By the beginning of 1944 air warfare had turned overwhelmingly in favor of the Allies, who wrought destruction on German cities, transport, and industries throughout German-held Europe. This prepared the war for the landing of the Allies in Northern France in June 6, 1944. After heavy fighting in Normandy, Allied armored divisions raced to the Rhine, clearing most of France and Belgium of German forces by October 1944. Hitlers troubles were compounded when Russian Armies swept through from the east, taking much of eastern Europe. By the end of August, the Russians had taken Bucharest, Estonia was taken within months, and Budapest was under siege by the end of the year. Each title in this series contains photos throughout, and back matter including: an index, further reading lists for books and internet resources, and a timeline. Key Icons appear throughout the books in this series in an effort to encourage library readers to build knowledge, gain awareness, explore possibilities and expand their viewpoints through our content rich non-fiction books. Key Icons in this series are as follows: Words to Understand are shown at the front of each chapter with definitions. These words are set in boldfaced type in that chapter, so that readers are able to reference back to the definitions–building their vocabulary and enhancing their reading comprehension. Sidebars are highlighted graphics with content rich material within that allows readers to build knowledge and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos are offered at the end of each book through the use of a QR code, that when scanned, takes the student to an online video showing a video relating to World War II. This gives the reader