World War II anniversaries in 2024
26 January 2024
The Second World War, a global conflict fought between more than fifty nations between 1939 and 1945, was the longest and bloodiest conflict in history. The principal Allies of Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union and, to a lesser extent, China fought the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan, with an estimated number of 70 to 85 million people killed.
The year 1944 saw events that would change the course of the war and mark the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany's steady and determined march across Europe. This year will mark the 80th anniversary of these events.
akg-images has extensive WWII image collections. We have created selections for you to view here and here. We also have a selection of colourised WWII images available for your projects, where the addition of colour by historians enhances understanding of the events taking place.
80th anniversary of events of the Second World War
6 June 1944: Normandy Landings, also known as D-Day or Operation Overlord, was the invasion of Nazi-occupied France by the Allies in what became known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history.
AKG2492459 In Brixham Harbour (Devon, United Kingdom): trucks, jeeps and heavy equipment are loaded on four Landing Ships, Tank (LST 284, 380, 382 and 490). ©akg-images
AKG940847 Bombardier of the US Air Force is checking the distance to the target 25 seconds before bombing starts. ©akg-images
AKG2492530 Allied soldiers are walking in deep water during the invasion of the beach. On the left is the Landing Craft, Tank (LCT) –779. Barrage balloons are in the sky. In the foreground is a Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP), which has landed reinforcements. Utah Beach, Normandy, France. ©akg-images
AKG2492477 In the Easy Red sector, Colleville-sur-Mer (Normandy, France): American soldiers from the 5th or 6th Engineer Special Brigade (ESB) try to help a comrade lying on his stomach. ©akg-images10 June 1944: Oradour-sur-Glane massacre, where German troops destroyed the entire French village, and all but ten of its inhabitants were killed.
20 July: The 20 July Plot was an attempt by Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators to assassinate Adolf Hitler inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia.
1 August 1944: The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance led by the Home Army to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. The uprising was timed to coincide with the retreat of the German forces from Poland ahead of the Soviet advance.
9 August: destruction of the Lodz Ghetto, the second-largest ghetto in all of German-occupied Europe after the Warsaw Ghetto. It was transformed into a major industrial centre, manufacturing war supplies for Germany, especially for the Wehrmacht, and was the final ghetto in occupied Poland to be liquidated.
15 August 1944: Operation Dragoon was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence, Southern France. The operation enabled the Allies to gain control of two major ports and to liberate most of Southern France in just four weeks.
AKG10067029 US troops wade through chest-deep water during an amphibious invasion to an unopposed beach east of Toulon. ©akg-images
AKG10314884 (Digitally coloured) US troops wade through chest-deep water during an amphibious invasion to an unopposed beach east of Toulon. ©akg-images.jpg "AKG10067060 A consolidated B-24 Liberator of the 15th Aaf flies over smoke from bombs that struck at enemy gun positions in the Sete area of Southern France, attacked by heavy bombers. Direct hits were scored on targets. ©akg-images")
AKG10067060 A consolidated B-24 Liberator of the 15th Aaf flies over smoke from bombs that struck at enemy gun positions in the Sete area of Southern France, attacked by heavy bombers. Direct hits were scored on targets. ©akg-images
AKG10064154 USS Quincy (CA-71) fires her forward 8/55 guns off Toulon, while supporting the invasion with smoke screen laid by the ship next ahead to prevent accurate counter-fire by German coastal artillery. ©akg-images25 August 1944: Liberation of Paris. After the Normandy landings of June, Allied troops progressed eastwards towards Berlin. At the same time, the French Resistance organised the uprising in Paris. By 23 August 1944, almost a third of the city was under insurgent control, and the first Allied troops reached Paris.
.jpg "AKG107989 German soldiers surrender in the town centre. ©akg-images")
17 September: Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation fought in the German-occupied Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to capture key bridges over the Rhine, allowing a swift advance into northern Germany.
6 October 1944: Battle of Hürtgen Forest. Between 6th October 1944, and 10th February 1945, one of the largest field battles of the American troops on German territory took place in the Hürtgen Forest in the Northern Eifel close to the German-Belgian border.
16 December: The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was a major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg and was the last major German offensive on the Western Front.
This year will also mark the 85th anniversary of the beginning of WWII, sparked by Hitler's Invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939.
Header image: AKG9255546 World War II, Great Britain; D-Day (Operation Overlord), Allied landings in Normandy. Four US Navy sailors with haircuts in the shape of the letters HELL on a landing craft embarking in Portsmouth or Poole. ©akg-images
