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Military operations often receive covert code names, which are used to refer to invasions, campaigns, missions, or operations. Some of these code names become permanently linked to the events they represent. For example, Operation Overlord will forever be associated with the Battle of Normandy and the D-Day landings. Yet, there exist less-famous code names tied to equally significant conflicts that might surprise you.
Explore this gallery and try to match these code names with some of history's most infamous raids and conflicts.
"Overlord" is arguably one of the most well-known military code names in history. It was used for the Battle of Normandy, also known as D-Day, which took place on June 6, 1944. This Allied operation successfully invaded German-occupied Western Europe during World War II.
As a response to the invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqi Army on August 2, 1990, a coalition led by the United States began increasing their troops in Saudi Arabia under the name Operation Desert Shield. The active combat phase was known as Operation Desert Storm and occurred from January 17 to February 28, 1991.
During the Vietnam War, the United States carried out a campaign called Operation Rolling Thunder. It involved gradual and consistent aerial bombings on North Vietnam.
Pictured: A-4E Skyhawks were captured attacking Phuong Dinh bridge in 1967.
Operation Barbarossa was Hitler's ill-fated attack on the Soviet Union, linked to the Wehrmacht's retreat and downfall. It began on June 22, 1941, ending on December 5, with nearly 775,000 German casualties and over 800,000 Soviet deaths, along with six million wounded or captured Soviet soldiers.
On December 13, 2003, US military forces apprehended Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator, in ad-Dawr, close to Tikrit. The operation, which lasted for eight months, was named after the movie 'Red Dawn' from 1984. The photo shows Saddam Hussein speaking during his trial.
Had the July 20, 1944 bomb plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler inside the Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Liar) succeeded, the emergency continuity of government operations plan issued to the Territorial Reserve Army of Germany known as Operation Valkyrie would have been implemented. The code name now symbolizes the whole event. In the 2008 film "Valkyrie," Tom Cruise portrayed Claus von Stauffenberg, the leader of the plot.
In the final days of the Vietnam War, around 7,000 individuals, primarily American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese, were airlifted from different locations in Saigon from April 29-30, 1975. This operation, known as Operation Frequent Wind, likely derived its name from the strong downward currents generated by helicopter rotor blades.
The Berlin Blockade occurred from June 24, 1948 to May 12, 1949 during the Cold War. It involved the Soviet Union blocking railway, road, and canal access to the Western Allies' sectors of Berlin under their control. The resulting Berlin Airlift was codenamed Vittles.
Operation Banner was the British Armed Forces' mission in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, during the Troubles. This image shows British soldiers assisting a local woman through a military roadblock on Divis Street, Belfast.
Operation Anthropoid, a code name for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, a top Nazi official in Prague during WWII, occurred on May 27, 1942. Heydrich succumbed to his injuries on June 4.
In July 1943, Mussolini's arrest followed a vote of no confidence. On September 12, Operation Eiche, an airborne mission ordered by Hitler, successfully liberated Mussolini with the help of German SS commandos. The photo shows Mussolini alongside these commandos.
Operation Wrath of God was a lengthy Mossad mission aimed at eliminating those responsible for the 1972 Munich massacre, where 11 Israeli Olympic team members were killed. The operation focused on individuals associated with Black September and the Palestine Liberation Organization. It spanned over two decades and is portrayed in Steven Spielberg's 2005 film 'Munich.'
Operation Magic Carpet was the term used to describe the repatriation of more than eight million American military personnel after World War II. This included those who served in Europe, the Pacific, and Asia. The image shows veterans from the Pacific theater on the hangar deck of the USS Enterprise.
Between May 26 and June 4, 1940, a remarkable event occurred as over 338,000 British and French troops were successfully evacuated from Dunkirk, France. Named Operation Dynamo, this incredible rescue mission was hailed by Winston Churchill as a "miracle of deliverance."
500,000 troops from the Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria, East Germany, and Hungary invaded Czechoslovakia from August 20–21, 1968. The operation, dubbed Operation Danube, halted Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring reforms and consolidated the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia's control over the nation.
In preparation for the Six-Day War, Egypt planned Operation Dawn in May 1967, with the goal of striking Israeli Air Force, ports, the Negev Nuclear Research Center, airfields, and cities. However, this plan was canceled. Israel then initiated its invasion on June 5, 1967.
Operation Dracula, carried out from April to May 1945, featured British and Anglo-Indian forces launching an airborne and amphibious assault on Japanese-controlled Rangoon during the Burma Campaign. It serves as a notable example of effective and cost-efficient use of paratroopers. However, the origin of its enigmatic name, "Dracula," remains a mystery to this day.
Operation Mincemeat was a highly successful wartime deception by British intelligence. It involved a corpse, a fake girlfriend, and a black attaché case to trick the Nazis into believing that the Allies would attack Greece and Sardinia from North Africa. This ruse resulted in a surprise invasion of Sicily by 160,000 Allied troops on July 10, 1943, taking the Nazis by surprise.
Operation Chattanooga Choo-Choo, a charmingly named Allied air campaign, successfully targeted German railway assets (locomotives and rolling stock) in north-west Europe from May 20-28, 1944.
The island nation of Grenada was invaded by the United States on October 25, 1983. The operation, known as Operation Urgent Fury, quickly led to American military occupation.
President Jimmy Carter approved Operation Eagle Claw, a Delta Force mission, in April 1980 to address the Iranian hostage crisis involving 52 American diplomats held in Tehran. Unfortunately, the operation encountered a tragic setback when a helicopter collided with a transport aircraft, resulting in the deaths of eight servicemen.
During the Second World War, a significant Allied operation occurred when RAF "Dam Buster" bombers utilized a unique "bouncing bomb," designed by Barnes Wallis, to successfully destroy the Möhne and Edersee dams. This mission, known as Operation Chastise, was highly classified and occurred on May 16-17, 1943. The photograph presented depicts the breached Möhne Dam, showcasing the outcome of the operation.
Operation Crossbow aimed to counter Nazi V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets during 1944-1945. It targeted the research, production, transport, and launch sites of these weapons, including intercepting missiles in mid-flight. A 1943 Royal Air Force photo depicts V-2 rockets on a test platform.
Operation Nimrod was launched by the Special Air Service (SAS) in response to the storming of the Iranian Embassy in London by armed gunmen on April 30, 1980. Over the course of six days, a tense siege unfolded, culminating in a high-profile SAS operation to rescue the hostages, which was broadcast globally.
The invasion of Panama by the United States took place from mid-December 1989 to late January 1990. President George H.W. Bush ordered this operation, stating that Panama had become a hub for drug money laundering and drug trafficking to the US and Europe. The operation was named Operation Just Cause.
The Development of Substitute Materials was the initial name given to the Manhattan Project, a research and development effort during World War II that resulted in the creation of nuclear weapons. The image shows the Trinity Test conducted on July 16, 1945, marking the first-ever nuclear weapon detonation.
Operation Pied Piper was the British civilian relocation effort during World War II, beginning on September 1, 1939. It involved around 1.5 million people, many of them children, who were evacuated to remote rural areas for their safety. The image depicts child evacuees from Bristol arriving in Brent, Devon, in 1940.
Operation Gaff, conducted by the Special Air Service (SAS) on July 25, 1944, involved a six-man parachute patrol dropped into German-occupied France with the mission to eliminate or capture German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. However, upon arrival, they learned that Rommel had already been evacuated due to injuries sustained in an earlier attack.
Operation Market Garden, backed by Churchill and Roosevelt, featured an airborne mission called Market to seize vital bridges and a ground offensive named Garden to create a bulge. Taking place from September 17 to 25, the airborne assault didn't secure a solid Rhine crossing. The events are depicted in the film 'A Bridge Too Far' (1977).
On July 4, 1976, the Israel Defense Forces conducted a successful rescue of 106 hostages, primarily Israeli, who had been captured by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine on a jet airliner at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. This operation is widely known as Operation Entebbe, although its official name is Operation Thunderbolt.
Sources: (Sydney Morning Herald), (Smithsonian Associates), (Weapons and Warfare), and (History)
Military operations often receive covert code names, which are used to refer to invasions, campaigns, missions, or operations. Some of these code names become permanently linked to the events they represent. For example, Operation Overlord will forever be associated with the Battle of Normandy and the D-Day landings. Yet, there exist less-famous code names tied to equally significant conflicts that might surprise you.
Explore this gallery and try to match these code names with some of history's most infamous raids and conflicts.
The code names of history's most famous military operations
The names assigned to major conflicts, campaigns, and missions
LIFESTYLE World
Military operations often receive covert code names, which are used to refer to invasions, campaigns, missions, or operations. Some of these code names become permanently linked to the events they represent. For example, Operation Overlord will forever be associated with the Battle of Normandy and the D-Day landings. Yet, there exist less-famous code names tied to equally significant conflicts that might surprise you.
Explore this gallery and try to match these code names with some of history's most infamous raids and conflicts.