Blitzkrieg ('Lightning War') was the method of offensive warfare responsible for Nazi Germany’s military successes in the early years of the war. Combined forces of tanks, motorised infantry and artillery penetrated an opponent’s defences on a narrow...
Pages tagged with "War in the West"
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On 10 May 1940, the German Army invaded France and the Low Countries, pushing the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), along with French and Belgian troops, back to the French port of Dunkirk. A huge rescue, Operation 'Dynamo', was organised by the Royal...
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Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke is seen by many historians as one of the key architects of Allied victory. He was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) from 1941 to 1946 and Winston Churchill’s principal military adviser. Alan Brooke served as a Royal...
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On 6 June 1944, Allied troops landed on the coast of Normandy. D-Day was the start of the campaign to liberate Europe and defeat Germany. The Battle of Normandy was a hard-fought campaign. British divisions bore the brunt of German resistance on the...
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Poorly armed, neutral Norway became the first victim of Germany’s Blitzkrieg in the West in April 1940. Both the Allies and Germany ignored Norwegian neutrality. During the winter, Germany imported Swedish iron ore through the Norwegian port of Narvik....
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The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by German forces during the Second World War. The British government considered the islands to be of little strategic importance and were reluctant to spend money on their defence...
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During the Second World War millions were forced to live under foreign occupation. They faced hard choices between resistance, acquiescence or collaboration. Germany’s early victories subjected much of Europe to Nazi occupation. The experience of...
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Operation 'Market Garden' was one of the most famous failures of the Second World War. After victory in France, British commander Bernard Montgomery planned to use three airborne divisions to capture a series of bridges in the German-occupied Netherlands...
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Plans to dislocate vital German war industries in the Ruhr by breaching the dams which supplied their water and electric power were first laid in 1937. Only by 1942, however, were the bombs to destroy the dams and the aircraft to deliver it available....
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The Second World War in Europe engulfed the people of many countries. Appallingly destructive, the war witnessed devastating battles and an unprecedented industrial genocide. Its repercussions continue to be felt today. By 1941, German forces had...
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