Epic Showdowns

There is so much information available about WWII it can be overwhelming. The biggest and costliest conflict in human history lasted six years, and while it was fought mostly in Europe and Asia, it impacted the whole world. Let’s look at three of the key battles of WWII.

Operation Overlord: D-Day

On June 6, 1944, the invasion of Western Europe began. In order to defeat the Germans, Allied forces needed to be in France, entrenched, and advancing on Germany. The planning of D-Day was crucial for the invasion’s success.

Expert Infantry, Flickr

Operation Overlord: D-Day

The weather needed to be just right, and they were limited to specific days of the month. A full moon was needed to provide light for pilots and to ensure the tides favored the Allied forces. June 5 was initially chosen by General Eisenhower, but the conditions turned unfavorable.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Operation Overlord: D-Day

High winds made the sea treacherous and low clouds made landing impossible. The Germans believed that the poor weather conditions meant an invasion would not be happening any time soon. German forces were stood down and senior officers left the west coast of France believing they were safe—they were wrong.

Handford, Wikimedia Commons

Operation Overlord: D-Day

Allied weather services had been reporting on conditions in the mid-Atlantic every three hours since April 1944. These reports indicated that the best chance of a successful invasion would be June 6. On June 5, Eisenhower made the fateful decision to launch on June 6 or else risk postponing action for two weeks.

British official photographer, Wikimedia Commons

Operation Overlord: D-Day

Although "Decision Day," "Disembarkation Day," or "Demolition Day" have been suggested as the meaning of D-Day, those were in fact retroactive acronyms. The simple truth is D in military parlance simply meant "day" while H meant "hour" when referring to an operation. "D-Day" was the default name simply meaning the day of the invasion, while Operation Overlord was the code name chosen.

DVIDSHUB, Flickr

Operation Overlord: D-Day

A collaborative effort between British, American, and Canadian forces resulted in a series of landing sites divided by nationality. The landings were given the code names Omaha Beach and Utah Beach for American forces, Gold Beach for British forces, Juno Beach for Canadian forces, and Storm Beach for combined British and French forces.

Paramount Pictures, Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Operation Overlord: D-Day

As early as 1940 and two years prior to the American entry into the war, plans were drawn by US and British officials in London for various scenarios for invading continental Europe from Britain, Norway, and North Africa. The British established a Joint Staff Mission in Washington to continue these discussions.

National Archives and Records Administration, Wikimedia Commons

Operation Overlord: D-Day

In early 1944, the BBC appealed to the public for holiday photos of France, supposedly for an exhibition. The images of Normandy were separated out and military cartographers created detailed maps. It surprises historians to this day that German intelligence never clued in to the real purpose of those photos and that they weren’t able to deduce that Normandy was to be the landing site.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Operation Overlord: D-Day

For months prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a number of deception operations, designed to persuade the Germans that other areas were the Allied choices for invasion. In the weeks leading up to D-Day, the Allies misdirected the Germans with the idea that the landings would take place at Pas-de-Calais in Northern France. The Germans fortified and reinforced this area, neglecting Normandy.

vincent desjardins, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Operation Overlord: D-Day

Throughout 1942 and 1943, the Germans considered an Allied invasion of the western coast of Europe to be unlikely. Defenses against an invasion were minimal. Although massive fortifications were built, the Germans never committed large numbers of German forces to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands until it was too late.

Bundesarchiv, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Operation Overlord: D-Day

The Normandy campaign lasted for over two months. It ended with the Liberation of Paris on August 23, 1944, and the German retreat across the Seine on August 30, 1944.

Jack Downey, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

A key turning point in WWII was the Battle of Stalingrad, which lasted from August 23, 1942 to February 2, 1943. The importance for the Germans to secure victory in this battle was both strategic and symbolic. With a solid defeat at Stalingrad, the Germans would have easy access to the rest of the Soviet Union.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

Perhaps of even greater importance was the defeat of Joseph Stalin's namesake city. As a propaganda weapon, this was irresistible for Germany. A decisive defeat at Stalingrad would ensure a German victory.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

Stalingrad, now known as Volgograd, was a strategically important city in the southwestern Soviet Union. The German 6th Army fought the USSR for control of the city. With close combat in the streets and a total disregard for civilian casualties, the Battle of Stalingrad was one of the most horrific and costly battles in history.

Zelma, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

In 1941, in what was called Operation Barbarossa, Germany attempted a swift defeat of the Soviet Union after having been allies over the partition of Poland. German "blitzkrieg" strategy had resulted in quick defeats of Poland, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. However, conditions in the Soviet Union were very different.

Samaryi Guraryi, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

By October 1941, the autumn rains turned the roads into thick, impassable mud. As the Russian winter loomed, the Germans were stopped just a few miles outside Moscow. With the United States entering the war in December 1941, the Germans were now stuck with heavy forces committed to the eastern front.

Bundesarchiv, Bild, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

The actual battle for Stalingrad began in the summer of 1942. Already weakened by the Soviet winter, the German forces were in bad shape by the spring of 1942. There were shortages of all supplies, German forces were weak, and they had committed their heaviest artillery, submarines, and airplanes to fighting the Allies, which now included the Americans.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

This left German forces fighting with little support. The offensive on Stalingrad began in August 1942, with much of the city in ruins from previous Luftwaffe bombardment. As the Soviets dug in, the two forces became embroiled in fierce street fighting, building-to-building. Both sides brought in reinforcements and the fighting continued through the autumn and into the winter.

Bundesarchiv, Bild, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

On November 19, 1942, the Soviets launched a two-pronged attack on the weaker Romanian and Hungarian forces allied with the Germans. The Germans were cut off in the city and Stalingrad was surrounded by the Soviets. The Germans were ordered to stay in Stalingrad and take it at all costs.

Russian State Military Archive, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

By February 1943, the Germans were exhausted and out of food. Against orders, the Germans finally surrendered, their forces reduced to a fraction of their initial strength. The battle had lasted five months, one week, and three days.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

Just a few months before, the Red Army appeared to be nearly defeated. The Battle of Stalingrad was a symbolic victory for the Soviets, as their forces now appeared invincible. Germans back home began to doubt their leaders and could see that defeat was a real possibility.

Zelma, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

The German losses at Stalingrad were the decisive turning point of WWII. The German leadership abandoned all pretensions of strategic victory and prepared their people for "total war", knowing that WWII was now coming to Germany itself.

Bundesarchiv, Bild, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Stalingrad

Germany never regained their initiative in the East and they withdrew what forces that had not been captured to reinforce their forces in the West. The Battle of Stalingrad was the single most decisive battle in WWII.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

As WWII was drawing to a close, the Germans were locked into fierce battles on German soil. No longer was Germany conquering other nations. Germany itself was headed for collapse.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

Before that could happen, Germany needed to be decisively defeated. The defeat of Berlin, the German capital, and the capture of as many German leaders as possible, was the goal of both the Western Allies and the Soviets in the East.

Pfc. William E. Poulson, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was especially keen on ensuring Soviet forces entered a defeated Berlin. His goal was to capture as much German territory as he could before the arrival of his allies in the West. Mistrustful of the British and the Americans, Stalin did not believe they would allow the Soviets to control much German territory once Germany was defeated.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

For their part, the Western Allies feared Soviet domination of eastern Europe. It was the Soviets who were liberating nations such as Ukraine, Poland, and the Baltic states. Soviet influence over these nations was assured and the Western Allies were determined to minimize Soviet influence over a defeated Germany and Austria.

Weinrother, Carl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

On March 6, 1945, German General Reymann assumed command of the Berlin defensive areas. The plan was to defend Berlin at all costs because the Germans feared Soviet occupation and hoped the Western Allies could make it to Berlin before a German defeat. As the Soviets advanced into German territory, German forces and civilians attempted to flee into territory already controlled by the British or Americans.

Unknown Author, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

It was expected for the Soviets to arrive by April and for them to cross the Oder River east of Berlin and the main East-West Autobahn from Breslau to Berlin. At that point, Berlin would be effectively surrounded. 

Unknown Author, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

On April 9, Konigsberg in East Prussia—the easternmost German territory—fell to the Soviets. With this, the Soviets were able to advance quickly through eastern Germany until they reached the banks of the Oder River.

Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

The Germans had only a small force to defend the Oder River while the main forces were entrenched outside Berlin. Engineers, while strengthening the fortifications on the western side of the Oder, were also ordered to flood the river by opening the reservoir. This turned the Oder and its banks into a swampy mess.

Dad of Oktaeder, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

Three defensive positions were built on the outskirts of Berlin. They included anti-tank weapons and a network of trenches and bunkers.

Wilkes A (Sergeant), Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

Come April, the Soviets brought forces from the Baltic Sea down to the Berlin area. They joined the forces already in position on the east side of the Oder. From there, the Soviet artillery began their bombardment of Berlin.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

The artillery barrage against Berlin was as destructive or even more destructive than the earlier Allied air raids which decimated so many German cities. The Soviet artillery was relentless, and it served as a powerful propaganda tool against German civilians.

Владимир Гребнев, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

The people of Berlin had heard what happened to the eastern German cities when the Soviets arrived. The Soviets had enacted revenge on the Germans for all the atrocities the occupying German forces committed against Soviet civilians. Berliners feared the same treatment—or worse. 

Евгений Тиханов, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

The constant sound of artillery served to reinforce the inevitability of Soviet advancement into Berlin, well-ahead of the Western Allies. This in turn, demoralized the civilian population who now questioned the leadership of Germany.

Yevgeny Khaldei, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

From the end of April to the beginning of May 1945, the Soviets advanced on Berlin. There was some resistance but for the most part, Germans in Berlin—both soldiers and civilians—soon gave up. White flags were hung from the buildings in hopes of avoiding more artillery fire.

Evgeny Tikhanov, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

The Battle of Berlin was Germany’s final stand and the site of their final defeat. The country’s leaders fled or ended their lives in bunkers. The total casualties of Germans in the battle are thought to be around 200,000. This does not count the casualties during the Soviet occupation.

War Office official photographer, Wikimedia Commons

Battle Of Berlin

With the loss of Germany's leadership, Berlin's defenders surrendered. Adolf Hitler took his own life in his bunker. WWII in Europe finally came to an end.

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S33882 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, Wikimedia Commons