World War II was a singular conflict in the history of the world. Never have so many people around the world been locked in such a titanic struggle at the same time. WWII created unprecedented levels of human suffering and drama. Combine this with the incredible advances in military technology and tactics, and you have the perfect material for movies.
As a result, hundreds of movies have been made, dramatizing almost all the battles of the war. Here are the best movies documenting the 10 biggest battles of WWII. (Note: the Second Battle of Kharkov and the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign have been omitted because very few movies focus on these battles.)
Invasion of Poland: Lotna (1959)
Poland had the misfortune of being stuck between two of the most brutal powers in WWII: Nazi and the Soviet Union. These powers partitioned the country and invaded on September 1, 1939, kicking off WWII in Europe. sought to make quick work of their small neighbor, so they moved not just with speed but ferocity.
The Polish army had about 200,000 casualties, compared to about 50,000 for the Germans. The Polish movie Lotna is a powerful allegory about the nature of war and sacrifice. The horse's original owner gives her up because he cannot ride her into battle, and that is just the beginning of the sacrifices.
The Battle of Luzon: Fires on the Plain (1959)
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines, and the campaign to take it back from the Japanese exacted a terrible toll from the defenders. About three-quarters of the 275,000 defenders (about 206,000) died, mostly from disease and starvation as they were under a highly effective blockade by the US--and they refused to surrender. Although the jungle fighting was brutal, the US lost only about 8,000 killed and another 30,000 wounded.
Fires on the Plain is a Japanese movie that has been called traitorous for its portrayal of the brutal sacrifices asked of the Imperial Army on Luzon. A soldier is seen as useless to his unit and asked to commit suicide if he can't get treatment. However, he survives and sees the morals of his comrades break down as they resort to cannibalism to survive.
The Battle of Berlin: Downfall (2004)
As the Soviet army closed on Berlin and Nazi leaders realized that their Reich was doomed, they ordered a desperate defense of the capital. Almost anyone who would volunteer or could be conscripted was thrown into the defense.
About 100,000 Germans died in the defense, and nearly as many Soviets, with about half a million wounded between the sides. Downfall tells the story of the Reich's last desperate days in Hitler's bunker. Although it's known mostly as a source of formerly popular memes, this is a darkly compelling film.
The Battle of Moscow: Panfilov's 28 Men (2016)
Less than four years before conquering Berlin, the Soviet Union was desperately fighting for its own life, as Nazi was nearing Moscow. The Soviets mounted a desperate defense of their own and managed to blunt and even reverse the Nazi offensive.
Casualties for both sides may have been as high as 1-1.5 million, but some estimates put it much lower. Panfilov's 28 Men is an action-packed representation of a Soviet WWII propaganda story about the defense of Moscow. Supposedly 28 of a local guard unit took on a large German unit, sacrificing themselves to delay the advance, which allowed the muster of more men and materiel to defeat the Nazis.
Pearl Harbor: Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Although few of the battles of the Pacific match the ferocity and carnage of the Eastern Front, they are also of a grand scale, considering the technology and equipment deployed and the distances involved. With less than 5000 killed and wounded, this battle seems small, but the consequences were tremendous.
The Japanese won the battle, but their attack brought the US into the war, which would ultimately lead to their defeat. Tora! Tora! Tora! is a t US-Japanese production that brings together the best knowledge available at the time to dramatically recreate the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The Battle of : Dunkirk (2017)
Britain and declared war on immediately after the invasion of Poland. However, for a long time, didn't move west. When it did, it used the same type of Blitzkrieg tactics that it had field-tested in Poland, quickly conquering the French and British forces. About 350,000 Allied troops were killed or wounded, with less than half that for the Germans.
The Allied losses would have been significantly higher were it not for the dramatic evacuation of nearly 340,000 Allied soldiers from the port of Dunkirk. Dunkirk dramatically captures this evacuation, using a combination of three different time scales to represent ground, sea, and air action during the operation.
The Battle of Britain: Battle of Britain (1969)
With defeated and the Soviet Union allied with Nazi , Britain stood alone in the fall of 1940. For more than three months, Nazi airplanes bombed Britain in an attempt to get the nation to surrender. More than 30,000 civilians were killed or wounded. However, the valiant efforts of the Royal Air Force blunted the Nazi attack until Hitler called off the attack in order to turn their attention elsewhere.
Battle of Britain recreates the heroism of the RAF's efforts to defend their island home. Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier lead an all-star cast, and the movie employs some of the best effects work of the day.
Midway: Midway (1976)
About six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor destroyed the US's battleship strength, the Japanese sought to wipe out their opponent's carrier fleet. They hoped to lure US carriers into a trap and destroy them. However, circumstances allowed the US to turn the trap on the Japanese, destroying four of their carriers and effectively ending Japanese supremacy in the Pacific.
The Japanese lost about 2500 sailors and aircrew, but more important was their loss of four carriers in the battle. Midway tries to capture the excitement of this pitched battle through the use of models and live-action. The result is an exciting dramatic plot bolstered by impressive special effects for its day.
D-Day: Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Although the Allies were advancing against the Axis powers on the Eastern Front and in Italy, the Allies believed they needed a land front in Western Europe to finally defeat Nazi . Achieving that front depended on the success of one of the most complex logistical operations ever. Using land, sea, and air forces, the Allies landed over 150,000 troops in Normandy on D-Day.
Saving Private Ryan is often heralded as the best representation of this chaotic but successful operation. Steven Spielberg used all the special-effects tricks of modern filmmaking but still built the story around the human dimension of the attack.
Stalingrad: Enemy at the Gates (2001)
Stalingrad was not only the bloodiest battle of the war but one of the most strategically significant. Having failed to capture Moscow, the Nazi war machine sought to capture the vital resources and industries that fed the Soviet war effort. Stalingrad was both a strategic manufacturing center and a target of symbolic significance, so both sides committed large forces to the battle.
The desperate defense of the city with block-by-block and sometimes floor-by-floor fighting in the city bogged down the German army so it could be encircled and destroyed by the Soviets. Perhaps as much as two million soldiers were wounded or killed in this battle, with hundreds of thousands of Germans captured as well. Enemy at the Gates represents the tense atmosphere of the fighting in the ruined city, but it also represents the political dimension of the fight. Soldiers' actions are quickly recognized for their propaganda as well as tactical value.
