced to abandon the Mareth Line and retreat to Wadi Akarit | ||||||||
Italy | 9 September 1943 | 18 September 1943 | Salerno | Harold Alexander | Allies | Albrecht Kesselring | Germany | Allies | Narrow allied victory in amphibious landing which led to capture of Naples | |||||||
12 October 1943 | 14 November 1943 | Volturno River | Harold Alexander | Allies | Albrecht Kesselring | Germany | Allies | Allied forces crossed river at heavy cost | ||||||||
17 January 1944 | 22 May 1944 | Cassino | Harold Alexander | Allies | Albrecht Kesselring | Axis | Allies | Allies finally broke through to join up with Anzio beachhead and capture Rome | ||||||||
22 January 1944 | 23 May 1944 | Anzio | Mark Clark | Allies | Albrecht Kesselring | Axis | Stalemate | Attempting to outflank Cassino line, Anzio beachhead quickly contained. Operation "Shingle" | ||||||||
30 August 1944 | 28 October 1944 | Gothic Line | Harold Alexander | Allies | Albrecht Kesselring | Germany | Allies | Allies finally breached line in late Autumn, too late to exploit | ||||||||
Burma, Far East and Pacific | 7 December 1941 | Pearl Harbor | Short | Allies | Chuichi Nagumo | Japan | Japan | Surprise attack on US Pacific Fleet base which destroyed 12 battleships | ||||||||
8 December 1941 | 23 December 1941 | Wake Atoll | Winfield Cunningham | Allies | Sadamichi Kajioka | Japan | Japan | Massive Japanese operation resisted strongly by small US force | ||||||||
2 January 1942 | 6 May 1942 | Bataan | Douglas MacArthur | Allies | Masahuru Homma | Japan | Japan | Largest capitulation of a US army. Philippines captured | ||||||||
8 February 1942 | 15 February 1942 | Singapore | Arthur Percival | Allies | Tomoyuki Yamashita | Japan | Japan | Worst military disaster in the history of the British Empire | ||||||||
4 May 1942 | 8 May 1942 | Coral Sea | Frank Fletcher | Allies | Shigeyoshe Inouye | Japan | Allies | Tactical Japanese victory but strategic Allied victory. Naval invasion of Port Moresby thwarted | ||||||||
4 June 1942 | 6 June 1942 | Midway | Frank Fletcher, Ray Spruance | Allies | Isoroku Yamamoto | Japan | Allies | Allied victory which saw 4 Japanese carriers destroyed and severely curtailed as an attacking force | ||||||||
7 August 1942 | 7 February 1943 | Guadalcanal | Robert Gormley | Allies | Shigeyoshe Inouye | Japan | Allies | Desperate battle to prevent Japan from building landing strip on Solomon Islands | ||||||||
20 November 1942 | 22 January 1943 | Buna | Robert Eichelberger | Allies | Hatazo Adachi | Japan | Allies | Japanese invasion of Papua New Guinea thwarted and Japanese forces in the area wiped out | ||||||||
11 May 1943 | 15 August 1943 | Aleutian Islands | Francis Rockwell | Allies | ? | Japan | Allies | Islands recaptured | ||||||||
20 November 1943 | 23 November 1943 | Tarawa Atoll | Chester Nimitz | Allies | Keichi Shibasaki | Japan | Allies | Capture of Gilbert Islands | ||||||||
1 February 1944 | 4 February 1944 | Kwajalein Atoll | Holland Smith | Allies | Akiyama | Japan | Allies | Capture of part of Marshall Islands | ||||||||
6 February 1944 | 17 February 1944 | Korsun | Ivan Konev | Russia | Stemmermann | Germany | Russia | Stemmermann killed. Some German troops managed to break out of pocket | ||||||||
6 February 1944 | 25 February 1944 | Admin Box | A F P Christison | Allies | Hanaya | Japan | Allies | Heavy defeat for Japanese, first clear-cut British victory | ||||||||
17 February 1944 | 23 February 1944 | Eniwetok Atoll | Thomas Watson | Allies | Yoshima Nishida | Japan | Allies | Capture of remainder of Marshall Islands | ||||||||
25 March 1944 | 16 April 1944 | Kamenets-Podolsk | Georgi Zhukov | Russia | Erich von Manstein | Germany | Germany | First Panzer Army broke through Russian trap | ||||||||
29 March 1944 | 22 June 1944 | Imphal | William Slim | Allies | Masakuzu Kawabe | Japan | Allies | Brilliant Allied victory which marked turning point of war in Burma | ||||||||
5 April 1944 | 30 May 1944 | Kohima | William Slim | Allies | Renya Mutaguchi | Japan | Allies | Japanese failed to prevent the relief of Imphal | ||||||||
15 June 1944 | 9 July 1944 | Saipan | Chester Nimitz | Allies | Hideyoshi Obata | Japan | Allies | Capture of the Marianas Islands | ||||||||
19 June 1944 | 21 June 1944 | Philippine Sea | Ray Spruance | Allies | Jisaburo Ozawa | Japan | Allies | Naval battle and decisive American victory. A further 3 Japanese carriers destroyed | ||||||||
21 July 1944 | 10 August 1944 | Guam | Chester Nimitz | Allies | Hideyoshi Obata | Japan | Allies | Fall of the Marianas. Two survivors of the Japanese garrison surrendered in 1960 | ||||||||
24 July 1944 | 31 July 1944 | Tinian | Chester Nimitz | Allies | Hideyoshi Obata | Japan | Allies | Capture of part of the Marianas | ||||||||
15 September 1944 | 25 November 1944 | Pelelieu-Anguar | Chester Nimitz | Allies | Sadai Inoue | Japan | Allies | Capture of the Caroline Islands | ||||||||
24 October 1944 | 25 October 1944 | Leyte Gulf | William Halsey | Allies | Jisaburo Ozawa | Japan | Allies | Greatest naval battle in history. Offensive capacity of Japanese fleet destroyed | ||||||||
20 October 1944 | 25 December 1944 | Leyte | Douglas MacArthur | Allies | Tomoyuki Yamashita | Japan | Allies | Japanese army on the Philippines destroyed | ||||||||
14 January 1945 | 21 March 1945 | Mandalay | William Slim | Allies | Hoyotaro Kimura | Japan | Allies | Tactical masterstroke isolated each Japanese army in Burma and each was destroyed in turn | ||||||||
3 February 1945 | 4 March 1945 | Manila | Walter Krueger | Allies | Tomoyuki Yamashita | Japan | Allies | Last stand of Japanese naval garrison led to destruction of the city | ||||||||
19 February 1945 | 16 March 1945 | Iwo Jima | Harry Schmidt | Allies | Todomichi Kuribyashi | Japan | Allies | US forces secured Bonin islands for use as airstrips for bombing Japan | ||||||||
1 April 1945 | 22 June 1945 | Okinawa | Chester Nimitz | Allies | Mitsuru Ushijima | Japan | Allies | Ushijima committed suicide. Fight put up by Japanese convinced Truman to unleash the atom bombs | ||||||||
Other Theatres | 30 April 1941 | 5 May 1941 | Habbaniya | H G Smart | Allies | Rashid Ali | Iraq | Allies | Iraqi rebels defeated | |||||||
9 August 1945 | 17 August 1945 | Manchuria | Alexandr Vasilevsky | Russia | Yamada Otozo | Japan | Russia | Russians drove Japanese out of Manchuria and imposed communist rule in Northern Korea | ||||||||
Korean War | 1950 | 1953 | South Korea | North Korea | 5 August 1950 | 15 September 1950 | Pusan Perimeter | Douglas MacArthur | Allies | Choe Yong Gun | North Korea | Allies | North Korean Peoples Army virtually destroyed | |||
UN Forces | China | 15 September 1950 | 25 September 1950 | Inchon | Douglas MacArthur | Allies | Choe Yong Gun | North Korea | Allies | Strategic masterstroke which captured Seoul and isolated North Korean troops | ||||||
27 November 1950 | 15 December 1950 | Chosin Reservoir | Oliver Smith | Allies | Sung Shih-lun | China | Allies | Fighting withdrawal to evacuate UN troops | ||||||||
22 April 1951 | 30 April 1951 | Imjin River | James van Fleet | Allies | Peng The-huai | China | Allies | Allied forces (British/Belgian/US) resisted attempt to capture Seoul | ||||||||
16 April 1953 | 18 April 1953 | Pork Chop Hill | Arthur Trudeau | Allies | Peng The-huai | China | Allies | Contest of resolve by Chinese during peace negotiations | ||||||||
French Indochina War | 1946 | 1954 | France | Vietnam | 20 November 1953 | 7 May 1954 | Dien Bien Phu | Christian de Castres | France | Vo Nguyen Giap | Vietnam | Vietnam | French forced to surrender fortified garrison | |||
Vietnam War | 1956 | 1975 | South Vietnam | North Vietnam | 19 October 1965 | 26 November 1965 | La Drang Valley | Harry Kinnard | United States | Chu Huy Man | North Vietnam | United States | Viet Cong suffered crippling losses | |||
United States | China | 18 August 1966 | Long Tan | O D Jackson | United States | ? | Viet Cong | United States | Serious defeat for the Viet Cong | |||||||
Australia | 22 February 1967 | 14 May 1967 | Junction City | William Westmoreland | United States | ? | North Vietnam | United States | US forces cleared the "Iron Triangle" near Saigon | |||||||
19 November 1967 | 23 November 1967 | Dak To (Hill 875) | Leo Schweitzer | United States | ? | North Vietnam | United States | Vietnamese army attempt to distract US forces prior to the Tet Offensive | ||||||||
21 January 1968 | 14 April 1968 | Khe San | David Lownds | United States | ? | North Vietnam | United States | US forces resisted siege of fortified camp | ||||||||
31 January 1968 | 25 February 1968 | Hue | Ngo Quang Truong | South Vietnam | Nguyen Trong Dan | North Vietnam | South Vietnam | Hue was captured by the Viet Cong at the start of the Tet Offensive but recaptured after protracted street fighting | ||||||||
Arab-Israeli Wars | 1956 | 1973 | Israel | Arab States | 29 October 1956 | 5 November 1956 | Sinai (1) | Moshe Dayan | Israel | Abd el Hakim Amer | Egypt | Israel | Israeli army overran Sinai and captured Sharm el Sheikh but stopped short of Suez Canal as agreed with British and French | |||
Suez Canal Crisis | 5 November 1956 | 7 November 1956 | Suez Canal Landings | Hugh Stockwell | Allies | Abd el Hakim Amer | Egypt | Stalemate | Britain and France were forced to break off operations in face of opposition from UN and US | |||||||
Six Day War | 5 June 1967 | 8 June 1967 | Sinai (2) | Yeshayahu Gavish | Israel | Abd el Mohsen Mortagy | Egypt | Israel | Egyptian army destroyed and defence line esatblished on Suez Canal | |||||||
9 June 1967 | 10 June 1967 | Golan Heights (1) | David Elazar | Israel | Souedan | Syria | Israel | Israel captured Golan Heights and established a defensible frontier with Syria | ||||||||
6 October 1973 | 8 October 1973 | Suez Canal Crossing | Shmuel Gonen | Israel | Ahmed Ismail Ali | Egypt | Stalemate | Early Egyptian gains from surprise attack on Yom Kippur were subsequently wiped out | ||||||||
6 October 1973 | 10 October 1973 | Golan Heights (2) | Yitzak Hofi | Israel | Hefez al Assad | Syria | Israel | Israel beat off an attempt by Syria to retake the Golan Heights lost in 1967 | ||||||||
Falklands War | 1982 | 1982 | Britain | Argentina | 27 May 1982 | 28 May 1982 | Goose Green | H Jones | Britain | Wilson Pedroza | Argentina | Britain | Col H Jones killed | |||
11 June 1982 | 14 June 1982 | Port Stanley | Jeremy Moore | Britain | Mario Menendez | Argentina | Britain | Argentinian defence lines breached and Argentinian commander surrendered | ||||||||
Grenada | 1983 | 1983 | United States | Grenada | 25 October 1983 | 27 October 1983 | Grenada | Joseph Metcalf | United States | Austin Hudson | Grenada | United States | Communists defeated | |||
Gulf War | 1990 | 1991 | U N Forces | Iraq | 24 February 1991 | 28 February 1991 | Kuwait | Norman Schwarzkopf | Allies | Saddam Hussein | Iraq | Iraqi army in Kuwait destroyed. Operation "Desert Sabre" |