WWII – 1944

The Soviets clearly wanted to leave no time wasted. Just one week into the New Year, they advanced into Poland. They were making great advancements towards the German forces, and their efforts were paying off in more than just Poland. On January 27th, Leningrad was finally relieved after a 900-day siege. This bolstered the confidence of the Soviets, who continued to press on in Poland in attempts to capture and desist German troops.

At this point in the World War, air raids had become all the more common. The British were using this new tactic to their advantage, and dropped 3,000 tons of bombs on Hamburg, Germany in late March of 1944.

The Soviets continued to make efforts to retaliate against the German forces. In early April, they began an offensive to liberate Crimea. Their efforts soon paid off: just one month later, the Soviets recaptured Sevastopol and the Germans surrendered. This proved crippling to the morale of the German troops.

The summer months seemed to be very action-packed during the World War (which, given the terrain they were fighting upon-specifically Soviet Russia-it was expected). June was mostly filled with attempts by the Allied Powers to capture major French cities and liberate the civilians. These efforts were certainly resultant. On June 27th, US troops liberated Cherbourg, France.

At this point, the German forces were realizing that the Allied Powers were not going to give up as easily as expected, and that they had many problems at their forefront that needed to be dealt with. For instance, on July 20th Hitler’s own army officers attempted to assassinate him. The assassination obviously failed, but this certainly put German officials on the outlook for any other suspicious activity that could put their leader in harm’s way.

US and Soviet attempts at capturing cities controlled by German forces and liberating the people were very successful. In just a three month timespan, three cities were liberated and freed from the oppressive control of the Germans and the other Axis Powers. This liberation was fairly inspiring to other cities still facing the oppression. On the first of August, an uprising in the Warsaw ghetto began, and it took over two months to halt their efforts. However, things like this weren’t going unnoticed. The inhumanness of ghettos and concentration camps were being noticed by Allies and Axis Powers alike. In late October, the gas chambers were used for the final time at Auschwitz (a notorious concentration camp in southern Poland).

Unfortunately, the repercussions of this World War were being felt all over the European continent, and likewise all over the world. With tensions and hostilities on the rise, the Grecian Civil War took place, and Greece was then placed under martial law.

The Soviets ended the year on a major note, with the siege of Budapest. It was very evident that German troops had a force to reckon with, and they certainly wouldn’t be able to take it much longer.

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