Syria became a battleground in July 1941, when British forces launched an invasion to secure their hold on the Middle East. General "Bill" Slim's strike at Deir-ez-Zor was a critical victory.

The African American Black Panthers of the 761st Tank Battalion completed their distinguished combat record by breaching Germany's Siegfried Line and crossing the Rhine in 1945.

The British torpedo bomber strike on the Italian naval base of Taranto in November 1940 changed the balance of power in the Mediterranean, and set the stage for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

 By January 1945 the African American soldiers of the 761st Tank Battalion, the Black Panthers, were battle-tested veterans. But they would encounter one of their toughest fights in January 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge.

President Harry Truman's Independence Day message of July 4, 1945 offered words of consolation and hope at a time of immense stress for the nation—and himself.

On November 16, 1944, the men of the African American 761st Tank Battalion assaulted the German-held town of Guebling. Platoon Sergeant Ruben Rivers displayed uncommon heroism in leading the assault, and in doing so made the ultimate sacrifice for his comrades.

Dame Vera Lynn, who died on June 18, 2020 at age 103, inspired millions of people in Great Britain and the United States through the darkest days of World War II. 

The men of the African American 761st Tank Battalion entered combat at Morville-les-Vic on November 7, 1944. In an "inferno" of battle, they proved their worth in the first of a series of hard fought battles.

Born of desperation, the British tank attack at Arras on May 21, 1940 was a tactical failure with major strategic implications—and it may have helped to save the British army.

Even as World War II in Europe officially ended in May 1945, bitter fighting erupted across Eastern Europe as local partisans fought the Soviet occupation.