World War II: Endgame - Season 1

The early years of World War Two caused chaos and devastation throughout Europe. The 1939 non-aggression pact between the Germans and Russians had promised safety for the Soviet Union, but Hitler was not to be trusted. With the invasion of Soviet territories in 1941, a new and unexpected "Grand Alliance" was formed between the United Kingdom, United States, and the Soviet Union.

By late 1944, with the Germans now on the defensive across both the Western and Eastern fronts, Nazi Germany's fate was all but sealed. But Hitler's manic denial of this impending defeat would lead to his final gamble at the Battle of the Bulge, turning the quiet region of the Ardennes Forest into a savage battleground.

The war in Europe was over, but heavy fighting continued in the East, and President Truman was desperate to bring the war to a close in the Pacific theatre. With the US Manhattan Project successfully testing the first nuclear bomb in July 1945, the US no longer needed Soviet help to overpower the Japanese forces who were dominating in the region.

The emergence of the Cold War wasn't due to one single event or moment in time. It was borne from a series of steps, laid predominantly by the two main powers of the once grand alliance of World War Two, the United States and the Soviet Union. With World War Two over in both Europe and the Pacific, they were now competing to shape post-war Europe according to their ideologies.