World War II: The Price Of Empire

WWII may have concluded decades ago, but for those who fought, the memories are endless. To understand, we start with Churchill's "Gathering Storm."

Japan's unprovoked invasion has plunged China into war. In Europe, Mussolini and Hitler's expansions threaten neighboring nations.

After six relatively quiet months of the Phony War, German forces add a new term to the vocabulary of warfare: Blitzkrieg.

Six months after the fall of France, Molotov visits Berlin to discuss victory. He may think Britain is defeated, but there's still more to the story.

It's 1941, and Britain is holding its own despite being under threat from the German army; Japan takes WWII global; "Barbarossa" transforms the war.

Before 1941 was over, the Soviet Union was locked in a struggle with Germany, and humanity would be hanging on the fate of Roosevelt's great union.

It took Hitler half a war to form an empire, but all gained would be lost in the second half. Japan's growth also takes a fall.

During WWII, Germany and Japan plotted to team up in the Indian subcontinent to make a massive territory, but setbacks in 1942 shook plans.

Over a succession of conferences, the UN planned out the post-war world. For the Allied and Axis powers, 1943 would mark the beginning of the end.

Between 1943 and 1944, significant events shifted power from the Axis to the Allies, and the Allies' strength would grow in the East.

The Allies break out of Normandy, the Red Army advances, and the invasion of the Philippines will bring troops one step closer to attacking Japan.

Germany and Japan's aggression may have started the war, but by 1944 their armies succumbed to pressure from the Allies.

After years of war, the defeat of Hitler and the Third Reich is inevitable. Peace in Asia will follow after the detonation of the atomic bomb.