Humanities › History & Culture 20 Major Battles of World War II Share Flipboard Email Print US Assault Troops landing on Omaha beach during the Invasion of Normandy. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images History & Culture Military History World War II Battles & Wars Key Figures Arms & Weapons Naval Battles & Warships Aerial Battles & Aircraft Civil War French Revolution Vietnam War World War I American History African American History African History Ancient History and Culture Asian History European History Genealogy Inventions Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History The 20th Century Women's History View More by Jennifer Rosenberg Jennifer Rosenberg is a historian, history fact-checker, and freelance writer who writes about 20th-century history topics. Updated January 27, 2019 There were numerous battles in World War II. Some of these battles lasted only days while others took months or years. Some of the battles were notable for the material losses such as tanks or aircraft carriers while others were notable for the number of human losses. Although this is not a comprehensive list of all battles of WWII, it is a list of the major battles of World War II. A note about the dates: Somewhat surprisingly, historians don't all agree on the exact dates of battles. For instance, some use the date that a city was surrounded while others prefer the date that major fighting commenced. For this list, I have used the dates that seemed the most agreed upon. 20 Major Battles of World War II Battles Dates Atlantic September 1939 - May 1945 Berlin April 16 - May 2, 1945 Britain July 10 - October 31, 1940 Bulge December 16, 1944 - January 25, 1945 El Alamein (First Battle) July 1-27, 1942 El Alamein (Second Battle) October 23 - November 4, 1942 Guadalcanal Campaign August 7, 1942 - February 9, 1943 Iwo Jima February 19 - March 16, 1945 Kursk July 5 - August 23, 1943 Leningrad (Siege) September 8, 1941 - January 27, 1944 Leyte Gulf October 23-26, 1944 Midway June 3-6, 1942 Milne Bay August 25 - September 5, 1942 Normandy (including D-Day) June 6 - August 25, 1944 Okinawa April 1 - June 21, 1945 Operation Barbarossa June 22, 1941 - December 1941 Operation Torch November 8-10, 1942 Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 Philippine Sea June 19-20, 1944 Stalingrad August 21, 1942 - February 2, 1943 Continue Reading