The 'Ligne Maginot’s was the French major line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon positions built by France on its side of the French borders with Switzerland,... Read More

'Lika' was a German unrealised operation against the partisan forces of Josip Broz Tito in the Lika coastal and mountain area of the puppet state of Croatia in German-occupied... Read More

'Lil' was a German naval minelaying operation in the Gulf of Finland (11/12 December 1944)., Undertaken in the period in which Finland was compelled by the terms of its Septem... Read More

'Lila' was the German seizure of Vichy French assets, and in particular the naval base at Toulon, on the Mediterranean coast, largely by elements of SS-Obergruppenführer und ... Read More

'Lilac' was a US plan to concentrate forces in the area of Belem, Natal and Recife within Brazil for the defeat of any pro-German rising in that country (1941). ... Read More

'Lilie' was a U-boat minelaying operation in the Pechora Sea by Oberleutnant Hans-Helmuth Bugs’s U-629 (7/19 August 1943)., In the course of this undertaking, the U-boat lai... Read More

'Lilliput' was the Allied convoy operation in support of the the Australian and US seizure of the area between Buna and Gona on the north-east coast of Japanese-occupied Papua... Read More

'Limelight' was a British component of 'Vanguard' (mid-1944). ... Read More

'Limerick' was a British unrealised offensive by Lieutenant General W. H. E. Gott’s XIII Corps of Lieutenant General N. M. Ritchie’s 8th Army in the Battle of Gazala (May ... Read More

'Limited' was to have been British preliminary operation for 'Champion' (i) (winter 1943). ... Read More

'Lindsey' was a US special forces operation to parachute a 19-man operational group of the Office of Strategic Services into the Deglane area of German-occupied France to aid ... Read More

'Line' was the British capture of Antananarivo, capital of Madagascar, from the Vichy French forces of Armand Léon Annet, the governor general, at the end of the campaign whi... Read More

'Lingen' was a British naval operation to land agents on the German-occupied Greek island of Crete and extract evacuees (23/24 September 1943)., The motor launch ML-361 depart... Read More

'Link' was a British training exercise involving Major General C. B. Wainwright’s 61st Division and Generał brygady Stanisław Maczek’s Polish 1st Armoured Division (Sept... Read More

'Linnet I' was an Allied unrealised plan for the use of airborne forces to capture and hold Tournai on the Escaut river in the western part of German-occupied Belgium (Septemb... Read More

'Linnet II' was an Allied unrealised successor plan to 'Linnet I', designed to seize the crossings over the Maas river to the south of Douai and the 'Maastricht appendix' in t... Read More

'Linoleum' was an Allied air attack on German flying boats moored on the Etang de Biscarosse in the south-western part of German-occupied France (December 1943)., The first pa... Read More

'Linseed' was a British convoy operation to move one Italian and four Norwegian merchant vessels from Naples in mainland Italy to Augusta in Sicily (18/20 April 1944)., The sh... Read More

'Linsen' was a German unsuccessful attack on the French destroyer Fortuné off San Remo on the north-west coast of Italy using radio-controlled Linsen explosive-filled motor b... Read More

'Liquidator' was the Allied overall designation for operations against the Japanese in the China theatre (1944). ... Read More

'Litzmann' was the German break-out to the north-west by part of Generaloberst Hans-Valentin Hube’s 1st Panzerarmee from its encirclement in the area of Kamenets-Podolsky on... Read More

'Livery' was a British naval undertaking to clear mines from the waters round Phuket island off the west coast of Japanese-occupied Thailand and to make air attacks on Japanes... Read More

'LL' was an Italian convoy operation from North Africa to Sicily (24/29 November 1942)., Two transport vessels, in the form of the 1,459-ton Zenobia Martini and Giuseppe Leva,... Read More

'LM' was the designation of Allied convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from Lagos, Nigeria, to Matadi, Congo (July/September 1943). , The first of thes... Read More

'LMD' was the designation of Allied convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from Lourenço Marques, Portuguese East Africa, south to Durban, South Africa, ... Read More

'LN' was the designation of Allied convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from the St Lawrence river to Labrador, Canada, and as such reciprocals of the '... Read More

'Loader' was a British deception and cover plan to protect the visit of King George VI to North Africa (June 1943). ... Read More

'Loadline' was the US and French unrealised deception plan in support of the proposed French 'Independence' (ii) campaign to destroy the isolated German garrisons on the Frenc... Read More

'Loadstar' was the US deception plan to cover the 'End Run', 'Foghorn' and 'Milepost' Lend-Lease transfer of US warships to the USSR (March/April 1945)., Co-ordinated with the... Read More

'Lobster' was a US deception to protect the airfield at Djedjelli near Bougie in Algeria (May/July 1943)., A dummy airfield was established in the same general area to decoy A... Read More

'Locatelli' was an Italian convoy operation across the Strait of Otranto at the southern end of the Adriatic Sea (11/12 November 1940)., The operation resulted in the Battle o... Read More

'Lochiel' (i) was the British tactical deception plan in support of the 'Pugilist-Gallop' assault on the Mareth Line defences, just inside the Tunisian border with Libya, by L... Read More

'Lochiel' (ii) was a British tactical deception plan schemed as the logical successor to 'Lochiel' (i) and designed to persuade the Axis powers that Lieutenant General K. A. N... Read More

'Lochinvar' was a US tactical deception by the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops near Saarlautern in western Germany to cover the withdrawal of Major General Harry J. Malony’... Read More

'Lochmaben' was a British special forces undertaking by the 'Ken' Force patrol of the Long Range Desert Group to support partisan forces in Albania (24 September 1944 onward).... Read More

'Lockjaw' was the Allied overall designation by General Douglas MacArthur’s South-West Pacific Area command for operations against Kavieng at the north-western tip of New Ir... Read More

'Locknut' was a British unrealised plan for an operation against a coastal target in German-occupied Norway (?). ... Read More

'Locksmith' was a British attack to block the Corinth Canal in Axis-occupied Greece (8 January/30 March 1943)., The plan was conceived by Lieutenant C. M. B. Cumberlege of the... Read More

'Locomotive' (i) was the British programme of patrols by long-range flying boat as part of the effort to protect Allied convoys plying the routes to and from ports in the nort... Read More

'Locomotive' (ii) was a British operation to re-establish a base at Barentsburg on the island of Spitsbergen to the north of German-occupied Norway (16 September/1 October 194... Read More

'Locust' was a British unsuccessful naval undertaking to land operatives of the Special Operations Executive at Monterosso al Mare and Moneglia, in the areas of La Spezia and ... Read More

'Loge' was the German 76-day bombing campaign against London, the capital of the UK (7 September 1940/10 May 1941)., Known to the British as 'The Blitz', this was the major el... Read More

'Logic' was a British training exercise based on the premise of an amphibious assault on the Italian island of Sardinia (1941). ... Read More

'Lohs' was a U-boat wolfpack operation in the Atlantic against the SC.95, ONS.122 and SC.100 convoys (11 August/22 September 1942)., The wolfpack comprised U-135, U-174, U-176... Read More

'Lola' was a British naval undertaking on behalf of the Special Operations Executive to land agents and stores on Sandøya, an island off the west coast of German-occupied Nor... Read More

'Lombard' was a British diversionary naval operation against German shipping along the north coast of German-occupied Norway, in the area of Ålesund, to distract German atten... Read More

'Lonewolf' was the US plan for the establishment, development and rapid expansion of Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner’s Amphibious Forces, South Pacific, in final preparation... Read More

'Longcloth' was the British first Chindit long-range penetration raid behind the Japanese lines in Burma (8 February/April 1943)., The operation was schemed by Brigadier O. C.... Read More

'Longhop' was the Allied overall designation used by General Douglas MacArthur’s South-West Pacific Area command for the development of operations against Manus island, the ... Read More

'Longshanks' was the British raid, otherwise known as 'Boarding Party', against a German merchant ship moored, as a neutral, in the Portuguese enclave of Goa in western India ... Read More