What European battle would you consider to be a turning point in World War 2?

Answer 1

The Battle of Britain. It was the first significant loss for the Axis powers, and it halted Nazi Germany's advance in Western Europe. At the time the U.S.S.R and Nazi Germany had a Nonaggression Pact, which stated that they wouldn't attack each other. This enabled Hitler to position all of his forces on the Western Front, and if the R.A.F had lost the Battle of Britain, Hitler would have been free to bring his blitzkrieg to the British Isles, destroying all resistance to the West. As it was, the British defeat of the Luftwaffe enabled Britain to hold out long enough to rally and recoup. It gave Britain the thing it needed most, time. Time enabled Britain to bring in troops and supplies from its far-flung empire. Also, Hitler's defeat in the Battle of Britain made him turn his attentions East to the U.S.S.R, as he wanted to get access to all the resources of Russia in order to crush the British, who were now able to get supplies from all over their huge empire. As you probably know, The German invasion of Russia turned out to be disastrous for Germany, and the Russians eventually obliterated the Germans, contrary to the media portrayal of the U.S. as the winners of WWII.