Crete airborne combat troops;
The airborne battle in Crete was an airborne battle in May 194 1 in order to capture Crete in Greece during World War II. An integral part of the war situation in the Balkans.
Crete is located in the eastern Mediterranean, near the throat of the southern Aegean Sea. The island is 65,438+000 kilometers away from the Greek mainland. The east and west are long and narrow, the mountains are long, the south bank is steep, the north bank is gentle, and expressway runs through the island. There are airports in Malemai, Simenon, heraklion and other places, which are the outposts for the British to defend the Suez Canal area and the strategic places to control the eastern Mediterranean. The German occupation of the island is of great strategic significance for seizing the sea power in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean Sea.
194 1 After Germany invaded Yugoslavia and Greece in April, it decided to seize Crete in order to ensure the safety of the right wing when expanding eastward, control the traffic lines in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, and protect the Romanian PuLoisti oil field from the attack of the British Air Force.
The airborne battle in Crete is the first large-scale airborne battle in the history of world war, and it is also the only landing battle in World War II with airborne combat as its main mode of operation. The first air raid succeeded in occupying a heavily guarded island. It is also the only offensive campaign mainly carried out by airborne troops so far. Since then, Germany's occupation of Crete has controlled the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean waterway, ensuring the stability of Southeast Europe, especially the safety of Ployesti oil field in Romania, which Germany relies on to maintain the war. However, the Germans underestimated the strength of the defenders and the number of transport planes was insufficient. They parachuted one after another without forming a fist, which not only prolonged the campaign time, but also caused heavy casualties. Casualties of airborne troops participating in the war accounted for one-third of the total. Crete is called "the tomb of German paratroopers" because of the huge losses of German airborne troops in this battle. In the subsequent wars, although Germany supplemented and expanded airborne troops, the Germans never carried out large-scale airborne operations again. Although the British Royal Navy had an advantage, it suffered heavy losses due to the lack of air cover, and was forced to evacuate to Egypt, failing to provide reliable support to the troops guarding the island.
After the airborne battle in Crete, the Germans set up a battle monument in Crete, which was demolished after the war. After the war, the local government in Crete buried the bodies of German soldiers in various cemeteries and erected crosses.
Battle of Kiev:
1941From July 7 to September 26, during the Soviet-German War of World War II, the Germans carried out a large-scale panic attack on the Soviet Southwest Army in Kiev.
The Soviet army participated in the war with the Southwest Army (commander is General Kirponos), the Bryansk Army (commander is Lieutenant General Elemenko) and the Southern Army (commander is General Qiu Amadaiya Rennie), while the German army participated in the war with the Southern Army Group (commander is Marshal Lundstedt) and the Central Army Group (commander is Marshal Bok).
This war is the biggest panic attack in the history of war. The campaign lasted more than two and a half months and was carried out on a large territory with a front line of more than 300 kilometers and a depth of about 600 kilometers. The Soviets lost about 700,000 people and captured 665,000 people. The Germans destroyed or captured 884 tanks, 3,765,438 guns and 3,500 vehicles, which can be described as brilliant results. The Germans also lost more than 65438+ ten thousand people. The main reason for the failure of the Soviet Union was Stalin's strategic command error. Stalin went his own way and refused the correct opinions of his subordinates many times, and finally suffered a fiasco. The defeat of the Soviet army in this war led to the collapse of the southern front. However, the persistent and tenacious struggle of the army played an important role in breaking the German "Blitzkrieg" plan. Using the huge strength of the German "Central" Army Group to attack the flank of the Southwest Army delayed the German attack in the main attack direction, that is, Moscow. In this way, the Soviet high command can concentrate huge strategic reserves in the direction of Moscow, which is of decisive significance for the smooth completion of the Moscow campaign. The German army gained and lost in this battle, just like liddell, a British military theorist. Hart said: "As far as the siege of Kiev is concerned, it can be regarded as a great success. For the Germans, it can also be regarded as an unprecedented masterpiece. From a strategic point of view, there seems to be a good reason. First, protect the south wing from the threat of enemy counterattack, and then attack Moscow. In addition, due to the large number of Russian troops and lack of mobility, this strategy is more favorable. The Germans can concentrate their forces in different areas one after another and produce several decisive results in turn. But the only weakness is' time waits for no one', especially the Germans are not prepared for winter operations. " The Germans won the biggest annihilation war in the history of war, but lost the biggest war in the history of war.
Battle of Leningrad:
194 1 In late August, frustrated Hitler mobilized 32 infantry divisions, 4 tank divisions, 4 motorized divisions and 1 cavalry brigade in the north wing, equipped with 6,000 cannons, 4,500 mortars and 1000 planes, and threatened to set up a platoon in September. In the "Barbarossa" plan, capturing the cities along the Neva River is regarded as a "top priority"-wiping Leningrad from the earth, killing all residents and eliminating the cradle of proletarian revolution.
The battle of Leningrad ended successfully in August 1944, which had a great influence on the war process in the Soviet-German battlefield. The battle included the German army and all the troops in Finland. After the battle, a large number of Soviet troops were liberated and used in other strategic directions.
Battle of Stalingrad:
The Battle of Stalingrad, also known as the Battle of Stalingrad, is a major turning point in the Second World War and one of the bloodiest and largest battles in human history. The main armies participating in the war were the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. This battle has become a famous battle in the history of human war, with heavy casualties on both sides and indifference to civilian sacrifice.
It is generally believed that the battle includes the following parts: the large-scale bombing of Stalingrad (now called "Volgograd") by the Germans; The Germans invaded the city; Street fighting in urban areas; Soviet red army camp; Finally, the Germans and the Axis allies were wiped out. The total number of casualties in this war is estimated to be over 2 million. The Soviet government refused to provide detailed casualty data at that time because it was afraid that too many casualty statistics would affect the people. Axis lost a quarter of its troops on the eastern front in this battle, and it didn't recover until the final defeat. For the Soviet side, the victory of this battle marked the beginning of recovering occupied territory, and finally ushered in the final victory of 1945 against Nazi Germany in May.
Battle of Kursk:
The Battle of Kursk was one of the decisive battles in the Soviet-German battlefield during World War II.
After the war, the Soviet army launched a continuous offensive against the German army, recovered a large number of lost land, and liberated Kiev in June of 5438+0 1. At the same time, Soviet commanders at all levels also grew rapidly in the war, and the art of command became more and more mature. In the end, the Soviet army surpassed the German army not only in quantity but also in quality.
Battle of El Alamein:
A famous battle in World War II. 1October 23rd, 1942, 10. In Alaman, the British Eighth Army, under the command of Montgomery, attacked the "African Army" led by Rommel. After 12 days of fierce fighting, the British army won, and the German and Italian troops were forced to retreat to the border of Tunisia.
Ellerman, located in northern Egypt, was the main battlefield in North Africa during World War II. From the end of 1942 to the beginning of 1 1942, the British army dealt a heavy blow to the German and Italian fascist troops here, which is known as the Battle of Alamein. The battle ended with the victory of the British army, which reversed the war pattern in North Africa and became the beginning of the collapse of the fascist army in North Africa.
The battle of aleman ended in the victory of the British army. In this battle, both sides paid a huge price. More than 7,000 British soldiers were killed and nearly 60,000 German and Italian soldiers were killed or captured.
Battle of Holland:
1944 September17-165438+1October 10, the offensive campaign conducted by the British and American allies in World War II.
The battle lasted for 55 days, and the British and Canadian troops advanced 45-90 kilometers in depth on the 200-kilometer-wide front. The task of the Dutch campaign was not completely completed. The characteristics of the Dutch campaign are: a large number of airborne troops are used to cooperate with the main attack direction, and the attacking infantry units adopt the battle formation of deep echelon configuration, and the allies constitute a large artillery density for themselves. However, the tactics of breaking through the enemy's defense in a narrow section (only 1.5 km at first) and then expanding the breakthrough with active actions on the two wings of the assault group did not achieve the expected effect.
Battle of Ardennes:
The battle of Ardennes is also called the battle of the bulge in history. The Battle of Ardennes was the largest counterattack on Nazi Germany's West Line 1944 during World War II, with 65,438+million German casualties, about 700 tanks and heavy artillery, and 1600 aircraft. The allied forces lost about 80,000 people (including 1 1,000 dead, 47,000 injured and 23,000 missing), of whom 77,000 were American soldiers. After the battle of Ardennes, Hitler had no reserve forces to supplement, and the Germans could no longer stop the allied forces from advancing on the western front. Therefore, it is well-deserved that the Battle of Ardennes was called a turning point in history by later generations.
Sicily landing war:
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean, located between Apennine Peninsula and North Africa, and is an important barrier in southern Italy. During World War II, in order to ensure mediterranean shipping company's security and finally defeat Italy, the United States and Britain launched a large-scale landing campaign here from July to August in 1943, and successfully captured Sicily.
1943 in may, after the allied forces expelled the german and Italian troops from the African continent, Sicily, Italy was designated as the next target. 1in the summer of 943, the allied forces concentrated a large number of troops in the coastal ports of North Africa and prepared to land in Sicily. The operation was code-named "Husky" and was carried out by the 15 Army Group under the command of General Alexander. This army group has the British Eighth Army under Montgomery's command and the American Seventh Army under Barton's command. * * * has 13 division and three independent brigades, with a total strength of 478,000, more than 4,000 combat aircraft and about 3,200 combat ships and auxiliary ships.
In order to ensure the victory of the landing war in Sicily, the allied forces conducted a misleading action code-named "meat stuffing" before the battle, sending out the wrong message that the allied forces would land in Sardinia and Greece, which led Hitler to order the German troops in Sicily to be dispersed.
1late at night on July 9, 943, the allied forces launched the landing campaign in Sicily by airborne landing as planned. /kloc-in the early morning of 0/0, under the cover of bad weather, the allied forces landed forcibly in Sicily. In the face of the sudden attack of the allied forces, the German and Italian troops were caught off guard and the coastal defense line was quickly destroyed. On the third day of the battle, British troops occupied the southeast of Sicily. On July 22nd, American troops captured Palermo, the capital of Sicily. On August 5th, British troops occupied Catania. /kloc-in August of 0/7, the allies successively entered Messina, a throat town leading to the mainland in the northeast corner of Sicily, and then occupied the whole island. At this point, the landing campaign in Sicily ended with the victory of the allies.
In this campaign, the German and Italian troops invested about 270,000 troops, with a total loss of nearly 6.5438+0.7 million, and the Allied forces lost more than 30,000 people. The battle of Sicily is an important battle of the allied forces in Europe. The victory of the campaign opened the door for the allied forces to attack Italy directly, deepened the crisis faced by Mussolini's regime, and created conditions for finally forcing Italy to surrender.