The 20Th Century In Pictures: War

See the 20th century in motion – the pictures that remind us of the days of our fathers

 

- 9 years ago by

 

Air strike with napalm during the Vietnam War. Despite its devastating advantage in weaponry  and firepower the US army could not break the fighting spirit of the Viet Kong.

 

In the trenches of Gallipoli. It proved to be one of the most tragic and costly strategic mistakes during the entire World War I. The ANZAC lost more than 200 000 men in futule attempts to break through the Turkish defensive lines. It was an entirely pointless campaign...

 

The Soviet infantry advances behind the heavily shelled T-34s in the battle of Kursk (July 1943). It came to be the greatest tank battle of all time and it decided the outcome of the struggle on the Eastern front during World War II.

Oil rigs burning in the desert. The Iraqi forces unleashed hell during their retreat from Kuwait in January 1991. It was an act of desperation, as the units of the National Guard would be picked apart and annihiliated by the Western coalition's Air Force.

Landing at Omaha Beach, 6th of June 1944. The greatest amphibious operation in military history took the German defence in Normandy almost completely by surprise. The American 29th and 1st Infantry divisions however were pinned down on the beach and sustained heavy casualties.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Although a tactical success, Pearl Harbour proved to be a strategic disaster for the Japanese Imperial Fleet. It provoked the USA to enter World War II and in six months the Americans would be on the offensive.

An Israeli tank crosses the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War (1973). The innitial offensive of the Egyptian and Syrian armies was decisively countered by the Israeli tank and air forces. It was the second unsuccessful attempt of the Arabs to erase Israel from the political map of the Near East.

Hitler triumphant. Adolph Hitler takes a triumphant walk on the streets of Paris after the blitzkrieg success of his Panzer divisions against France. This marked the pinnacle of Nazi power in Europe – the next year the Wermacht would attack the USSR and head towards its demise

MacArthur comes back. General Douglas MacArthur lands on the beach of Leyte, the Philippines on the 20 October, 1944. He swore an oath that he would see the Japanese repelled from the Archipelago when he was forced to retreat in 1942.

The bombing of Hiroshima, August 6th, 1945. The world would never be the same once humanity came to terms with the destructive power of nuclear weapons. It was a highly questionable decision – both morally and strategically. The USA remains the only nation to have used nuclear weapons against enemy targets.