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German operation names |
Some notable German examples from the Second World War.
| Name | Date | Description |
| OPERATION YELLOW (Fall Gelb) |
May-June 1940 | German Offensive in the west that culminated in the fall of France. Original scope was to destroy a large proportion of the forces that would oppose the German offensive - subsequently expanded to the total destruction of the Allied armies. |
| SEALION (Seelöwe) |
1940 | German plan for invasion of England, planned at Hitler's behest and subsequently postponed and cancelled. |
| MERKUR | 20th May 1941 | General Student's airborne assault on Crete |
| BARBAROSSA | 22nd June 1941 | German invasion of the USSR, designed to provide the Reich with 'living space in the east' lebensraum. The Germans were eventually defeated by the Red Army, distance, and the severe Russian winter. The Wermacht never recovered from this defeat. |
| CITADEL | 5th July 1943 | German planned assault to close a large pocket of Russian troops during the 1942-43 winter campaign. Postponed from 4th May 1943 by Hitler, allowing Russia to prepare huge defences. The battle of Kursk resulted, the largest tank battle in history. |
| WATCH ON THE RHINE (Wacht Am Rhein) |
December 1944 | German breakthrough in the Ardennes, resulting in the Battle of the Bulge. |