The USSR and Nazi Germany sign a non-aggression pact with a secret protocol on spheres of influence in Eastern Europe.
Nazi Germany breaks the pact and attacks the Soviet Union along a broad front, marking the beginning of the Eastern Front.
German and Finnish troops surround Leningrad, leading to one of the longest and deadliest sieges in history.
The Soviets withstand the German advance on the capital and repel a major German offensive for the first time.
One of the bloodiest battles in history ends in a decisive Soviet victory and turning point in the war.
The largest tank battle in history definitively breaks Germany's offensive capability on the Eastern Front.
After 872 days, the city of Leningrad is finally freed from the German encirclement.
A massive Soviet offensive drives the German armies out of Belarus and destroys Army Group Centre.
The Soviet army reaches the eastern bank of the Vistula, while a large-scale uprising against the German occupiers breaks out in Warsaw.
The Red Army advances through Romania and Bulgaria and supports the liberation of Belgrade, bringing most of the Balkans out of German hands.
A massive Soviet offensive through Poland toward Germany, resulting in the liberation of Warsaw and a rapid advance to the Oder.
The Red Army storms the German capital in the last major battle of the war in Europe.
Nazi Germany surrenders unconditionally, marking the end of the Great Patriotic War.
The Soviet Union celebrates the victory over Nazi Germany with a grand military parade in Moscow.
The USSR opens the eastern front against Japan and invades Manchuria, in line with the agreements of Yalta.
On 24 June 1945, the historic Victory Parade took place on Red Square in Moscow, led by Marshal Georgy Zhukov on horseback and addressed by Stalin from the Lenin Mausoleum. Thousands of Soviet soldiers marched past, and as a climax, captured German standards and flags were literally thrown down onto the ground in front of the Lenin Mausoleum, as a symbol of the total defeat of the Third Reich. The parade marked the official end of the 'Great Patriotic War' and the beginning of postwar Soviet power on the European continent.