1945: The Year That Changed The World-The Beginning of the End-January and February

Tensions between the Allies mount. The British want to strike into the heart of Germany but the Americans are cautious and don’t want to loose men. This allows the Russians to advance deep into Eastern Europe. Churchill did not trust Stalin. But he didn’t know that Roosevelt was also manoeuvering behind his back. This double dealing was most obvious in the case of Poland. The British had gone to war over Poland, which now lay in ruins. Churchill knew Stalin had designs on their country. Roosevelt was prepared to abandon Poland. And Stalin got what he wanted. The 3 leaders agreed to move Poland’s borders to the West into Germany and Stalin gained territory which suited his political goals. In the Pacific the war was far from over and the Americans realized it was going to be costly in lives to beat the Japanese. The strategic value of the relentless bombing campaign of German cities is the source of vehement disagreement to this day. Most hotly debated is the carpet bombing of Dresden - however there is more recent evidence that The Soviet Union asked for the City to be bombed for strategic reasons.