World War II?

Question

In your opinion, what was the pivitol battle(s) that turned the tide for the Allies march to victory in both the East and West and why??

Answer 1

Stalingrad - The end of Operation Barbarossa

The Battle of the Coral Sea, and Guadalcanal - The turning point in the Pacific campaign

The Fall of Italy - Set the stage for D-Day, the Allies could center on Germany.

Some people have mentioned Midway......
I would have to disagree that Midway was a turning point in the pacific campaign. It was the first stand that the US made against the Japanese, but it was not a victory. It was merely the first time the US wasnt completely defeated by the Japanese.

Guadalcanal was the first land operation that pushed the Japanese back, Coral Sea was the first naval operation that was a decisive victory for the US. Both victories set the stage for major offensive operations against Japan, until that time the US was primarily engaged in defensive rear guard actions.

Answer 2

In Europe:
- The Battle of the Kursk salient (Operation Zitadelle). After the Germans lost more than 3,000 tanks in this single war campaign, they haven't recovered from it. All of the battles after this were fought with the Germans on the defensive. The Germans were in constant retreat until the Russians reached the gates of Berlin in 1945.
- The Allied landing at Normandy (Operation Overlord). This liberated France from German occupation. After this, the Germans were in constant retreat too.


Pacific:
- The Naval Battle of Midway. Although many historians never considered it a real victory for the Allies (as the Japanese losses in warplanes, battleships and aircraft carriers are just about the same as the Allied losses), and the fact that the Japanese naval strength is still in even parity with that of the Americans and British. But it is a huge psychological and propaganda victory for the Allies nevertheless. This battle had shown for the first time that the Japanese military might is not as invincible as the Japanese believed it to be.

- Battle of Leyte Gulf (Philippine Sea). This is the naval battle where the Japanese had lost the greatest numbers of aircraft carriers and warships. It was also the first time when the Japanese started to fight desperately (Kamikaze suicide planes started their appearance in this battle, fatally attacking and sinking many American warships). After this battle, the Japanese are left with not so many warships to defend against any future American naval offensive towards the Japanese home islands.

Answer 3

Stalingrad was only significant if the Germans lost, which they did. The Soviets destroyed the 6th Army, which, in turn, forced the other half of Army Group South (engaged in capturing the Caucasus and Baku oil fields) to withdraw to the north-west to regroup and form a new defensinve line. The failure to capture the oil fields cut off the Axis powers from any hope of finding a large enough fuel source to continue an effective war, essentially sealing their fate with that of the 6th Army.

If the Soviets lost, the war was not lost as they had plenty of room to retreat further into the hinterland. Their resources in manpower, tanks, war factories, etc., meant they would've enventually won the war by sheer weight of numbers.

From that point onward the Germans lost the strategic offensive. The outcome of the war was still up for grabs after the defeat at the gates of Moscow, but after Stalingrad, it was all but over. The localized battles at Kursk, D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge were fought when the outcome was no longer in doubt. The loss of the Sixth Army, men and material, was something the Wehrmact never recovered from.

In scope, the Battle of the Bulge did not compare to Stalingrad, not in the number of deaths (38,000 to 1.8 million) or significance. Prior to Stalingrad, the outcome of the war was still in doubt. Prior to the Bulge, there was no question as to the outcome, all it did was waste Germany's last reserves that could've been used to stem the Red Army tide in the east; instead it accelerated their end.

If i had to pick a Western front turning point, it would have to be El Alamein...

Answer 4

In the East it was the Battle of Moscow. That battle stopped German momentum and changed the outcome of the war in Russia. If the Germans would of won at Moscow, Stalingrad wouldn't of happened.
In the West it was the Battle of Normandy. Once the Germans failed to stop the Allied invasion and couldn't keep them contained it was over for the Germans.

Answer 5

Stalingrad will probably be a very popular answer but i think the battle of Kursk was more significant as it completely destroyed the offensive capabilities of the Wehrmacht in the East. After that the best they could hope to do was launch limited small scale counterattacks and fight a defensive battle.
In the West has to be D-Day and the subsequent breakout.

Answer 6

In my humble opinion there were two battles that turned the tide.
1. Stalingrad because Hitler lost an entire army there and
also lost the myth of German invincability. Also, his soldiers
discovered Hitler would leave them in the lurch to feed his
ego.
2. KURSK, the greatest tank battle of all time. Again, Hitler
went against the advice of his generals who knew the Russians had the German plans, and had months to prepare for the attack. The German armored forces never recovered
from that disaster!

Answer 7

Pearl harbor may not be a battle,but helped the out come. The US lucked out that time because the aircraft carriers were out to sea. The only destroyed two battleships and the rest were rebuilt. it could have been a lot worse.

Midway. The lost of four carriers shrank the size of the navy because there was only two outdated ones left. If we had lost like they did he would have been a lot differnet because the lack of carriers in the pacific and the chance to go and do Pearl habor again.

Stalingrad. gave the nazies a kick in the pants. they had a chance to destroy a smaller force that shouldn't had been a problem. the nazies got hammered and many were captured. after this happened Hitler started to lose his mind.

El Alamein. Gave the US enough time to get in there to drive the Nazies out of africa, which lead to operation husky and D-day

Answer 8

Stalingrad was the war's turning point. Broke the back of the German war effort in the East and paved the way for a massive Soviet counterattack. Demoralized by their abject defeat at the hands of the Russian winter, the German people and military lost hope. Only Hitler's delusions sustained Nazi resistance. As a result of the Stalingrad, several high-ranking German officers attempted to assassinate Hitler and only just failed. Their tanks were just hours outside Berlin when the Gestapo sprang into action...

Answer 9

1. The Battle of Stalingrad
2. The Battle of Midway
Both of these battles were the first major defeats for the Germans and Japanese.

Answer 10

El Alamein, Stalingrad, Falaise, Bastogne
Midway, Imphal.