Most significant battle of the 20th Century?

[Oski]

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I think the "Battle of Britain" was significant because of the fact that it halted the German advancement. It also changed the way war would be raged, highlighting the importance of air superiority.

Regards, Jim

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Right now, I see two battles that appear most qualified:
1. Battle of Britain;
2. Midway;

If either one of these battles is won by the agressor, the war, at a minimum, would drag on for additional years.

Hindsight shows us that the American war-machine, once up and running really turned the tide of the war. Well, this fact may never have been discovered if Britain fell. This battle was soooooo close to being a smashing German victory. Day after day, the RAF put all of its fighters into action and the numbers rapidly dwindled. Fortunately, they were able to inflict heavy losses on the Luftwaffe.

On an interesting note, Churchill pulled a fast one on Hitler, which may have saved the day. One night, the Germans accidentally bombed a London suburb, instead of the intended military target. Churchill ordered that Berlin be bombed the next night no matter the cost. It was done, but the raid was only a paper victory.

Nevertheless, Hitler became so incensed, he ordered further bombing on London ... as opposed to proper, military targets. Well, in a war for survival, one would certainly trade residential losses for military losses. A lot of heavy industry was saved as Hitler tried to exterminate London.

Further, a loss at Midway puts the U.S. on the defensive and almost guarantees it must evacuate Pearl Harbor. Under this scenario, the U.S. would have been forced to use most of its resources protecting the main land, as opposed to agressively making its way closer to Japan.




356. Faulkland Islands;


783. Tyson - McNeely;
784. Grenada.

[Oski]

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Has anyone seen Band of Brothers? This is a wonderful series and the DVD collection is worth every dollar.

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The series was great but read the book by Ambrose too. Probably his best.

~ Rick

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I would recommend all of Ambrose's WWII books.

D-Day;
Band of Brothers;
Citizen Soldiers;
Pegasus Bridge.

[Diplomat]

How do you define battle?

-Diplomat

[ericd]

I agree that the Battle of Britain was the most important. If it had been lost then:

1. The ally who co-managed the European theater would have probably had to operate as a "pest" instead of a major force.

2. Where would the invasion of Europe have been staged? In addition to the reduced manpower, the logistics would have been a nightmare.

Defeating Germany was extremely difficult as it was. How it would have been achieved with those additional burdens is beyond me.

[GWB]

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I would also agree that a pivotal turning point was the battle of Stalingrad.

Has anyone seen Band of Brothers? This is a wonderful series and the DVD collection is worth every dollar.

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The best movie on Stalingrad is Enemy at the Gates (2001). I've watched it twice.

[W00lygimp]

Didn't russia promise that they would invade Japan and help us on the western front if and V-E day happened? I don't remember Russia ever helping us...

Also you forget the Russians did not kill 3 million germans, they killed far fewer. The Russian winter which kept the German War machine out in the cold killed millions... It was NOT the russians. It's like locking your enemy outside in the middle of a blizzard. If the germans had won they would have gotten proper shelter for the winter and/or made it to the caucus where its warmer. The winter itselfs inflicted *MILLIONS* of casulties, thats alot when you realize Americans only lost 56,000 men in the Vietnam War. I think we lost what 300,000 men in all of WWII? I don't think you guys understand how much Germany lost in that one battle...

As for midway, ships can be rebuilt. Even if the Japanese took Hawaii we could have still won the western front.

As for Battle of Britain, Hitler had NO intention of invading Britain as it was. Hitler regarded the English as a pure race, he was content with decapitating Britains War Effort.

As for Pearl Harbor, U.S. intervention was inevitable.

[El Barto]

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As for midway, ships can be rebuilt. Even if the Japanese took Hawaii we could have still won the western front.

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You overestimate the ease of doing this. Japan had serious shortage problems (metal, oil, etc.), rebuilding aircraft carrieers would have been a daunting task (as well as time consuming). In fact they never did do it, and their loss at Midway was felt heavily until the end of the war.

[Eihli]

A totally awesome battle.

[TorontoCFE]

Russia did attack the Japanese - in China. They were there for a few weeks at best and they took their time shifting forces from Europe, but they did make a token effort.

While Stalingrad was a decisive battle, it was Hitler's 3rd mistake in the campaign. He should never have invaded Russia in the 1st place - it is unconquerable, especially when ill-supplied. Secondly, he flipflopped on overall strategy, shifting the main thrust between the Ukraine and Moscow. His stubbornness at Stalingrad was the first major blow and led to the Germans being too weak to stop the Russian counteroffensive.

I;d say the Battle of Britain was more significant as a shift in morale and setting the stage for D-Day. Hitler did indeed plant to invade Britain but couldn't get the barges needed to do the job. He quickly lost interest and dind't have the stomach for the prolonged fight - Russia was more tempting.

[Blarg]

If I recall correctly, weather played a big part of it long before it was even winter. Broad swaths of Russia were essentially impassible in the spring because of wet conditions. As many European and American roads were unpaved in those times, it was even moreso the case in Russia. Hitler's soldiers would have had to to march and slog heavy equipment through soggy marshes and swamplands, and his very mobile army that took some European nations in a matter of days would have been just sitting ducks stuck interminably in the mud in Russia. So waiting for the ground to firm up seemed like the best idea at the time.