Until the winter of 1942-1943, the German army was victorious in an almost unbroken chain of battlefield successes. All of Europe lay under German domination.

Greater Third Reich, 1942; Wikimedia Commons

However, after a successful advance into Russia in the summer of 1942, Soviet forces halted the Wehrmacht in the horrific battle of Stalingrad.

After this defeat, German troops began a bitter retreat westward that culminated in Nazi Germany’s surrender three years later.