World War II was the most catastrophic conflict in history, claiming 55,000,000 lives. Its defeats and victories, heroes and heroines, have become part of the mythology of the twentieth century. This vivid book, illustrated with 400 pictures drawn from private and public archives, presents the history of the conflict fought from Europe to Africa and Asia between 1939 and 1945 in a way that is both concise and comprehensive, covering every battlefront and major campaign. It shows how the people of the Allied nations suffered three years of constant defeat, yet in the end triumphed, winning a victory over the aggressor nations so complete that the world has never again known the horrors of world war. The Allies' victory resulted in the birth of the Modern Age.