The greatest battle in WW2 was Operation Overlord-How can you disagree?

Answer 1

overlord was the most intricate operation of any war even in the future should there be that could never be surpassed i was in the thick of it and yet when i look back at newsreels i still cant believe how it came together like it did even Mulberry Harbour was a feat never to be repeated and someone mentioned Alamein and although we went up a bit back a bit we made it and when Jerry was shoving 88s at you it wasn't very comfortable//strategy that can never be repeated again Eisenhower and Monty i can see them now

Answer 2

Operation Overlord was not just one battle, it was split into distinctive phases. It was Not a major turning point in the European Conflict, a landing by the western allies was bound to happen at some point in time once 1944 came around due to the defeat of the wolfpacks and the continued pressure from the Soviet Army destroying most of the German elite units.
The greatest Battle of the European Campaign by far was Kursk followed by Stalingrad. The Russian Battles against the Germans where fanatical and extreme, both sides where fighting for survival and not just for Land.
On the Pacific basis, some of the greatest battles involved no troops at all, like Midway, Coral Sea and the Marianas Turkey Shoot. On Land, the Battles of the Indian Border where more dramatic but not widely known, places like the battle of the Tennis Courts, sounds like a sports Match, but it stopped the final Japenese Push into India. Okinawa is much more pubicised but overall there where less Military Casualties, the Civilian Casualties where very much higher.
Other Battles of Note would be El Alamein, the Gothic, Cassino line battles in Italy, the Falaise Pocket Battles, The 2nd stage Battles in the Soviet Union in 1941, The Battle of Stanley Ridge, etc.

Answer 3

I suppose it depends on how you are defining "greatest." In terms of number of people involved, Overlord wasn't even close to the greatest, with battles such as Kursk, Stalingrad, and even the Battle of the Bulge being greater.

In terms of the importance to the Allied victory, again, there are other battles more important, such as the Battle of Moscow and the Battle of Stalingrad, already mentioned. By the time D-Day occurred, the Soviets already had the Germans on the run, and in Operation Bagration, which occurred shortly after D-Day, they destroyed an entire German army group.

Overlord / D-Day is often incorrectly cited as the "greatest invasion" in history. It certainly was the greatest amphibious invasion in history, but the greatest invasion was the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, where the Germans alone had more than three million men involved. Even Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 involved more men. And I'm not talking here about just the initial D-Day landings, which involved only five seaborne and three airborne divisions, but the entire Normandy campaign.

In addition to being the greatest amphibious invasion, I think Overlord has the greatest amount of romanticism and mythology associated with it compared with probably any other battle of World War II. This is probably why so many people in the West, and particularly in America, see it as such a crucial battle. Certainly it helped shorten the war in Europe, and it was extremely important for post-war political reasons for the Anglo-Americans to invade continental Europe in a big way, but it was not ultimately critical to the Allied victory over the Nazis.

Answer 4

It's true it was the greatest sea invasion ever but it difficult to compare different kinds of operations with each other.
You could say the Battle of Britain in 1940 was the greatest as it was the first time Hitler was defeated long before the Soviet Union got involved or even longer before the USA put in a late appearance.
El Alamein in 1942 was the first hint that Britain could beat Hitler's army and led to his expulsion from Africa.
Stalingrad in 1943 was the first nail in Hitler's coffin on the Soviet Front.
The Battle of Midway was the turning point in the Pacific war between the USA and Japan.
Operation Overlord was a vast enterprise compared with the other examples but could not have been accomplished without what went before.

Answer 5

Difficult to say without detailed stats on men and machinery, but I would have gone for Kursk first. Stalingrad probably next. Overlord was the code for the landings but the Allies were penned in a small area of Normandy for some time. It was the breakout from Normandy (Operation Goodwood) which was the great battle, rather than the landing itself.
The assault on Monte Cassino is often forgotten but that, too, deserves a mention.
(I leave others to suggest engagements in the Pacific theatre)

Answer 6

Easily, Overlord made the war in Europe end sooner than it would have otherwise but by 1944 the U.S.S.R was already going to beat Germany, it was only a matter of time. You could easily argue that Stalingrad was the greatest battle of the European War since it was the battle the effectively halted the Nazi advance and paved the way for the eventual German defeat. You could also argue that if Kursk hadn't happened, then the Germans could have fought the Russians to a relative stalemate and forced the war to continue for years longer than it would have otherwise. Even by 1943 the Red Army still lacked the tactical expertise to defeat the Germans in open warfare.

Answer 7

The Normandy amphibious assault was only one among hundreds of engagements during WW2. Even if you limit your scope to the European War alone, there are so many other battles that were significant such as Battle of Britain, Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), Stalingrad, Kursk, Moscow, etc. And then there were battles in Africa, in China, in the Pacific... You can't pick one as "greatest".

For a good list of all events in WW2, try this link:
http://ww2db.com/battle.php

Answer 8

The main turning point battles of WW2 are
The Battle of Britain
Staligrad
El Alemein
Midway
D Day Landings
Kursk Offensive
Battle of the Bulge
and to some degree...
Leyte Gulf
Iwo Jima
Burma Campaign
Operation Market Garden
Crossing the Rhine
Battle for Berlin
The greatest of all these in numbers of men,ships,aircraft,firepower and cost in £.$ was the D Day Landings .Eisenhower,Churchill,Roservelt and Stalin all agreed on this as the final turning point of WW2

Answer 9

It was certainly the most amazing amphibious assault of WW2. But personally I'd give the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge) a slightly higher position due to the tension and drama that was involved.

Overlord was very impressive, but other than the first few hours there really wasn't much doubt who would win.

And I'd have to say Midway was the most amazing Naval battle.

Answer 10

You might start out with the Battle of Britian, look at some of the Pacific battles, and don't forget the El Alamain. The invasion of Normandy was a big deal, but it took a lot of fighting before we got there.