On June 6, 1944, U.S. forces landed in Normandy, France, in history’s largest military invasion. General Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded 150,000 troops and 12,000 aircraft. The attack caught German forces by surprise. Initially, German commanders did not believe the Allies would strike at Normandy.

On the night of June 5, thousands of Allied paratroopers dropped behind German lines, while Allied aircraft began bombing German defenses. Early on June 6, thousands of ships carrying soldiers and supplies approached the Normandy coast.

The fighting was intense and bloody. German forces resisted fiercely, benefiting from the terrain for protection, but the Allies’ numerical superiority gradually pushed them forward along the beaches.

The Allies continued expanding their forces in France. Within a week, nearly 90,000 vehicles and 600,000 soldiers had arrived, continuing the advance.

By late August 1944, the Allies recaptured Paris. General Charles de Gaulle led the Free French forces into the city center, greeted by enthusiastic citizens. The Allies then moved east into Belgium, capturing the port of Antwerp, securing supply and fuel lines. Within four months, Eisenhower and the Allies had regained most of France.

Meanwhile, the Soviet Union launched its offensive against Germany from the east in 1944. Earlier, Soviet forces had defeated Germans at Stalingrad, Moscow, and Leningrad, reclaiming cities and villages and advancing into Finland, Poland, and Romania. By late July, Soviet troops were only 15 kilometers from Warsaw.

Polish underground forces, numbering 40,000, attacked German troops. If the Soviets intervened, Warsaw’s resistance could have defeated the Germans, but Stalin betrayed the Polish fighters. He feared the Polish underground would resist communist influence and hinder a pro-Moscow government in Poland.

Stalin remained inactive outside Warsaw, watching the Germans and Poles clash. The Polish resistance eventually surrendered. The real winner was the Soviet Union, which later occupied Warsaw with minimal effort through local communist support. After the war, Poland’s free forces were too weak to oppose a pro-Moscow communist government.

With Allied forces advancing from the west and the Soviets from the east, Hitler faced multiple threats and even assassination attempts. On one occasion, a bomb exploded in a conference room, narrowly missing him.

Refusing to surrender, Hitler launched a surprise counterattack in December 1944. During the harsh winter, Allied aircraft could not bomb effectively, and German forces broke through U.S. lines. However, reinforcements arrived, weather improved, and Allied air power resumed, ultimately leading to Germany’s defeat. Over 100,000 German soldiers were killed or wounded.

Soon, American and Soviet forces linked up, signaling the nearing end of the European war. When Soviet troops entered Berlin amid bombing and flying debris, Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker. A week later, German forces surrendered unconditionally to Eisenhower and the Allies.

German head of state, Admiral Karl Dönitz, signed the unconditional surrender documents, declaring that all German land, sea, and air forces were now under Allied and Soviet authority.

Winston Churchill declared, “All hostile action will cease at 12:01 a.m. on May 8.”

The Yalta Conference and Roosevelt’s Misplaced Trust in Stalin

Before Germany’s surrender, in February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met at the Yalta Conference on the Crimean Peninsula, discussing postwar global order and the division of influence among the powers.

After Yalta, Churchill expressed great optimism about the Soviet Union, telling Parliament, “Stalin wishes to maintain friendly relations. I am convinced he speaks the truth.”

However, history proved Roosevelt and Churchill misjudged the Soviets. In the months after Yalta, relations with the West deteriorated. The Soviet Union seized control of Eastern Europe, accusing the U.S. and Britain of secret negotiations with Germany, and refused to establish a democratic system in Poland.

Churchill later remarked that while he respected the Soviet people, the Soviet shadow cast a dark tone over the postwar world. The U.S. and Britain fought in World War II not only to protect smaller nations but also for human rights and freedom. Yet the Soviet Union pursued its own goals, occupying Eastern Europe and strengthening control. After the war, half of Europe exchanged one dictator for another.

Churchill and Roosevelt recognized the need to counter Soviet ambitions but took no concrete actions. Roosevelt’s death left the international community on the brink of the Cold War.