Victory at Sea

The uneasy peace of the 1930's explodes into war as Germany invades country after country. The Royal Navy successfully withdraws a huge Anglo-French army from Dunkirk, while farther afield German U-boats terrorize merchant shipping.

The rapid growth of Japanese power and influence in the Pacific puts it on a collision course with the United States, leading to the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor.

With America now in the war, regular trans-Atlantic convoys bring much needed supplies and reinforcements to the British Isles. But the U-boats of the German Kriegsmarine inflict painful losses on merchantmen, putting the Allied war effort in jeopardy.

As Japan's military rampages unchecked across the Pacific, American naval commanders plot to stop the enemy's advance at a remote island called Midway.

Sitting at a strategic crossroads in the Mediterranean, the island of Malta becomes a punching bag for Axis aggression, while the British Royal Navy valiantly defends the island from invasion and aerial attack.

After discovering a Japanese airfield under construction on a remote island called Guadalcanal, United States military leaders decide to make it the site of America's first counteroffensive in the Pacific.

Following the Allied victory at Guadalcanal, American military leaders launch a campaign to isolate the major Japanese base at Rabaul.

Benito Mussolini thrusts Italy into the war on the side of Germany, leading to an invasion of Greece and a spillover of the conflict into the deserts of North Africa.

The Allied counteroffensive against Germany begins with Operation Torch, an amphibious invasion of North Africa.

World War II touched every corner of the globe, even the far away South Atlantic, where naval battles, commerce raiders and submarine attacks were a constant reality of life at sea.

The war reaches the top of the world, as Allied convoys make the hazardous run to land supplies at Murmansk. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, the United States makes plans to liberate two Alaskan islands from Japanese occupation.

As U.S. naval supremacy continues to build in the Pacific throughout 1943, American military leaders plan amphibious landings in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands.

Working in concert with their Australian and New Zealander allies, the United States thwarts Japan's invasion of New Guinea.

Beginning with amphibious landings in Sicily and continuing with an invasion of the Italian mainland, the Allies slowly dismantle the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.

The Allies land on the beaches of Normandy to begin Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious invasion in the history of war.

The despite new Allied ships, tactics and technologies, the Kriegsmarine's U-boat war continues to terrorize the Atlantic shipping routes.

The American military liberates Guam and the rest of the Mariana Islands from Japanese control, leading to one of the largest and most one-sided aerial battles in history.

The American military closes in on the liberation of the Philippines, wresting islands like Peleliu away from Japanese occupation.

The United States military liberates the Philippine island of Leyte. But the Japanese Imperial Navy launches a complicated and risky operation to foil the American invasion, culminating in the largest naval battle of World War II.

Fulfilling the solemn promise of General Douglas MacArthur, the Americans return in force to liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation.

Using lessons learned from the German U-boat campaign, American submarines unleash a wave of destruction and death upon Japan's merchant fleet.

Hitler's Third Reich crumbles as the Allies close in on Germany from both east and west.

Three years of grueling island and jungle warfare culminates in the campaign for Iwo Jima, one of the deadliest battles of the Pacific war.

In order to prevent the collapse of China, the Allies launch a campaign to open a supply route through Southeast Asia.

The American military storms into Okinawa, setting off the final great battle of the war. But the Japanese counter with waves of their terrifying suicide weapon, the kamikaze.