'Aktion Reinhard' was the German plan to concentrate all the Jews of the Generalgouvernement (occupied Poland) in the concentration camps at Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka (Jul... Read More

'Aktion Rheinland' was German attempt by anti-Nazi resistance groups to surrender the city of Düsseldorf to the Allies and thereby avoid further physical destruction and loss... Read More

'Aktion T4' was the German programme to kill mentally ill and handicapped patients, and named after Tiergartenstrasse 4, the address of Nazi Central Office in Berlin (1939/45)... Read More

'Al' was the Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian islands group at much the same time as the larger 'Mi' (ii) operation against Midway island and as the precursor o... Read More

'Alabaster' was the initial British convoy operation to deliver forces for the occupation of Iceland, at the time thought to be under the threat of German occupation with poss... Read More

'Alacrity' was the British peaceful introduction of forces into the Azores islands group, part of neutral Portugal, by agreement with the Portuguese government (8 October 1943... Read More

'Aladdin' was the British undertaking to start the Allied process of accepting the surrender of the German occupation forces, some 372,000 strong, in the southern part of occu... Read More

'Alan' was an Allied special forces operation to parachute a three-man British and French 'Jedburgh' team into the Saône et Loire area of German-occupied France to aid the lo... Read More

'Alarich' was the German planning version of 'Achse' (ii) concentrating on the seizure of key locations and installations in northern Italy in the event of an Italian defectio... Read More

'Alastair' was an Allied special forces operation to parachute a three-man French and US 'Jedburgh' team into the Nosges area of German-occupied France to aid local resistance... Read More

'Albacore' was an Allied plan for Lieutenant General Joseph W. Stilwell’s Chinese Army in India to invade and recapture the northern part of Japanese-occupied Burma as part ... Read More

'Albany' was the US aerial delivery of Major General Maxwell D. Taylor’s 101st Airborne Division into the area just to the north of Carentan in German-occupied France, in th... Read More

'Albatross' was a British operation by the Special Operations Executive in German-occupied Norway to reorganise local resistance groups where necessary, provide weapons and ex... Read More

The 'Albert-Stellung' was the German defence line across the central part of Italy to the north of Perugia between Radicofani and Perugia via Chiusi and Lake Trasimeno (June 1... Read More

'Albia' was an Italian operation, otherwise known as 'Alba' and 'Albija', against the 'Jozo Jurčević' Battalion of Josip Broz Tito’s partisan forces in the Biokovo region ... Read More

'Albino' was a British undertaking to create a free-floating barrage of explosive-armed balloons to intercept German bombers (1940/42)., During the early part of the war there... Read More

'Albumen' was a British special forces raid by elements of the Special Boat Squadron against airfields on German-occupied Crete (7/8 June 1942)., The 'Albumen' undertaking was... Read More

'Alderpoint' was a British series of small-scale raids on German positions round the north coast of the Adriatic Sea off eastern Italy (1944/45). ... Read More

'Alec' was an Allied special forces operation to parachute a three-man French and US 'Jedburgh' team into the Drôme area of German-occupied France (9 August 1944 onward). ... Read More

The 'Aleksandriya-Znamenka Offensive Operation' was the Soviet ninth of the 10 sub-operations together constituting the 'Lower Dniepr Strategic Offensive Operation' (20 Novemb... Read More

'Alexander' was an Allied special forces operation to parachute a three-man French and US 'Jedburgh' team into the Creuse area of German-occupied France (13 August 1944 onward... Read More

The 'Alexandria Raid' was an Italian attack by frogmen of the 10a Flottiglia MAS on British warships in the harbour of Alexandria on the north coast of Egypt (19 December 1941... Read More

'Alfa' was the Italian and Croat Četnik first operation within the 'Dinara' plan against the partisan forces of Josip Broz Tito in the area around Neretva in the central Bosn... Read More

'Alfine' was the German naval evacuation of matériel from Zadar and Sibenik to Rijeka on the Dalmatian coast of occupied Yugoslavia within the context of 'Herbstgewitter' (ii... Read More

'Alfred' (i) was a German naval undertaking to lay a minefield in the Strait of Dover using the torpedo boats Iltis and Jaguar (29/30 October 1940). , In the period immediatel... Read More

'Alfred' (ii) was an Allied special forces operation to parachute a three-man British and French 'Jedburgh' team into the Oise river area of German-occupied France to aid loca... Read More

'Alfriston' was a British unrealised plan by the Special Operations Executive to destroy the Knaben molybdenum mines near Fjotland, about 60 miles (100 km) inland from the sou... Read More

The 'Algiers Raid' was an Italian attack on Allied shipping in the harbour of Algiers by manned torpedoes and commando frogmen of the X Flottiglia MAS delivered to Algiers by ... Read More

'Alice' was a US special forces operation to parachute a 15-man Office of Strategic Services Operational group into the Vabre area of German-occupied France to aid the local r... Read More

'Alight' was the Allied overall designation for naval operations in the South China Sea (1943/45). ... Read More

'Alkey' was a British deception operation designed by the London Controlling Section to conceal the visit of King George V to the Mediterranean theatre (June 1943). ... Read More

'Alloy' was a British unrealised early plan for the occupation of the Azores islands group, a Portuguese possession in the Atlantic Ocean, should a threat of a German or, late... Read More

'Almoner' was a British unrealised operation planned by the Special Operations Executive for a naval attack on the North Sea herring fleet operating out of the ports of German... Read More

'Aloes' was an Allied special forces operation to parachute a 12-man team into the Bourbriac area of German-occupied north-western France in order to aid the consolidation of ... Read More

'Alpenfestung' was the Alpine fortress planned by Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler as a national redoubt into which Germany’s government and armed forces could retreat from... Read More

'Alpenveilchen' was a German unrealised plan to reinforce the Italian forces in Albania (11 January/spring 1941)., In this theatre the Italians, having invaded Greece in 'Emer... Read More

'Alpha' was the US plan to halt the 'Ichi' offensive of the Japanese forces toward the Chinese cities of Kunming and Chungking, the capital of Yunnan province and the Kuominta... Read More

'Alphabet' (i) was the British seaborne evacuation of elements of the expeditionary force in Norway from the region of Narvik (4/8 June 1940)., The operation signalled the Ger... Read More

'Alphabet' (ii) was an Allied air operation against V-1 'flying bomb' missile-launching aircraft and S-boote coastal craft targets in north-western Europe (3 December 1944). ... Read More

'Alsos' was an Allied effort, largely by the USA and UK, planned from a time late in 1943 and implemented around the end of World War II to investigate the German nuclear ener... Read More

'Altenbeken' was the German attack on and capture of Åndalsnes, in the Romsdalsfjord western coastal area of Norway, by land forces advancing up the Gudbrandsdalen within the... Read More

The 'Altmark Incident' was a British undertaking to intercept the German vessel Altmark in Norwegian waters, and is more formally known as 'DT' (i) (16 February 1940). ... Read More

'Altona' (i) was the German seizure of Arendal on the south-east coast of Norway within the context of 'Weserübung Süd' (9 April 1940)., Located on the south-east coast of N... Read More

'Altona' (ii) was a German support undertaking for 'Hamburg' (ii) to prevent Soviet partisans from escaping to the south (22/29 December 1942). , The operation involved Sicher... Read More

'Aluite' was a British reconnaissance of the coast of Vichy French-held Syria by a detachment of the Folbot Troop (June/July 1940). ... Read More

'Aluminium' was a British special forces undertaking by Special Operations Executive to parachute the men of a commando intelligence mission into German-occupied Czechoslovaki... Read More

'AM' (i) was the designation of Allied convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from Chittagong to Madras or Vizagpatam, India, and as such reciprocals of t... Read More

'AM' (ii) was the designation of Allied convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route between Algiers or Oran, French North Africa, and the south of France for '... Read More

The 'Amalie-Linie' was the German fallback position for Generaloberst Hans-Valentin Hube’s (from 21 April General Kurt von der Chevallerie’s) 1st Panzerarmee in the northe... Read More

'Amanullah' was a German unrealised plan, created under the auspices of Joachim Ribbentrop’s foreign ministry, for the overthrow of the supposedly pro-British government of ... Read More