After General Wavell’s failures with Operation Brevity (May 1941) and Operation Battleaxe (June 1941), General Sir Claude Auchinleck, the new commander of Middle East Forces, was under pressure to launch a renewed attack on Axis forces. The Allies hoped to destroy Rommel’s powerful Panzergruppe Afrika and lift the siege on... More
On 1 August the US 6th Army and the French forces were gathered on Corsica ready for the assault on France. On 14 August, under massive air cover, the US 7th Army, commanded by General Patch, spearheaded the operation, with the British VI Corps under Major General Truscott, and French... More
The purposes of Operation Dragoon (originally named Operation Anvil) were to capture the French Mediterranean ports, to open a new southern front involving a large contingent of French troops, and to divert German forces away from the Allied landings in Normandy. A three-pronged landing was planned between Toulon and Cannes.... More
The main purpose of Operation Epsom was to occupy panzer divisions near Caen so they could not move west and threaten the gap between the British and American armies. Encircling Caen was also a key objective as it was the major stronghold in the region, which needed to be taken... More
Operation Georgette mirrored the trajectory of its precursor Operation Michael, with spectacular early successes progressively foiled by a mix of last ditch Allied defence, overextended supply lines and mounting casualties. The German High Command aimed to overwhelm the British 1st Army and race to the coast to capture the northern... More
Following the landings at Sword Beach in Normandy on 6 June, Operation Goodwood (named after the Sussex racecourse) was the first major battle assigned to the British Third Infantry Division, with the objective of quickly securing the strategically important city of Caen nine miles (14.5 km) inland and, in particular,... More
The Allied invasion of Sicily was codenamed Operation Husky. The deception of Axis intelligence, including the strategic dumping of a body dressed as a British officer carrying fake documents, enabled the offensive to go ahead against reduced enemy defences. The attack began on the night of 9–10 July 1943 using... More
Operation Lam Son was planned as a pre-emptive attack against the North Vietnamese People’s Army of Vietnam, which was thought to be moving supplies down the Ho Chi Minh trail, which ran along the Laos/Cambodia and Vietnam borders, ready for an offensive into South Vietnam towards the end of the... More
The success of Operation Market Garden relied on a well-coordinated Allied aerial transport operation to deliver the airborne components of the attack plan to their intended locations. The primary aircraft used during the airlift operation was the Douglas C47 Skytrain transport aircraft, which would carry paratroops and could also tow... More
Following the successes of the airborne troops dropped during the D-Day landings, a larger airborne force was assembled for drops across the Netherlands near the German border. Operation Market Garden consisted of two distinct actions: Market, which involved airborne troop drops; and Garden, which would involve British armoured troops moving... More
Both Britain and Germany considered Crete a vital strategic territory. Hitler saw that a firm hold on southeastern Europe would provide cover to the rear of an invasion into Russia, whilst the British wanted Crete as a base from which to launch attacks against the German eastern flank and North... More
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918 concluded the war in the East, and enabled Germany to transfer 50 divisions to the western front. But with their civilian population close to starvation, and American reinforcement to the Allies set to reach a million by August, German High Command realized... More