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I picked Leyte Gulf before sneaking a peek at the posts. Stalingrad is a good pick for the European theater. Midway might be a better choice in the Pacific theater. It did more damage to the Japanese navy. But had the Japanese succeeded at Leyte Gulf US forces already on the beach and preparing to push on to take Luzon would have been been seriously mauled and the retaking of the Philippines would have been delayed and with it the planned invasion of the Japanese homeland. The retaking of the Philippeans meant the Japanese could no longer defend the sealanes they depended on to ship oil to the homeland. So, if Leyte wasn't the most decisive battle; it ranks high up there.
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