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Encirclements in World War II

  • Battle of UmanThe Wehrmacht advanced eastward in the initial weeks of Operation Barbarossa, defeating several Soviet mechanized corps at the Battle of Brody between 23 and…
  • Ruhr pocketThe Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen stood intact on the 7th of March 1945 when American troops seized it. General Omar Bradley's U.S.
  • Battle of Smolensk (1941)On the 22nd of June 1941, Axis nations invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. The campaign met with spectacular success as surprised Soviet troops…
  • Falaise pocketOn the 25th of July 1944, American forces launched Operation Cobra near Saint-Lô. This offensive shattered German defenses and pushed troops south into open…
  • Battle of Białystok–MinskField Marshal Fedor von Bock commanded Army Group Center as it prepared to strike from Poland on the 22nd of June 1941. The Wehrmacht's armored forces…
  • Operation UranusOn the 28th of June 1942, the Wehrmacht began its offensive against Soviet forces opposite of Army Group South. This campaign, codenamed Case Blue, aimed to…
  • Battle of Kiev (1941)On the 22nd of June 1941, Operation Barbarossa began with Army Group South advancing into Ukraine under Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt.
  • Battle of BerlinOn the 12th of January 1945, the Red Army began a massive offensive across the Narew River and from Warsaw. This three-day operation involved four army…
  • Battle of the Kerch PeninsulaOn the evening of the 25th of December 1941, Soviet forces packed into small fishing trawlers and began crossing the Kerch Strait from the Taman Peninsula.
  • Second Battle of KharkovOn the 7th of November 1941, Joseph Stalin declared that German forces would collapse by spring or summer. This speech set a dangerous tone for Soviet…
  • Siege of BudapestOn the 19th of March 1944, German forces launched Operation Margarethe to enter Hungary. This preemptive strike occurred as political pressure mounted within…
  • Third Battle of KharkovOn the 2nd of February 1943, the German 6th Army surrendered at Stalingrad. This event freed six Soviet armies under Konstantin Rokossovsky to launch new…