Jan: The Red Army launches a massive offensive that permanently breaks the horrific 900-day Siege of Leningrad. Allied forces land behind German lines at Anzio to break the Italian stalemate but become pinned down. Allied air forces launch a concentrated campaign to destroy the German Luftwaffe.
Feb: Soviet troops trap thousands of German soldiers in the Korsun-Cherkassy pocket in western Ukraine. Allied bombers utterly destroy the historic monastery at Monte Cassino during heavy fighting in Italy. Germany begins deploying its secret V-1 flying bombs against London.
Mar: The Red Army crosses the Bug River, entering Romanian territory and threatening the Balkan Axis states. Hitler orders the military occupation of Hungary to prevent it from defecting to the Allies. The Allied air campaign inflicts unsustainable fighter pilot losses on the Luftwaffe.
Apr: Soviet forces launch a powerful offensive to liberate the Crimean Peninsula and recapture Sevastopol. The Allied air forces shift their focus to bombing French rail networks ahead of the western invasion. Partisan forces throughout Europe escalate sabotage operations against German supply lines.
May: Axis forces are completely cleared from Crimea, suffering heavy casualties during a chaotic naval evacuation. The Allies finally break through the Gustav Line in Italy after months of grueling combat. German forces retreat northward from Rome to establish a new defensive position.
Jun: Allied forces enter Rome on June 4, liberating the first European Axis capital. On June 6, the Allies launch Operation Overlord, the monumental D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy. In the East, the Soviets launch Operation Bagration, utterly destroying Germany's Army Group Centre.
Jul: The Red Army advances rapidly through Poland, liberating the Majdanek concentration camp. British and American forces capture Caen and launch Operation Cobra to break out of Normandy. Disillusioned German officers fail in their attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler at his headquarters.
Aug: Allied forces trap a large German army in the Falaise Pocket, crushing resistance in Normandy. Free French and Allied troops liberate Paris on August 25 amid widespread public celebration. Romania switches sides and declares war on Germany after a massive Soviet breakthrough.
Sep: The Allies launch Operation Market Garden, a daring airborne attempt to secure bridges in the Netherlands. The operation fails at Arnhem, halting the rapid Allied advance into Germany. Bulgaria defects from the Axis as the Red Army sweeps deeper into the Balkans.
Oct: The Red Army and Yugoslav partisans successfully liberate Belgrade from German occupation. British troops land in Greece, forcing a rapid withdrawal of retreating German forces. The Allies capture Aachen, the first major German city to fall to the Western coalition.
Nov: The Allied advance slows due to severe winter weather and acute logistical supply shortages. The Red Army surrounds Budapest, initiating a long and bloody siege of the Hungarian capital. The RAF successfully sinks the formidable German battleship *Tirpitz* in a Norwegian fjord.
Dec: Hitler launches a surprise winter counter-offensive through the Ardennes, sparking the Battle of the Bulge. German panzers create a dangerous wedge in Allied lines but fail to capture vital fuel depots. American paratroopers heroically hold the strategic crossroads town of Bastogne against heavy siege.
Jan: Admiral Nimitz launches the invasion of the Marshall Islands, bypassing outer defenses to land directly at Kwajalein Atoll. Utilizing massive naval artillery bombardments, U.S. forces quickly overwhelm the surprised Japanese defenders. This success proves that the Allies can pierce Japan's inner defensive perimeter at will.
Feb: The U.S. Navy launches Operation Hailstone, a massive carrier raid that utterly destroys the vital Japanese naval base at Truk Lagoon in the Carolines. Dozens of Japanese warships and transport vessels are sunk, forcing the Imperial Fleet to retreat further west. Allied forces successfully secure Eniwetok Atoll, completing the conquest of the Marshalls.
Mar: The Japanese army launches Operation U-Go, a massive, fanatical invasion of northeastern India from Burma, targeting the British bases at Imphal and Kohima. In New Guinea, MacArthur's forces leap forward again, landing at the Admiralty Islands to secure a massive naval staging area. The Japanese military prepares for a decisive naval battle to defend Saipan.
Apr: General MacArthur executes a brilliant 400-mile amphibious leap, landing at Hollandia in New Guinea and completely bypassing massive Japanese troop concentrations. In China, the Japanese military launches Operation Ichigo, a massive offensive to capture Allied airbases and secure a continuous rail corridor. The British fiercely defend the besieged ridges of Kohima against fanatical Japanese assaults.
May: The British successfully break the siege of Kohima, initiating a catastrophic, disease-ridden Japanese retreat back through the Burmese jungles. Allied forces land on the island of Biak off New Guinea, encountering a new Japanese defensive strategy focused on deep cave networks rather than banzai charges. Japan’s Operation Ichigo drives deep into southern China, causing massive chaos.
Jun: U.S. forces launch the pivotal invasion of Saipan in the Mariana Islands, bringing Japan proper within range of B-29 bombers. In the adjacent waters, the U.S. Navy decimates Japanese carrier aviation during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, famously called the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot." Premier Hideki Tojo's entire cabinet is forced to resign in disgrace following the military disaster.
Jul: Brutal, fanatical resistance on Saipan ends with thousands of civilian suicides and a massive banzai charge that is completely wiped out. U.S. forces proceed to land on the neighboring islands of Guam and Tinian to secure additional bomber bases. In India, the shattered remnants of the Japanese invasion force retreat from Imphal, having suffered over 50,000 casualties.
Aug: The conquest of the Marianas is completed, allowing American engineers to immediately begin building massive runways for the B-29 Superfortress fleet. MacArthur's forces complete their New Guinea campaign by securing Sansapor, leaving western New Guinea fully under Allied control. In China, Japanese forces continue to advance, capturing vital American airfields.
Sep: U.S. Marines launch a bloody assault on Peleliu, encountering a deeply embedded network of over 500 fortified caves. The battle degenerates into a horrific, weeks-long war of attrition that inflicts immense casualties on both sides. Meanwhile, Nimitz and MacArthur finalize plans for an imminent, massive invasion of the Philippines.
Oct: General MacArthur fulfills his promise, landing with a massive invasion force on the island of Leyte in the Philippines on October 20. In a desperate attempt to stop the landings, the Imperial Navy launches its final fleet strength, resulting in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. The Japanese fleet is decisively crushed, and the fanatical Kamikaze suicide attacks are introduced for the first time.
Nov: The first fleet of B-29 Superfortresses takes off from the newly completed runways in Saipan, launching the first heavy bombing raid on Tokyo since 1942. On Leyte, bitter fighting continues amid torrential monsoon rains and mud as Japan funnels reinforcements into the island. The U.S. Navy intensifies its devastating submarine blockade, sinking the giant Japanese carrier *Shinano*.
Dec: American forces launch a surprise amphibious landing on Mindoro island, securing a forward base right next to the main Philippine island of Luzon. In China, the Japanese military finally links up its northern and southern fronts, completing Operation Ichigo but leaving their forces overextended. A massive typhoon strikes the U.S. Third Fleet, causing severe damage and sinking three destroyers.
Remains under Allied control.