| − | In 1944, America finally opened the second front, as Stalin had asked. With a decisive victory at the Normandy landings, the stage was set for the final defeat of Nazi Germany. General George S. Patton Jr., considered by the Germans to be the Allies' finest general, used a perfected version of lightning-fast tank maneuvers that astounded even the inventors of blitzkrieg. In the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler's last offensive was crushed, leaving the road to Berlin open. Despite resistance from Volkssturm militia, Allied armies had effectively cleared West Germany by 1945. Patton's offensives were halted in Czechoslovakia, where his attempts to liberate Eastern Europe from Communism were met with hatred from liberals in the Truman Administration. Patton could have destroyed the entire Russian army with his might, but scared Communist spies such as Alger Hiss made sure that Stalin would rule Eastern Europe. | + | In 1944, America finally opened the second front, as Stalin had asked. With a decisive victory at the Normandy landings, the stage was set for the final defeat of Nazi Germany. General George S. Patton Jr., considered by the Germans to be the Allies' finest general, used a perfected version of lightning-fast tank maneuvers that astounded even the inventors of blitzkrieg. Patton's Third Army plowed through the German lines, leaving even their elite soldiers in full retreat. In the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler's last offensive was crushed, leaving the road to Berlin open. Despite resistance from Volkssturm militia, Allied armies had effectively cleared West Germany by 1945. Patton's offensives were halted in Czechoslovakia, where his attempts to liberate Eastern Europe from Communism were met with hatred from liberals in the Truman Administration. Patton could have destroyed the entire Russian army with his might, but scared Communist spies such as Alger Hiss made sure that Stalin would rule Eastern Europe. |