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World War II invasions

  • Operation OverlordIn May 1943, Allied leaders gathered at the Trident Conference in Washington to make a decision that would alter the course of history.
  • Italian invasion of EgyptThe Italian invasion of Egypt began on the 13th of September 1940, when an army of tens of thousands crossed from Libya into British-held territory with one…
  • Italian invasion of British SomalilandThe Italian invasion of British Somaliland lasted just sixteen days, from the 3rd to the 19th of August 1940, yet it produced one of the war's sharpest…
  • Battle of OkinawaThe Battle of Okinawa began on the 1st of April 1945, when American forces launched the largest amphibious assault ever attempted in the Pacific Theater of…
  • Fall of SingaporeOn the afternoon of the 15th of February 1942, British Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival walked toward the Ford Motor Factory in Singapore bearing a white…
  • Allied invasion of ItalyThe Allied invasion of Italy began at half past three in the morning on the 9th of September 1943. A loudspeaker on the beach at Paestum called out in…
  • Philippines campaign (1941–1942)The Philippines campaign of 1941-1942 opened in the pre-dawn hours of the 8th of December 1941, just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when Japanese…
  • Anglo-Soviet invasion of IranThe Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran began before dawn on the 25th of August, 1941, when Royal Air Force aircraft crossed into Iranian airspace and dropped…
  • Operation TorchOperation Torch began at dawn on the 8th of November 1942, when Allied forces waded ashore on three separate coastlines across French North Africa at the…
  • Battle of Iwo JimaThe Battle of Iwo Jima began on the 19th of February 1945, when the first wave of Marines landed on the southeastern beaches of a small volcanic island eight…
  • German invasion of the NetherlandsThe German invasion of the Netherlands began in the pre-dawn hours of the 10th of May 1940. Within five days, the main Dutch forces had surrendered.
  • Japanese invasion of ThailandThe Japanese invasion of Thailand started on the 8th of December 1941, less than five hours before Thai forces agreed to a ceasefire.
  • Operation DragoonOperation Dragoon began in the predawn hours of the 15th of August 1944, when 1,300 Allied bombers from Italy, Sardinia, and Corsica roared toward the…
  • Saar OffensiveThe Saar Offensive begins with a number that tells you almost everything: 110. That was the count of French and British divisions stationed along Germany's…
  • Invasion of PolandAt 04:45 on the 1st of September 1939, the old German battleship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on a Polish military depot at Westerplatte, in the Free City…
  • Soviet invasion of ManchuriaThe Soviet invasion of Manchuria began at one minute past midnight Trans-Baikal time on the 9th of August 1945, simultaneously on three fronts.
  • Western Allied invasion of GermanyThe Western Allied invasion of Germany reached its decisive turning point on the 22nd of March 1945, when American troops crossed the Rhine under a bright…
  • Battle of ImphalThe Battle of Imphal began in March 1944 with a Japanese army crossing the Chindwin River, convinced it could destroy the Allied forces in northeast India…
  • German invasion of Denmark (1940)The German invasion of Denmark on the 9th of April 1940 lasted approximately six hours, making it one of the shortest military campaigns of the Second World…
  • Japanese invasion of French IndochinaJapan moved troops into southern Guangxi and Longzhou County in early 1940. Their goal was to seize the eastern branch of the Kunming, Hai Phong Railway at…
  • German invasion of LuxembourgThe German invasion of Luxembourg lasted exactly one day. On the 10th of May 1940, three panzer divisions crossed the border at dawn, and by noon the capital…
  • Invasion of YugoslaviaThe invasion of Yugoslavia began on the 6th of April 1941. German-led Axis forces attacked the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in what became known as the April War…
  • Italian invasion of FranceThe Italian invasion of France lasted fifteen days in June 1940 and yet managed to change the shape of the entire war. On the evening of the 10th of June…
  • Operation WeserübungOperation Weserübung began at 05:15 on the morning of the 9th of April 1940, when German forces struck Denmark and Norway in one of the most daring and…