The Second World War
in Europe Timeline

1943: Beginning of the End

by Paul Cooper



10 January-2 February: Soviets surround and destroy 250,000-man German 6th Army plus half of a panzer (tank) army at Stalingrad. German forces pushed back to their early 1942 starting positions. Soviet city of Kursk is captured from the Germans. The Soviet offensive is stopped by the skill of German General von Manstein and lack of supplies

14 February-6 March: Germans launch a major attack in western Tunisia; American forces at Kasserine Pass are badly mauled, but offensive falls to halt the Allied advance for long

28 February: Allied saboteurs thwart the German nuclear program by destroying research facilities in Norway

14-20 March: the largest convoy battle of the war takes place and ends in a German Victory

5 April-13 May: Allied forces launch final offensive in Tunisia; over 250,000 German and Italian troops captured

May: monthly Allied shipping losses decrease to 300,000 tons while German submarine losses reach a high of 41

5-23 July: Battle of Kursk: 2,700 German and 3,300 Soviet ranks engage in the biggest tank battle of the war and the last major German attack in the east. The Germans lose roughly half their available tank strength for the entire front

10 July-17 August: American and British forces invade and seize Sicily

August: Allied monthly shipping losses decline to 100,000 tons, due to improved Allied convoying, "sub-killer" air missions, bombing of submarine bases, better submarine detection equipment, and full use of Ultra codebreaking

3-9 September: American and British armies invade Italy, which immediately surrenders. Allied progress in Italy is slow due to tough German defense and rough terrain

24 September: German Army Group Center withdraws westwards, abandoning Smolensk and other strong points as Axis forces in southern USSR disintegrate

6 November: Soviet armies surround German troops in the Crimea and liberate Kiev, Rostov, Stalino, and Dnepropetrovsk

December: With the advent of longer-range Allied fighter escorts, American and British air forces drop 12,000 tons of bombs on German industrial targets at less cost

2 December: the US 5th Army fails to breach German Gustav Line at Monte Cassino, Italy

The Second World War in Europe Crossing the Big Red Line by Joe Miranda

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