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Curated playlist

World War II invasions

  • Operation OverlordStorms nearly stopped the D-Day invasion of Normandy before it began.
  • Italian invasion of EgyptItaly's 1940 invasion of Egypt began with a marshal who thought it could not succeed.
  • Italian invasion of British SomalilandChurchill's fury over losing British Somaliland helped end General Wavell's career.
  • Battle of OkinawaJapan's army sent 1,780 schoolboys aged 14 to 17 to the front at Okinawa. About half were killed outright.
  • Fall of SingaporeIn February 1942, Britain surrendered Singapore with 85,000 soldiers to a Japanese force about a third that size.
  • Allied invasion of ItalyA loudspeaker on an Italian beach told landing American soldiers to give up. They landed anyway.
  • Philippines campaign (1941–1942)Japanese bombers caught nearly every American heavy bomber in the Philippines parked on the ground.
  • Anglo-Soviet invasion of IranIn 1941, Britain and the Soviet Union invaded neutral Iran. The Shah was gone within a month.
  • Operation TorchOperation Torch landed Allied troops in 1942 without knowing if French defenders would fight.
  • Battle of Iwo JimaPlanners expected Iwo Jima to fall in a week, but it took five weeks. Japanese defenders had dug deep tunnels.
  • German invasion of the NetherlandsOn the day Germany invaded in 1940, the Netherlands had zero modern tanks.
  • Japanese invasion of ThailandWhen Japanese troops landed in Thailand, its prime minister could not be found.
  • Operation DragoonOn August 15, 1944, 1,300 Allied bombers hit Provence to open the invasion of southern France.
  • Saar OffensiveIn September 1939, 110 Allied divisions barely moved against 23 German ones in the Saar Offensive.
  • Invasion of PolandThe famous Polish cavalry charge against German tanks never happened. German propaganda created the myth.
  • Soviet invasion of ManchuriaThe Soviet invasion of Manchuria began one minute past midnight on the 9th of August 1945.
  • Western Allied invasion of GermanySeven German soldiers surrendered at Nierstein, then paddled themselves back across the Rhine.
  • Battle of ImphalJapan's general expected to win the Battle of Imphal in three weeks.
  • German invasion of Denmark (1940)Germany's 1940 invasion of Denmark lasted approximately six hours. Danish forces surrendered before noon.
  • Japanese invasion of French IndochinaJapan invaded French Indochina within an hour of signing a deal to prevent it. The 1940 attack lasted four days.
  • German invasion of LuxembourgGermany's invasion of Luxembourg lasted exactly one day. Three panzer divisions crossed at dawn on May 10, 1940.
  • Invasion of YugoslaviaHitler attacked Yugoslavia in April 1941 after a coup toppled a government that had just allied with him.
  • Italian invasion of FranceItaly invaded France in June 1940 and took only a thin strip of land. Its biggest prize was the town of Menton.
  • Operation WeserübungTwo 48-year-old guns sank a German cruiser in Norway's Oslofjord. It bought Norway's king time to flee.

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