A disastrous offensive launched by the Red Army in May, 1942 around Kharkov ended in a rout that paved the way for a renewed German offensive deep into southern Russia and the Ukraine beginning on June 23, 1942. The goal was to break Soviet resistance by capturing the oilfields of the Caucasus and the River Volga at Stalingrad. The Red Army was once again put on the defensive and soon their backs were against the Volga River, desperately trying to hang on in the face of an implacable and ruthless enemy bent on the annhilation of the Slavic people. This battle, fought in subhuman conditions between August 1942 and January 1943 cost nearly 2 million casualties and unspeakable suffering for those who fought and died there. This is the story of the battle many consider the turning point of World War II in Europe.

The fate of Europe hung in the balance at Leipzig in October, 1813. His invasion of Russia had ended in failure in December 1812, and Napoleon Bonaparte was now beset by defections of allied nations who had marched with him and pursued by a Russian army entering Germany intent on revenge. Determined to maintain his dominance of continental Europe, Napoleon quickly assembled a new army - a quarter million strong - to defend his Empire and his crown. Encouraged by the destruction of much of the French army in the Russian campaign, first Sweden, then Prussia and finally Austria declared war and marshalled their armies to confront Napoleon in the small kingdom of Saxony. The mystique of the man the Duke of Wellington once said was worth 40,000 men on a battlefield was still alive as he routed Coalition armies at Lutzen, Bautzen and again at Dresden. Numerical superiority seemed irrelevant when Napoleon was on the field, but his genius would be put to the test at Leipzig. In four days that shook the world, the unthinkable would finally happen.

The United States was caught unprepared for a surprise Japanese air attack on December 7, 1941 and suffered its worst naval defeat in history. With successive invasions and defeats in Guam and the Philippines, including the surrender of its remaining army at Corregidor, the United States was losing the war in the Pacificto Japan in June, 1942. Yet there remained a flicker of hope, because the American aircraft carriers had not been caught at Pearl Harbor and could still roam the seas, threatening the Japanese home islands and further conquests abroad. Japanese supreme commander Yamamoto was determined to ambush the four American carriers and end the threat once and for all. Newly appointed Pacific Fleet commander Chester Nimitz took over a demoralized fleet at Pearl Harbor knowing he could not allow the loss of his carriers or his island base in Hawaii. When he learned of an impending attack on Midway Island, he risked everything in a desperate gamble to outfox the Japanese fleet and ambush their carriers. This is the story of a miraculous and pivotal victory at sea that ranks with the greatest in history.