'Politician' (i) was a British special forces operation by the Special Air Service to sabotage the French railway system in the Pays de la Loire area of German-occupied France... Read More

'Politician' (ii) was the British cover designation for the basing of submarines of Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser’s Pacific Fleet at Subic Bay on the island of Luzon in the Phili... Read More

'Polkovodets Rumyantsev' was a Soviet offensive, more formally known as the 'Belgorod-Kharkov Strategic Offensive Operation', against the German positions in the Belgorod-Khar... Read More

The 'Polotsk Defensive Operation' was a Soviet undertaking in defence of Polotsk, and was the first of the nine sub-operations together constituting the 'Smolensk Strategic De... Read More

The 'Polotsk Offensive Operation' was a Soviet part of the second phase of 'Bagration' 1, otherwise the Soviet 'Belorussian Strategic Offensive Operation' of the summer of 194... Read More

The 'Poltava-Kremenchug Offensive Operation' was one of the three Soviet operational-level undertakings that together constituted the 'Chernigov-Poltava Strategic Offensive Op... Read More

'Polyarnaya Zvezda' was a Soviet operation, more formally known as the 'Demyansk Offensive Operation', to follow 'Iskra' in the area to the south-east of Leningrad and enlarge... Read More

'Polyarny' was a Soviet and British submarine campaign in the Barents Sea with boats operating to and from Polyarny to harass German shipping along the Norwegian coast (22 Jun... Read More

'Polygon' was a British diversionary operation by commando elements during the 'Devon' capture of Termoli on the east coast of Italy in an unsuccessful effort to persuade the ... Read More

'Pomegranate' (i) was a British special forces operation to parachute a Special Air Service party to destroy Axis aircraft in Italy (12/17 January 1944)., The sole operation o... Read More

'Pomegranate' (ii) was the British second of a pair of interlinked offensives by Lieutenant General N. M. Ritchie’s XII Corps ('Greenline') and Lieutenant General G. C. Buc... Read More

'Pomegranate' (iii) was a US special forces operation to parachute an Office of Strategic Services team into the Belluno area of German-occupied Italy (8 February 1945 onward)... Read More

'Pommern' was a German naval minelaying operation from Stavanger in German-occupied Norway by Fregattenkapitän Hans von Schönermark’s Minenschiffsgruppe 'Nord' (minelayers... Read More

'Pomorze' was a Soviet special forces operation to parachute a 12-man party of the Polish Independent Special Battalion (Assault) into the Brodnica area of German-occupied Pol... Read More

'Pontiff' was a British unsuccessful air attack by 12 Douglas Boston attack bombers on a railway viaduct at Morlaix on the route linking Paris and Brest in German-occupied Fra... Read More

'Pontoon' was a British special forces operation to parachute a four-man team of the Special Operations Executive’s Force 136 into the Penang area of Japanese-occupied Malay... Read More

'Poplar' was a British undertaking to deliver air reinforcements to Malta (?). ... Read More

'Popular' was the British programme of photo-reconnaissance sorties by RAF aircraft to secure overall coverage of the coast of German-occupied France (1943/May 1944)., Flown m... Read More

'Porcelain' was the US seizure of the island of Kwajalein in the Kwajalein atoll of the Marshall islands group in the central Pacific Ocean (31 January/8 February 1944)., Kwaj... Read More

'Porlock' was the British undertaking to transfer formations and units from the Middle East, where they were no longer needed, to the UK for eventual service in North-West Eur... Read More

'Portable' was a British naval element of the 'Opponent' (i) scheme to reinforce the defence of Malaya (January 1942). ... Read More

'Portcullis' was a British convoy from Egypt for the delivery of supplies to Malta (1/9 December 1942)., Once General Sir Bernard Montgomery’s 8th Army had achieved its init... Read More

'Portia' was the British original designation of 'Gobbo' (September 1944). ... Read More

'Poseidon' was the German occupation of the island of Sámos in the Aegean Sea within 'Zwischenspiel' (12/22 November 1943)., At the time of the Italian armistice with the All... Read More

'Postage Able' was a British series of three commando and naval beach reconnaissance operations along the Normandy coast of German-occupied France (31 December 1943/21 January... Read More

'Postern' was the Allied clearance of Lieutenant General Hatazo Adachi’s 18th Army from the area of Lae and Finschhafen in the Huon peninsula region of North-East New Guinea... Read More

'Posthorn' was a British carrierborne air attack by elements of Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser’s Home Fleet on German airfields and shipping along the coast of German-occupied Nor... Read More

'Postmaster' was the British seizure of Axis shipping in Santa Isabel harbour on the Spanish island of Fernando Pó in the Gulf of Guinea off the west coast of Africa (13 Janu... Read More

'Pot Luck' was a British two-part naval operation by Rear Admiral A. W. La T. Bisset’s Escort Carrier Squadron of Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser’s Home Fleet against the movemen... Read More

'Pot of Gold' was a US unrealised plan to send forces into the northern part of Brazil (25 May/mid-June 1940)., When the Germans smashed through the front of the Allies in wes... Read More

'Pounce' (i) was a British deception operation intended to disguise the real nature of preparations for 'Veritable' by persuading the Germans that an attack was about to be la... Read More

'Pound' was an Allied special forces operation by the British No. 12 Commando and 29 men of the US Army Rangers against German installations on the Ile d’Ouessant of the Ush... Read More

'Powder Monkey' was a British unrealised special forces raid against a German target on the west coast of German-occupied Norway (?). ... Read More

'PQ' (i) was the designation of Allied convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from Iceland to ports in the northern part of the USSR, and as such reciproc... Read More

'PQ' (ii) was the designation of Allied convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from the Australian east coast port of Townsville, Queensland, to Port More... Read More

'PR' (i) was a British naval minelaying operation off the coast of the German-occupied Netherlands in the area of Oost Gat (22/24 September 1940)., The minelaying destroyers I... Read More

'PR' (ii) was the designation of Allied convoys (together with a numerical suffix) plying the route from Piraeus, Greece, to the Çanakkale (Rabbit islands) group just off the... Read More

The 'Prague Strategic Offensive Operation' was the Soviet offensive including the last major battle on the Eastern Front during World War II (6/11 May 1945)., Comprising four ... Read More

'Prank' was an Allied naval exercise in preparation for 'Neptune' (iii)(spring 1944). ... Read More

'Prefix' was a British two-part naval undertaking, in parallel with 'Muscular', against German convoys along the west coast of German-occupied Norway by the escort carrier for... Read More

'Pregel' was a German naval minelaying operation to complete and repair the older parts of the great German belt of minefields off the west coast of German-occupied Norway (10... Read More

'Prejudice' was the Allied overall designation of naval operations to gain and then retain control of the Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea (1943/44)., Lying between the Philippine isl... Read More

'Prelude' was the British movement of the headquarters of Admiral the Lord Louis Mountbatten’s South-East Asia Command from India to Kandy on the island of Ceylon (1945)., T... Read More

'Premium' (i) was an Allied special forces operation against a coastal target in the Japanese-occupied Netherlands East Indies (February 1943). ... Read More

'Premium' (ii) was a British unsuccessful repeat of 'Madonna Able', and as such an amphibious attempt to land special forces for a raid on Scheveningen in the German-occupied ... Read More

'Premium' (iii) was a British deception undertaken as one of several similar efforts to draw German attentions away from the Normandy area as the late planning of 'Overlord' w... Read More

'Pressgang' was a British unrealised plan for a winter operation to occupy the Azores islands group, a Portuguese possession in the Atlantic Ocean (1941/42). ... Read More

'Pressure' was an Allied exercise to test the feasibility of towing 'Mulberry' sections from the south coast of the UK across the English Channel to Normandy on the north coas... Read More

'Preussen' was a U-boat wolfpack operation in the Atlantic against the SC.153, SL.150, MKS.41, CU.16, SC.154, HX.281 and ON.227 convoys (22 February/22 March 1944)., Establish... Read More

'Priceless' was the Allied overall designation of plans for the invasion of the Italian mainland after the 'Husky' (i) capture of Sicily (spring/summer 1943)., The term was us... Read More