General Douglas MacArthur vowed to return to the Philippines in 1942—and more than two years later, he delivered on his promise.

At the Arcadia Conference, held in Washington, DC, from December 24, 1941 to January 14, 1942, the Western Allies agreed to a “Germany First” policy to govern global strategy, but the question where to engage Germany, and when, remained unsettled.

As the anniversaries of Operations Barbarossa and Bagration approach, it is an opportune time to reexamine the immeasurably brutal war between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.