'Winterzauber' was a German-supervised anti-partisan operation directed at the creation on the Eastern Front of a depopulated zone of between 18.5-and 25-mile (30- to 40-km) d... Read More

'Wiper' was the Allied capture of the Iles d’Hyères, off the south coast of France between Toulon and St Tropez, by the forces of Lieutenant General Alexander McC. Patch’... Read More

'Wirbelwind' was a German plan by Generalfeldmarschall Günther von Kluge’s Heeresgruppe 'Mitte' for an offensive by Generaloberst Gotthard Heinrici’s 4th Army and General... Read More

'Wirbelwind Klain' was a German unrealised limited offensive, designed to improve the German line after the termination of 'Wirbelwind', by Generaloberst Rudolf Schmidt’s 2n... Read More

'Wismar' was the German programme to equip all 'Würzburg' and 'Freya' air search and fighter control radar equipments with an alternative operating frequency in an attempt to... Read More

'Wisla' was a Soviet special forces operation to parachute a five-man team of the GPPRS (Polish Parachute Reconnaissance, Information and Sabotage Group) into the Ziemia Lubus... Read More

'Withstand' was a British deception and cover plan for operations to support Turkey and pin German forces in the Balkans (January/March 1943)., Created in the middle of Januar... Read More

'Witticism' was a British unrealised plan for a special forces raid by four men of the Small Scale Raiding Force who, with two canoes and limpet mines, were to be carried in o... Read More

'WMP' was the designation of Allied military convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from the Isle of Wight to northern France in the months after the Alli... Read More

'WN' was the designation of British coastal convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from the Clyde estuary (later Oban and Loch Ewe) to Methil on the Firth... Read More

'WNC' was the designation of Allied military convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from the Isle of Wight to Le Havre (December 1944/May 1945). ... Read More

'WNL' was the designation of Allied military convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from the Isle of Wight to France (April/May 1945). ... Read More

'WO' was the designation of Allied troopship convoys (together with a numerical and sometimes a literal suffix) plying the route from India or Ceylon to Australia (January/Jul... Read More

'Wohlgemut' was a U-boat wolfpack operation, in tandem with 'Tümmler' (ii) and 'Unverzagt', in the Atlantic against the UGS.6 convoy (12/22 March 1943)., The wolfpack compris... Read More

'Wolf' (i) was a U-boat wolfpack operation in the Atlantic against the ON.111 and ON.113 convoys (13 July/1 August 1942)., The wolfpack comprised U-43, U-71, U-86, U-90, U-379... Read More

'Wolf' (ii) was a German programme of special forces operations behind the Soviet lines on the Eastern Front (1942/43). ... Read More

'Wolf' (iii) was the German and Croat first stage of a major operation against the partisan forces of Marshal Josip Broz Tito in the area of Kordun, Banija, Popoku and Turpolj... Read More

'Wolf' (iv) was a German operation against partisan forces in the area round Thessaloníki in German-occupied northern Greece (spring 1944). ... Read More

'Wolf' (v) was a British deception, subsidiary to 'Stultify', designed to bring the the current advance in the Arakan western coastal region of Burma into step with 'Knockout'... Read More

'Wolfshölle' was a German operation against the partisan forces of Marshal Josip Broz Tito on the Peljesac peninsula of German-occupied Yugoslavia (18/20 August 1944)., The u... Read More

'Wolfsjagd' was a German operation against partisans in the Bobruysk area of the Belorussia region in the German-occupied western USSR (3/15 February 1944). ... Read More

'Wolga-Staubecken' was a German operation by Generaloberst Adolf Strauss’s 9th Army and Generaloberst Georg-Hans Reinhardt’s 3rd Panzergruppe of Generalfeldmarschall Fedor... Read More

'Wolke' was a German programme of five transfers of reinforcements to occupied Norway ordered by Adolf Hitler at the expense of more needy fronts (5/20 November 1942)., The re... Read More

'Wolkenbruch' (i) was a German operation against the partisan forces of Josip Broz Tito in the northern part of German-occupied Yugoslavia (21 October/12 November 1943)., Foll... Read More

'Wolkenbruch' (ii) was a German operation to force the partisan forces of Marshal Josip Broz Tito’s II Naval and Coastal Sector to fall back from Istria and Kvarner to Dugi ... Read More

'Wollin' was a German naval minelaying operation by Fregattenkapitän Hans von Schönermark’s Minenschiffsgruppe 'Nord' (minelayers Brummer, Cobra and Königin Luise) suppor... Read More

'Wolsey' was a British special forces operation by five men of the Special Air Service and 'Phantom' (F Squadron of the GHQ Liaison Regiment) under the command of Lieutenant M... Read More

'Wonderful' was the British alternative to 'Foreground' for the defence of Transjordan’s frontier fortification arrangements (1940/41). ... Read More

'Woodcock' was a British air attack on the basis of Special Operations Executive planning against the airfield at Sola in German-occupied Norway (3/4 May 1941)., In January 19... Read More

'Woodlark' was a British operation by the Special Operations Executive to establish a base from which the Nordland railway in the Namdal, in the area to the north of Trondheim... Read More

'Woodpecker' was a British operation by the Special Operations Executive to reconnoitre the Dovre railway in the area to the to the south of Trondheim and other forms of commu... Read More

'Woodward' was a British unrealised plan for a special forces raid on the Ile de la Vierge off the north coast of German-occupied France (December 1942). ... Read More

'Woolworths' was a British operation by the RAF Regiment to seize the development centre of the Focke-Wulf aircraft company at Bad Eilsen in Germany (8 May 1945)., Like the ot... Read More

'Wop' was a US counter-offensive in Tunisia by Major General George S. Patton’s US II Corps to retake Gafsa and El Guettar, which had been seized by the Germans in 'Morgenlu... Read More

'Worek' was a Polish naval operation in the first days of World War II for its five submarines to form a screen to prevent German naval forces from effecting landings on the P... Read More

'Work Basket' was a British unrealised plan for an operation against Korčula island in the Adriatic Sea off German-occupied Yugoslavia (autumn 1944). ... Read More

'Work Jacket' was a British unrealised plan for an attack by commando forces on a German target in the Adriatic Sea (September 1944). ... Read More

'Workhouse' was a British deception by Colonel Dudley W. Clarke’s 'A' Force deception organisation to persuade the Axis powers that the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and th... Read More

'Workshop' was a British unrealised plan for the capture of the Italian island of Pantelleria in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and North Africa (October 1940/January 19... Read More

'Wotan' (i) was the German armoured attempt to take Moscow as the culmination of 'Barbarossa' (9 September/November 1941)., Based on the concept of a deep-punching encirclemen... Read More

'Wotan' (ii) was a U-boat wolfpack operation, in tandem with 'Leopard' (i), in the Atlantic against the ON.135, ONS.136, ON.137 and SC.104 convoys (5/19 October 1942)., The wo... Read More

The 'Wotan-Stellung' was a German defensive position in the Nogai steppe for Generaloberst Karl-Adolf Hollidt’s 6th Army of Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein’s Heere... Read More

'Wowser' was a US concentrated air attack by Major General Nathan F. Twining’s 15th AAF against German forces, positions and dumps in northern Italy, especially those around... Read More

'WP' was the designation of British coastal convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from Milford Haven and other ports of south Wales mainly to Portsmouth ... Read More

'WR' was a British naval undertaking associated with 'VO' to intercept and capture or sink the German blockade-running refrigerated transport Wahehe in the Atlantic (21 Februa... Read More

'Wrangel' was a U-boat wolfpack operation off German-occupied Norway (11/18 March 1942)., The wolfpack comprised only U-405 and U-592, and neither lost any of its own number n... Read More

'Wreckage' was a British low-level daylight air sweep against Bremen by 28 Bristol Blenheim light bombers of Air Vice Marshal D. F. Stevenson’s No. 2 Group of Air Marshal Si... Read More

'Wrecker' was an Allied convoy operation associated with 'Neptune' (iii) and 'Overlord' to move 22 coasters and colliers (three Dutch, four Norwegian and 15 British) from Barr... Read More

'Wren' was a British operation by the Special Operations Executive to carry out sabotage tasks against lines of communication targets to the south of Steinkjer in German-occup... Read More

'WS' (i) was the designation of Allied troopship convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from the UK to Gibraltar, Freetown, Sierra Leone, the Cape of Good... Read More