The German invasion of Poland, September 1939 -- Poland defeated, October 1939 -- Finland defiant, November 1939 -- The Scandinavian cockpit, winter 1939-1940 -- The German attack in the West, May 1940 -- Dunkirk, May 1940 -- The battle for France, June 1940 -- France's agony, Britain's resolve, June-July 1940 -- The battle for Britain, August-September 1940 -- 'The war is won!' (Hitler), October 1940 -- The 'new order of tyranny' (Roosevelt), winter 1940-1941 -- The widening war, January-March 1941 -- The German conquest of Yugoslavia and Greece, April 1941 -- The fall of Crete; war in Africa, April-May 1941 -- The German invasion of Russia, June 1941 -- Terror in the East, July-August 1941 -- Towards Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev, September 1941 -- Russia at bay, September-October 1941 -- 'Deciding the fate of Europe' (Hitler), November 1941 -- The limits of German conquest, December 1941 -- Japan strikes, December 1941 -- 'We are no longer alone' (Churchill), New Year 1942 -- Global war, February-April 1942 -- The spread of resistance and terror, summer 1942 -- Axis triumphs, July 1942 -- Guadalcanal, Dieppe, El Alamein, August-September 1942 -- Stalingrad and 'Torch', September-October 1942 -- The turn of the tide for the Allies, winter 1942 -- Casablanca: blueprint for victory, January 1943 -- The German armies in danger, February 1943 -- 'Drive the enemy into the sea' (Montgomery), spring 1943 -- 'The first crack in the Axis' (Roosevelt), summer 1943 -- Germany and Japan in retreat, autumn 1943 -- 'Bleeding to death in the East' (Goebbels), winter 1943 -- Anzio, Cassino, Kwajalein, January-February 1944 -- Bombing, deportation, and mass murder, February-March 1944 -- Resistance, sabotage, and deception, spring 1944 -- D-Day, June 1944 -- Germany encircled, July 1944 -- The battles for Poland and France, summer 1944 -- The bitter-sweet path of liberation, autumn 1944 -- Into Germany; towards the Philippines, September 1944 -- Fighting for every mile, October-November 1944 -- Flying bombs, suicide pilots, death marches, January 1945 -- Berlin, Manila, Dresden, Tokyo, February-March 1945 -- The Axis in disarray; the Allies in conflict, March-April 1945 -- The deaths of Roosevelt, Mussolini and Hitler, April 1945 -- The end of the war in Europe, May 1945 -- Germany in defeat, Japan unbowed, May-July 1945 -- Alamogordo, Potsdam, Hiroshima, July-August 1945 -- The defeat of Japan, August 1945 -- Retribution and Remembrance, 1945-1952 -- 'Unfinished business', 1953-1989.