16/16
Decision↕ | Year↕ | Decision Maker↕ | Country↕ | Theater↕ | Outcome↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Invasion of Poland | 1939 | Adolf Hitler | Germany | Europe | Triggered outbreak of World War II |
Dunkirk evacuation | 1940 | Winston Churchill | United Kingdom | Europe | Saved 338,000 Allied troops from capture |
Battle of Britain air defense | 1940 | Hugh Dowding | United Kingdom | Europe | First major defeat for Luftwaffe, invasion postponed |
Operation Barbarossa | 1941 | Adolf Hitler | Germany | Eastern Front | Largest invasion in history, eventually failed |
Attack on Pearl Harbor | 1941 | Hideki Tojo / Isoroku Yamamoto | Japan | Pacific | Brought United States into the war |
Declaration of war on United States | 1941 | Adolf Hitler | Germany | Global | Linked European and Pacific wars |
Wannsee Conference and Final Solution | 1942 | Reinhard Heydrich | Germany | Europe | Formalized genocide of European Jews |
Battle of Midway trap | 1942 | Chester Nimitz | United States | Pacific | Four Japanese carriers sunk, turning point in Pacific |
Defense of Stalingrad | 1942 | Joseph Stalin | Soviet Union | Eastern Front | German 6th Army destroyed, eastern turning point |
Operation Overlord (D-Day) | 1944 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | United States / Allies | Europe | Opened Western Front in France |
Operation Bagration | 1944 | Joseph Stalin / Stavka | Soviet Union | Eastern Front | Destroyed German Army Group Center |
Battle of Leyte Gulf | 1944 | Douglas MacArthur | United States | Pacific | Largest naval battle in history, Japan's navy crippled |
Yalta Conference agreements | 1945 | Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin | Allies | Global | Shaped postwar Europe and Cold War borders |
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima | 1945 | Harry S. Truman | United States | Pacific | First nuclear weapon used in war |
Atomic bombing of Nagasaki | 1945 | Harry S. Truman | United States | Pacific | Second nuclear strike, Japan surrendered days later |
Soviet declaration of war on Japan | 1945 | Joseph Stalin | Soviet Union | Pacific | Manchuria invaded, pressured Japanese surrender |
Free to explore · No signup needed
Loading community rankings...
Related Datasets
More in History
American History Decades Ranked
Which decade most defined the character of the United States?
14 rows2 shared tags
Famous Diplomatic Summits
Yalta, Potsdam, Reykjavik, Camp David - which leaders-at-the-table moment actually bent history?
17 rows1 shared tag
Greatest Military Leaders
Twenty of the most celebrated military commanders in recorded history, spanning from ancient China to the 20th century.
20 rows1 shared tag
Historic Industrial Disasters
Bhopal, Texas City, Halifax, Beirut - which workplace catastrophe counts as the most horrific?
16 rows1 shared tag
Famous Counterfeit Schemes & Forgeries
Hitler diaries, Vermeer forgeries, Frank Abagnale — which counterfeit or forgery scheme was the most audacious?
15 rows1 shared tag
Famous Unsolved Coded Messages
The Zodiac cipher, Voynich manuscript, Kryptos — which uncracked code is the most tantalizing mystery?
15 rows1 shared tag