Battle Line

A tiny Italian fishing village becomes the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II.

Field Marshals Rommel and Montgomery engage in a climactic desert battle for control of northern Africa.

The Allies launch an amphibious invasion in North Africa.

Late in 1944, the Americans attack Japan with a new bomber: the B-29.

In September 1944, the all-but-defeated German army retreats to organize its final stand.

The German stronghold at the foot of the Alps becomes the scene of the last great battle of the Italian campaign.

In 1944, Patton leads the Third Army from the beaches of Normandy across France.

The three-year Japanese rule of Burma comes to an end in 1945 as Mandalay and Rangoon fall to the British.

Germany uses disguised naval vessels to destroy Allied ships.

Germany captures Crete with an airborne invasion.

At Dunkirk, hundreds of English vessels of every sort execute the largest military evacuation in history.

American and French forces unite to drive the Germans out of Montelimar, Marseilles and Toulon.

Germany bombs the island fortress of Malta for 23 months.

United States military leaders plan a total bombing attack on Japanese-held Okinawa.

Rommel uses ingenious defenses against the Allies in France.

In one of the best-rehearsed aerial missions of the war, the Allies attempt to strike a devastating blow to the center of the German oil supply.

The German blitz of London lasts for 57 days.

American and British air fleets engage in round-the-clock bombardment of the German war machine's major industrial sites.

In April 1940, Germany takes Norway from Britain.

The Allies hold onto the important North African port of Tobruk from 1940 until Rommel's 1942 offensive.