Skip to content
WW2 Theatres Theatres of the Second World War
Home

World War II calendar

WWII On This Day: June 15

What happened on June 15 during World War II? This date brings together 4 events from 1941, 1942 and 1944, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1941
New Zealand infantry and Matilda tank crews meeting outside Tobruk during Operation Crusader, photographed 2 December 1941.
Captain Geoffrey Keating / No. 1 Army Film & Photographic Unit · Imperial War Museums E 6918 · UK Government public domain
Tobruk and Operation Crusader

Operation Battleaxe is defeated at the frontier

Operation Battleaxe launched a larger attempt to pass the frontier fortifications and relieve Tobruk. British infantry tanks and cruiser tanks attacked on separate routes, meeting defended gun positions and German armoured counter-attacks. The three-day operation failed to open a corridor. Its losses and the inability to combine armour and guns effectively prompted changes at the highest level of Middle East command. Tobruk remained isolated on land.

Continue in Tobruk and Operation Crusader →
1942
British and Commonwealth prisoners gathered near Tobruk following its surrender, June 1942.
Koch / Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B21459 · CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
Gazala and the Fall of Tobruk

The retreat continues as Axis forces press toward Acroma

German and Italian mobile units pursued the withdrawing British army around Acroma and the approaches to Tobruk. Broken formations and transport columns attempted to leave the contested ground before the routes closed. British rearguards delayed movement where possible, but the armoured reserve had been greatly reduced. Rommel now faced a choice between a long pursuit into Egypt and a rapid attack on Tobruk. The port and the supplies inside it made the latter option attractive even though Axis fuel and vehicle serviceability remained difficult problems.

Continue in Gazala and the Fall of Tobruk →
1944
The campaign in Normandy, 1944.
The campaign in Normandy, 1944. IWM B 7745 · IWM Non-Commercial Licence Source
Operation Overlord

The drive west across the Cotentin

US VII Corps turned west across the neck of the Cotentin, aiming to reach the Atlantic coast and cut off Cherbourg. The 9th Infantry Division led, moving faster than the German command could form a line across the peninsula. Hitler's standing order forbade any withdrawal, which meant the divisions in the north of the Cotentin could not fall back on Cherbourg in good order before the corridor was severed.

Continue in Operation Overlord →
Ground crews load 3-inch rockets onto a No. 247 Squadron Typhoon at B2/Bazenville in Normandy on 15 June 1944.
Ground crews load 3-inch rockets onto a No. 247 Squadron Typhoon at B2/Bazenville in Normandy on 15 June 1944. Goodchild A (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Imperial War Museums, CL 157 · Public domain Source
The Transportation Plan

Tactical air power moves onto the Normandy battlefield

By mid-June, 2nd Tactical Air Force squadrons were operating from advanced landing grounds inside Normandy. The attached 15 June photograph shows a No. 247 Squadron Typhoon being loaded with 3-inch rockets at B2/Bazenville. Rail and road interdiction now continued from bases beside the land battle.

Continue in The Transportation Plan →