After a grim struggle that rolled back and forth across the North African desert for nearly three years, the North African campaign resulted in the first major Allied victory of the Second World War.

For the British the longest and most critical battle of the entire war. The German intention was to sever Britain's trading links with the world, guaranteeing her capitulation.

Hitler's plan for the conquest of Russia called for a classic Blitzkrieg offensive, which would be pressed ruthlessly to its conclusion within the course of a single season's campaign.

When victory in North Africa seemed assured, Allied planners turned their attention to Italy. The objective was to seize Rome, knock Italy out of the war and push north towards Germany.

The Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought from 23 - 26 October 1944 and is considered the conflict's largest naval engagement. Returning to the Philippines, Allied forces began landing on Leyte on October 20. Responding, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched plan Sho-Go 1. A complex operation, it called for multiple forces to strike the Allies from several directions. Central to the plan was luring away the American carrier groups that would be protecting the landings.

During the last months of 1944, the British and Americans pressed steadily through France and Belgium to the western frontiers of the Third Reich.