The Battle of Kursk was the largest land battle in history and involved over two million men. In this pivotal event, a week of battle and tens of thousands of casualties saw the Soviets defeat the Germans.

On 6 June 1944, tragedy struck Omaha Beach in Normandy. Over 2,000 casualties were sustained in heavy artillery fire, making it one of WWII's most bloody and decisive battles.

Trying to stave off defeat in World War II, Adolf Hitler launches a German counteroffensive in December 1944 in hopes of forcing a negotiated peace.

With a million men lost by September 1944, Hitler called up every able-bodied man between 16 and 60 to form a new home guard and launch a new surprise attack on the Allies.