For the first three years, neither the allied troops nor their opponents could deliver a decisive blow in battle. But Allied fortunes in the Mediterranean and the Pacific and Hitler's disaster in Russia opened the way for long planned invasion of Normandy in 1944. Finally decisive victory in Europe seemed to be within the Allies' grasp. But then, what kept Hitler from surrendering when defeat seemed so inevitable? What tactics were used by the Americans to gain military supremacy in the Pacific? And what part did the atom bomb play in forcing Japan's surrender? These questions are examined alongside the analysis of the political and military consequences of the Second World War, and the way it has shaped our lives today.