Search Results: Operation Compass

Operation Compass (9 Dec 1940 to 7 Feb 1941) was an Allied offensive in North Africa, which pushed Italian forces out of Egypt and then Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya). The Allied Western Desert Force, led by Lieutenant-General Richard O'Connor...

Operation Torch (aka the North Africa landings) landed Allied troops in French Morocco and Algeria on 8 November 1942 with the aim of removing German and Italian forces from North Africa. The first jointly-planned Allied operation of the...

Operation Gomorrah (aka the Battle of Hamburg or Hamburg Air Offensive) was a sustained area bombing campaign of the German port of Hamburg in four night attacks by the Royal Air Force and two daytime attacks by the United States Air Force...

A map of Operation Compass (9 Dec 40 - 7 Feb 41), the Allied offensive which won several important victories against Italian forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaigns of the Second World War (1939-45).

Operation Chastise, the 'Dambusters' raid, was an attack by a squadron of RAF Lancaster bombers on the dams of the Ruhr basin in Germany in May 1943. Led by Squadron Leader Guy Gibson, the bombers breached two dams causing enormous flooding...

A January 1941 photograph showing Italian prisoners-of-war after the battle of Bardia during Operation Compass (9 Dec 40 - 7 Feb 41), the Allied offensive which won several important victories against Italian forces in North Africa during...

This map illustrates the geopolitical situations and theaters of conflict in Africa during World War II. The continent saw various military campaigns and battles, notably in North and West Africa, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Madagascar...

Juno Beach was attacked primarily by forces of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division as part of the Allied D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. The Canadian troops initially suffered heavy casualties since aerial and naval bombardments had...

Sword Beach was the easternmost beach of the Allied D-Day Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. The 3rd British Infantry Division was given the task of taking the beach while paratroopers and Royal Marine and French Commando units secured the...

A photograph of burnt-out residential buildings in Hamburg following the firestorm created by the RAF bombing campaign Operation Gomorrah of July 1943. (Imperial War Museums Collection)