'Roland' was the German offensive, rapidly planned by the staff of Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein’s Heeresgruppe 'Süd', for an advance toward the line of the Psel ... Read More

'Rolly Polly' was the Allied programme for the forward deployment of anti-aircraft forces for 'Overlord' and 'Diver' (i) (summer/autumn 1944). ... Read More

'Roméo' was a French amphibious landing of a substantial force of commandos to support the main landings of 'Dragoon' (i) on the south coast of German-occupied France (15 Aug... Read More

'Romulus' (i) was the German oceanic rendezvous to the east of the Tuamoto archipelago in the south-west Pacific for raiders and their supply ship Münsterland operating from ... Read More

'Romulus' (ii) was a British operation to clear the Arakan western coastal region of Burma as far to the south as Akyab in preparation for 'Talon' to capture Akyab (13/31 Dece... Read More

'Ronald' was an Allied special forces operation to parachute a three-man French and US 'Jedburgh' team into the Finisterre area of German-occupied France to establish liaison ... Read More

'Rooftree' (i) was the US joint army and navy overall plan for the American commitment in 'Torch' (November 1942). ... Read More

'Rooftree' (ii) was a British deception by Colonel Peter Fleming’s 'D' Division to facilitate an attack by carrierborne aircraft on Sabang in Sumatra by indicating to the Ja... Read More

'Rook' was a British operation by the Special Operations Executive which began life as part of a plan, originally called 'Tiger', to kidnap a German naval officer, Kapitän Ha... Read More

'Roosevelt' was the British early designation of 'Foxrock' (May 1942). ... Read More

'Rooster' was the US airlift to deliver Lieutenant General Liao Yao-xiang’s Chinese New 22nd Division into the build-up area for the 'Plan X' (ii) offensive, through the Huk... Read More

'Rope' was a British naval gunfire bombardment of a port area in the Dante region of Italian Somaliland by the heavy cruiser Dorsetshire (18 November 1940)., The ship had depa... Read More

'Ropetrick' was a British unrealised plan to take the Lingga and Rhio archipelagos in the Japanese-occupied Netherlands East Indies (1944/45)., The seizure of these island gro... Read More

'Rosalind' was a British naval undertaking to rescue evacuees from the coast of south-western France (11/12 October 1942)., The Q-ship Tarana, an ex-Polish trawler, evacuated ... Read More

'Roscor' was a British radio deception operation by Colonel Peter Fleming’s 'D' Division designed to dissuade the Japanese from attempting any naval sortie into the Bay of B... Read More

'Rose' (i) was the British landing of two reinforced infantry companies of Brigadier G. T. Senescall’s South African 7th Motorised Brigade at Tuléar on the south-west coast... Read More

'Rose' (ii) was a U-boat minelaying operation in the Pechora Sea, off the north coast of the USSR, by Kapitänleutnant Hans Hildebrandt’s U-636 (31 July/7 August 1943)., The... Read More

'Rose' (iii) was the Allied operation against the German forces in the Ruhr pocket of western Germany (7 March/21 April 1945)., In March 1945 Allied forces crossed the Rhine r... Read More

'Rosebud' was an Allied deception operation by ground forces' radio equipment within 'Fortitude South II' (21 July/17 August 1944)., The deception was designed to persuade the... Read More

'Rosebush' was a British operation to disseminate forged ration cards in Germany (1941). ... Read More

'Rosemary' was a British series of four attacks by the Long Range Desert Group on Axis positions in the Western Desert (13 September 1942)., The sub-operations of 'Rosemary' w... Read More

'Roses' was US geographical rather than operational codename, changed to 'Truculence' in February 1943 and later still to 'Acid' and finally 'Suxe', for Efate island in the Ne... Read More

'Rosie' was Free French commando raid near Théoule sur Mer as part of the Allied distractions for 'Dragoon' (i) (15 August 1944). ... Read More

'Rösing' was the U-boat first wolfpack operation in the Atlantic off the north-western corner of Spain primarily against the US.3 convoy (12/15 June 1940)., Named for Korvett... Read More

The 'Roslav-Novozybkov Offensive Operation' was a Soviet offensive by the forces of the Bryansk Front against the the German 2nd Panzergruppe and 2nd Army in the Bryansk and S... Read More

'Röslein' was a German and Croat operation to prevent the partisan forces of Marshal Josip Broz Tito from entering northern Macedonia from the south of German-occupied Yugosl... Read More

'Rossbach' was a U-boat wolfpack operation in the Atlantic against the ON.203, ONS.19, HX.258, ON.204, HX.259 and SC.143 convoys (24 September/9 October 1943)., The wolfpack c... Read More

'Rösselsprung' (i) was the German air and sea undertaking against the PQ.17 convoy making for ports in the northern USSR (1/10 July 1942). , The operation fell in a period wh... Read More

'Rösselsprung' (ii) was a German combined airborne and ground assault by General Ernst von Leyser’s XV Gebirgskorps on the headquarters of the Yugoslav partisan movement ou... Read More

The 'Rostov-na-Donu Defensive Operation' followed the 'Donbas Defensive Operation', and represented the Soviet attempt to prevent the Germans from taking Rostov-na-Donu near t... Read More

The 'Rostov-na-Donu Offensive Operation', centred on the Battle of Rostov, was fought around Rostov-na-Donu between General Polkovnik Yakov T. Cherevichenko’s South Front an... Read More

'Rot' (ii) was the German bombing of Wieluń in Poland, on the main axis of Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt’s Heeresgruppe 'Süd' in 'Weiss' (i) (1 September 1940)., The Lu... Read More

'Rot' (iii) was the German second phase of the conquest of France (5/22 June 1940)., The undertaking had been prepared while the Allies were evacuating Field Marshal Lord Gort... Read More

'Rotary' was a British component of the 'Opponent' (i) undertaking to reinforce Malaya (January 1942). ... Read More

'Rotbuche' was the German overall plan for the defence of the Baltic states against the USSR (summer 1944/spring 1945). ... Read More

'Rotdorn' was the German overall naval planning for a number of eventualities stemming from the continued Soviet advance to the west (16 July 1944)., The naval plans included ... Read More

'Rote-Linie' was a German extemporised defence line in Normandy between Coutances and Savigny for SS-Oberstgruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS Paul Hausser’s 7th ... Read More

'Roter Mann' was a German anti-partisan operation by Generalleutnant Willibald Utz’s 100th Jägerdivision in the Berat region of German-occupied Albania (15 November 1943). ... Read More

'Rouble' was an Allied deception operation by tactical air forces' radio equipment as part of 'Fortitude' (26/28 July 1944)., The undertaking was a supposed command post exerc... Read More

'Rouen' was a German, Croat and Hungarian operation against the partisan forces of Marshal Josip Broz Tito in the Kalnik Gora (mountain region) of German-occupied Yugoslavia (... Read More

'Roughshod' was a British unrealised plan for a special forces operation within 'Lancing' to destroy a German naval headquarters at Wimereux in German-occupied France (1942). ... Read More

'Round-up' was a US plan for a major Allied landing in German-occupied northern France (1942)., The plan was developed at the instigation of General George C. Marshall, US Arm... Read More

'Roundabout' (i) was a British special forces operation against the Stad peninsula in German-occupied Norway (23 March 1943). , The party was commanded by Captain Gilchrist of... Read More

'Roundabout' (ii) was a British series of exercises by the Home Forces in the UK (December 1943/April 1944). ... Read More

'Roundel' was the British naval undertaking to ensure the passage of the JW.66 and RA.66 Arctic convoys to and from Murmansk in the northern USSR (16 April/8 May 1945)., The J... Read More

'Roundhammer' was an Allied unrealised plan, intermediate in scope between 'Round-up' and 'Sledgehammer', for an invasion of German-occupied northern Europe (1943)., The conce... Read More

'Rover' was the Allied core designation for the close air support of their ground forces in the Italian campaign (July 1943/April 1945). , The basic variants of the British-de... Read More

The 'Rovno-Lutsk Offensive Operation' was Soviet undertaking in the western part of Ukraine by the right wing of General Nikolai F. Vatutin’s 1st Ukrainian Front against ele... Read More

'Rowdy' was the British designation attached to any military support for the civilian authorities in the event of heavy air attacks on London (1940/41). ... Read More

'Royal Flush' (i) was the US air operations undertaking by Lieutenant General James H. Doolittle’s 8th AAF and Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton’s (from 7 August Major ... Read More