Over the period of February and March, 1944 the US Army Air force fought a desperate battle in extreme conditions that, while unlike many other battles of 1944, was nonetheless as significant as almost any of those battles.
The Reconquista, or Christian reconquest of Iberia, took nearly 800 years. The fighting did not come without great attempts by Muslim powers across the strait trying to reestablish their presence in mainland Europe. The last gasp of that effort came in the 1330s, when the powerful Marinid sultanate of what is modern Morocco invaded in an attempt to reverse Christian gains and secure the perilous position of the Sultanate of Granada.