The World War: 1914-1945

In 1914, Archduke François-Ferdinand, of the House of Habsburg, was assassinated by a Slavic nationalist. The game of alliances makes war inevitable.

The First World War is accompanied by trenches, poison gas, rapid-fire artillery, machine guns, tanks and planes. While the men had to endure the fighting and the extreme conditions, the civilians had to deal with food shortages and shelling in their towns. From Verdun to the Somme, men were lost on both sides. The empires that initially dominated began to crumble, with Germany and England claiming superiority from their alliances. The insidious ethnic cleansing made its appearance with the Armenian genocide and the young Adolf Hitler took notice. Russia embraces revolution as the Romanovs and other empires crumble and World War I comes to a bitter end.

Stalin rises as the leader of the Bolsheviks, and in Munich, the German Workers Party takes a new name: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter, or 'Nazi' as it would come to be called.

Hitler and Stalin begin to shape the course of history. President Roosevelt attempts to raise his country out of the Depression, and the world teeters on the brink of yet another World War.

Hitler's invasion of the Rhineland is a gamble that pays dividends. At the heart of the war is an ideological battle: fascism versus communism.

After a snub in Munich, the Soviets make a pact with the Germans; with the invasion of Poland, the pretence of peace is gone as France and the UK declare war on Germany.

With the Germans stuck in a freezing Russian winter, the end goal of Operation Barbarossa was not achieved. Stalin relied on the hardy nature of his men.

After the victory in North Africa, the invasion of Italy begins. At the same time, the Soviets began to turn the tide in their battle against the Germans. Hitler is living the nightmare of a war on two fronts and he is losing. With the dismissal of Mussolini, the Italians join the allies, but the country is not spared by the brutality of the German army which evacuates the lands of its former allies. And with the Americans firmly involved, Operation Overlord begins. The Germans are quickly outnumbered and outgunned in this battle, as they begin their long retreat back home. Georgy Zhukov, now promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union, launches Operation Bagration against the Germans and it is a total success.