France timeline
-
British Forces Launch Operation Martlet
As planned, on 23 June elements of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division's 152nd (Highland) Infantry Brigade launched a preliminary attack. Before... Read more
-
Main Attack of Operation Epsom
Poor weather hampered the start of Operation Epsom on 26 June—both over the battlefield itself, where rain had made the ground boggy and there was... Read more
-
American Forces Capture the Port of Cherbourg
On June 18, the U.S. 9th Infantry Division reached the west coast of the peninsula. Within 24 hours, the 4th, 9th and U.S. 79th Infantry Division... Read more
-
British Forces End Operation Epsom in the Face of German Counterattacks
Having been obliged to commit his last available strategic reserves to bring the British offensive to a halt, on 29 June Rommel requested... Read more
-
Canadian Forces Launch Operation Windsor
Operation Windsor was a Canadian offensive launched as part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II. Taking place between 4–5 July 1944, the... Read more
-
Operation Charnwood Begins
Operation Charnwood was a Second World War Anglo-Canadian offensive that took place from 8–9 July 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. The... Read more
-
Operation Jupiter (1944)
Operation Jupiter was an attack launched by the British Second Army's VIII Corps on 10 July. The objective of the attack was to capture the... Read more
-
Second Battle of the Odon
As preparation for Goodwood was under way, Second Army launched two preliminary operations. The purpose of these operations, Montgomery stated was... Read more
-
Operation Atlantic
Operation Atlantic was a Canadian offensive during the Battle of Normandy; launched in conjunction with Operation Goodwood, from July 18–20, 1944.... Read more
-
Operation Goodwood
Operation Goodwood was an attack launched on 18 July 1944, during the Second World War, by the British army to the east of the city of Caen.... Read more
-
Liberation of Caen
On 18 July 942 Allied bombers and fighters attacked five villages on the eastern end of Caen in order to facilitate Operation Goodwood. The attacks... Read more
-
Battle of Verrières Ridge
The Battle of Verrières Ridge was a series of engagements fought as part of the Battle of Normandy, in western France, during the Second World War.... Read more
-
Operation Cobra
Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army eight weeks after the D-Day landings, during the... Read more
-
Operation Spring
Operation Spring was an offensive operation conducted by II Canadian Corps during the Normandy campaign. The plan was intended to create pressure... Read more
-
Operation Bluecoat
Operation Bluecoat was an attack by the British Second Army at the Battle of Normandy during World War II, from 30 July 1944 to 7 August 1944. The... Read more
-
Germans Launch Counterattack Near American Positions Near Mortain, France
Operation Lüttich was a codename given to a German counterattack during the Battle of Normandy, which took place around the American positions near... Read more
-
Operation Totalize
Operation Totalize (also referred to as "Operation Totalise" in some more recent British sources) was an offensive launched by Allied troops of the... Read more
-
Operation Tractable
Operation Tractable was the final Canadian–Polish offensive to take place during the Battle of Normandy. Its aim was to capture the strategically... Read more
-
Allied Forces Invade Southern France through Operation Dragoon
The assault troops were formed of three American divisions of the VI Corps, reinforced with the French 5th Armoured Division, all under the command... Read more
-
German Position in Normandy Collapses after Fierce Fighting at Hill 262
Hill 262 or Mont Ormel ridge, nicknamed The Mace (elevation 262 metres (860 ft)), was the location of a pivotal engagement fought as part of the... Read more
-
German Forces Surrender at Brest
The Battle for Brest was one of the fiercest battles fought during Operation Cobra, the Allied breakout of Normandy which began on 27 July 1944,... Read more
-
Operation Nordwind
Operation North Wind (Unternehmen Nordwind) was the last major German offensive of the Second World War on the Western Front. It began on 1 January... Read more
-
Japanese Army Officials Intern French Indochina Authorities, Assume Control of French Asian Territory
During World War II, the French were defeated by the Germans in 1940. For French Indochina, this meant that the colonial authorities became Vichy... Read more
-
Allied Forces Clear the Ruhr Pocket
The first step in realizing Eisenhower's plan was the eradication of the Ruhr Pocket. Even before the encirclement had been completed, the Germans... Read more
-
Founding of the United Nations
US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt first suggested using the name United Nations to refer to wartime Allies.Roosevelt suggested the term to... Read more