General George S. Patton, a senior U.S. Army officer in World War II, died on December 21, 1945, in Heidelberg, Germany, following injuries sustained in a car accident on December 9, 1945...
5 July 1943 — Germany launches Operation Citadel against the Kursk salient. Soviet intelligence and defensive preparations create deep belts of mines, anti-tank positions and artillery. G...
23 August 1941 — German forces intensify operations that culminate in one of the largest encirclements in military history around Kyiv. Hitler diverts armored forces southward rather than...
12 July 1943 — Soviet and German armored formations clash near Prokhorovka during the Battle of Kursk. The battle later acquires legendary status as an enormous tank confrontation, though...
10 July 1941 — German forces begin a major battle around Smolensk on the road to Moscow. German armored groups again encircle large Soviet forces, but Soviet resistance becomes stronger a...
13 May 1940 — German forces cross the Meuse near Sedan after concentrated air attacks and rapid engineering operations. Armored formations then move west toward the Channel rather than di...
10 May 1940 — Germany invades the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Allied armies move north into Belgium expecting the principal German attack there. Instead, the decisive Ger...
1 September 1939 — German forces invade Poland from the west, north and south, beginning the European phase of the Second World War. The attack follows months of escalating German pressur...
22 June 1941 — Guderian commands Panzer Group 2 during Operation Barbarossa. His armored forces achieve dramatic advances and participate in major encirclements. He later clashes with Hit...
28 June 1941 — German armored formations converge around Minsk and trap large Soviet forces. The rapid collapse of Soviet frontier armies demonstrates the effectiveness of German operatio...
22 June 1944 — The Red Army launches a huge offensive against German Army Group Centre in Belarus. Soviet commanders use deception, enormous artillery concentrations, armored exploitation...
16 April 1945 — The final offensive toward Berlin begins with one of the largest artillery concentrations of the war. Searchlights, artillery and armored formations support the assault ag...
1 May 1943 — Soviet engineers prepare extensive minefields, trenches, anti-tank positions and reserve lines around the Kursk salient. Intelligence about German intentions allows the Red A...