Remembering the Most Famous Battles of the World Wars

There were a number of famous battles during the world wars. Both in the first and second, there were famous battles at both land and sea, which involved thousands, possibly millions, of soldiers and sailors. These are a few of the more famous battles of the two World Wars.

The Battle of Jutland

The largest naval battle of the First World War was the Battle of Jutland. The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle that involved the Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy off the coast of Jutland. Armadas of dreadnought battleships met in a naval battle that the Royal Navy could not afford to lose. Destruction of the Grand Fleet would have left Britain's position in the war in some doubt, but alas, the Grand Fleet remained largely intact despite losing more ships at Jutland than the Germans. Germany celebrated victory, but the battle was not in any way decisive. Debate has remained as to which navy won this battle, but it was still one of the largest naval battles in any war.

Battle of Amiens

The Battle of Amiens in 1918 was perhaps the battle that won the war for the Entente. After Germany’s advances in 1918, the Entente regrouped for the Battle of Amiens. In this battle, the Entente had a comfortable numerical advantage at Amiens, along with an assortment of tanks, aircraft, and cavalry. At Amiens, these would be combined much more effectively than in previous battles, which ensured the penetration of German lines. Although slow, tanks were especially effective as they mowed over the German infantry divisions. Entente aircraft strafed German positions from the air, while cavalry charges provided further infantry support.

German troops surrendered in numbers as the Entente advanced. Many thousands of German troops were captured during the battle, and afterwards it became much clearer that the Germans could no longer win the war in the west. Months later, the war ended after further Entente advances in France.

The Battle of Midway

In the second war, the Pacific War began in 1941. This was a war that had a number of naval battles, which were far more decisive than on the other fronts. Aircraft carriers were essential to both sides in this war, and so in 1942, Japanese and American carrier fleets met at the Battle of Midway. Taking Midway Island was the primary objective for the Imperial Japanese Navy, and then sinking as many U.S. aircraft carriers as possible.

However, as the Allied cryptographers had already deciphered and detected the fleet heading for Midway, the Americans quickly dispatched a carrier fleet to Midway. When the fleets met around Midway Island, the Japanese remained unaware of exactly how many aircraft carriers the Americans had, and only their own aircraft could provide further details. The battle ended in defeat for the Imperial Japanese Navy as dive bombers wiped out four Japanese aircraft carriers and their supporting aircraft. The Americans lost the Yorktown carrier during the battle, but this aside it was a resounding victory for the U.S. navy.

Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944 was the last German advance, which involved hundreds of thousands of troops. The battle began around the forests of Ardennes as the German army targeted the Allied port of Antwerp. If such objectives had been met, then the Allies might have been pushed out of France.

However, despite pushing the Allies back, the advance could not be maintained. At Bastogne, Allied troops held the city, and hereafter, Allied airstrikes at German supply points and lines began as the weather cleared. German fuel shortages also became increasingly apparent as the battle continued, and German troops had to abandon their tanks when they ran out of fuel. With both their tanks and air support diminishing, the German army could only retreat in 1945 as the Allies restored the lines in France.

Battle of El Alamein

The Battle of El Alamein was the battle that won the North Africa Campaign for the Allies. After their victory at the Battle of Gazala, the Afrika Corps continued to advance toward El Alamein with the objective of taking the Suez Canal. However, at El Alamein, hundreds of thousands of British and Commonwealth troops were stationed to halt any further advances.

As such, it was here that Rommel’s advance was checked, and the Afrika Corps withdrew from the battle. After the battle, U.S. troops landed in North Africa, and the possibility of any victory for the Afrika Korps in North Africa had greatly diminished. In 1943, the remaining Axis troops in Africa surrendered.

Battle of Iwo Jima

The Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 was not necessarily the most essential battle of the Pacific War. By 1945, the key battles had been won, and it was not so much a question of if, but when the Allies would win the Pacific War. To do so, the Allies had targeted the home islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa as bases for further operations. Iwo Jima could provide the Allies with airbases for aerial operations.

The outcome of this battle was in little doubt as America had comfortable numerical superiority, and the IJN could not provide any naval support for the 20, 000 Japanese troops stationed at Iwo Jima after their naval defeats at Leyte and the Marianas. Despite this, the Japanese established effective defenses at Iwo Jima, which ensured that the American naval bombardment was ineffective. When the Marines landed, the Japanese defended every inch of Iwo Jima, and thousands of Marines were lost in action. Losses may have been greater than expected, although the Marines still took Iwo Jima.

The battle became all the more famous thanks to the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima photo that was taken after the Marines had reached the summit of Mount Suribachi. This photo of U.S. marines raising the American flag won the Pulitzer Prize and was one of the most famous wartime photos. More recent films, such as Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers, have also covered the Battle of Iwo Jima from a Japanese and American perspective.

Battle of Kursk

The Battle of Kursk was the largest of tank battles involving the best Russian and German tank models. Millions of solders, and thousands of tanks, were involved in the tank battle around Kursk. This last German advance in the east was squashed thanks to the numerical superiority of the Red Army, the T-34 tank, and ultimately its predictability. Despite the Red Army’s losses, the German advance turned into further retreats as the Russians retook Kharkov.

These battles are among the most famous of the world wars that involved hundreds of thousands of soldiers. These battles were noteworthy victories for the Allied and Entente armies on a variety of fronts.