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 Aerial Battles & Aircraft American Civil War French Revolution Vietnam War World War I American History African American History African History Ancient History & Culture Asian History European History Genealogy Inventions Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History The 20th Century Women's History View More by Jennifer Rosenberg Updated September 10, 2017 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 IIBattles DatesAtlantic September 1939 - May 1945Berlin April 16 - May 2, 1945Britain July 10 - October 31, 1940Bulge December 16, 1944 - January 25, 1945El Alamein (First Battle) July 1-27, 1942El Alamein (Second Battle) October 23 - November 4, 1942Guadalcanal Campaign August 7, 1942 - February 9, 1943Iwo Jima February 19 - March 16, 1945Kursk July 5 - August 23, 1943Leningrad (Siege) September 8, 1941 - January 27, 1944Leyte Gulf October 23-26, 1944Midway June 3-6, 1942Milne Bay August 25 - September 5, 1942Normandy (including D-Day) June 6 - August 25, 1944Okinawa April 1 - June 21, 1945Operation Barbarossa June 22, 1941 - December 1941Operation Torch November 8-10, 1942Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941Philippine Sea June 19-20, 1944Stalingrad August 21, 1942 - February 2, 1943 citecite this article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Rosenberg, Jennifer. "20 Major Battles of World War II." ThoughtCo, Sep. 10, 2017, thoughtco.com/major-battles-of-world-war-ii-1779996. Rosenberg, Jennifer. (2017, September 10). 20 Major Battles of World War II. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/major-battles-of-world-war-ii-1779996 Rosenberg, Jennifer. "20 Major Battles of World War II." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/major-battles-of-world-war-ii-1779996 (accessed May 20, 2018). copy citation Continue Reading